91 



no disintegration can occur which would benefit 

 the plant. 



The beneficial effects of exposing the soil as 

 much as possible to the influence of the weather, 

 have been well known at all times ; that the 

 fertility of an exhausted soil could be restored 

 by rest, and repeated ploughing and turning 

 the soil, was a well-recognized fact, long before 

 the causes which effected this restoration were 

 understood. 



India then, as I have stated, still possesses in the 

 subsoil of her fields sufficient fertilizing materials 

 to regain the lost fertility of her surface -soil, and 

 it will become the duty of Government to urge the 

 use of deeper-ploughing instruments in order 

 to enhance the scanty yield. 



It will be clear from the foregoing how essential 

 it is for the practical farmer to know the 

 condition of the inorganic plant- food present in his 

 soil, and to be acquainted with the means by which 

 the ineffective portion can be converted into that 

 form in which alone it can be assimilated by the plant. 

 It is by no means necessary that he should call in 

 the aid of science to gain this information ; a few 

 simple experiments, and a careful observation of their 

 results, should be sufficient for his guidance. 

 If extra ploughing and careful tillage are attended 

 by a corresponding increase in the outturn, it will 

 be evident that there is ample nourishment in the 



