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cultural Exhibitions and demonstrati(>ns, by the introduction of cottage 

 industries to give employment to the peasant population during the spare 

 time at their disposal, and such other measures as were pointed out by 

 Mr. Nicholson in the admirable preliminary note written by him as 

 Secretary to the Madras Agricultural Committee. European capitalists, 

 with their plethora of capital looking out for opportunities for invest- 

 ment, would not have been slow to embark in the business, if they 

 saw that they had the least chance of competing with native culti- 

 vators by adopting intensire methods of cultivations ; and I myself 

 personally know some intelligent native landlords, with command of 

 capital, who would be glad to invest a considerable amount in high 

 farming, if they could have a reasonable assurance that the capital 

 laid out would fetch 6 per cent, interest. And we have, in the 

 f ailui'e of the . Saidapet model farm to achieve profitable results, an 

 impressive warning against extravagant expectations being entertained 

 from intensive farming under present conditions. The model farm 

 was started in 1871 and after 5 years' trial was found to have been 

 worked at a loss of Es. 6,000 {vide Mr. Nicholson's " Pi-eliminary 

 Note," paragraph 42). There is undoubtedl}^ considerable scope for 

 improvement by the introduction of deep-ploughing, better conservation 

 of cattle manure, somewhat better treatment of cattle, and utilisation 

 of inexpensive waste products as manures not now known or suspected 

 to have manurial properties ; but such improvements can only come in 

 very gradually. The Grovei-nment has already, by the reservation of 

 large areas as fuel and fodder reserves, put a check on the taking up of 

 the poorer lands for cultivation and made intensive cultivation to meet 

 the requirements of the growing population to some extent necessary, 

 and it is difficult to see what further steps can be taken in this direc- 

 tion without causing great hardship at present to the great body of the 

 ryots. It should also be remembered that the proposal to encourage 

 the consolidation and enclosure of farms with a view to the introduc- 

 tion of intensive farming would go against the proposed legislation to 

 confer securifj^ of tenure on zemindari ryots, wldch is recognised on 

 all hands to be a pressing necessity in the present situation. 



The reviewer's third suggestion is not intelligible. If it is intended 

 that grazing farms should be maintained for the support of cattle 

 required for agricultural purposes, it would hardly pay the ryot to do 

 this, seeing that cattle are not fattened in this country for meat, and 

 that it would be profitable to obtain the cattle required for ploughing 

 and draught from professional breeders. If the ryots require a better 

 description of cattle than they now use, and are willing to pay the proper 

 price, doubtless such cattle would be bred in larger numbers than at 

 present. It has been calculated that 5 acres of lantl have to be kept 

 under grass to feed a single head of cattle properly, and if this estimate 

 is at all correct, it is obvious that it would be ruinous to breed cattle of 

 this description, as 5 acres now produce corn sufficient to feed three 

 human beings. The fourth suggestion is without any special signi- 

 ficance, and it is connected with the first and second suggestions already 

 considered. . It is not clear what measures the reviewer intends should 

 be taken for carrying out the fifth suggestion, viz., to check the export 

 of raw, as contrasted with the manufactured or half- worked produce of 

 the land. If it is intended that this result should be obtained by the 

 levy of heavy export duties, it would simply destroy the foreign trade of 



