PREFACE. 



ANY book having for its object the furtherance 

 and improvement of Indian Agriculture, will, no 

 doubt, be welcomed not only by those who are 

 interested, directly or indirectly, in the subject, but 

 also by all those who have the interests of this 

 country, and the interests of its commonwealth, 

 at heart ; and I therefore with great confidence 

 bring this work on " The Principles of Rational 

 Agriculture applied to India and its Staple Pro- 

 ducts" before the critical eye of the public. Though 

 I am conscious it will be found defective in many 

 points, I have no doubt but that its shortcomings 

 will ba leniently dealt with in consideration of its 

 general object. 



When entering upon this work, I was stimulated 

 by the belief, which is growing stronger and stron- 

 ger with my prolonged sojourn in Bombay, that 

 India, far from being that country about whose 

 wealth and resources I delighted to read in my 

 youthful days, is, on the contrary, a poor, impo- 

 verished land, the majority of whose millions of 



