t '48 ] 



Expert opinions. With regard to the possible im- 

 provements that may be introduced into the native system of 

 ploughing &c. in India, the following remarks of Dr. J. A. 

 Voelcker recorded in his Report on the Improvement of Indian 

 Agriculture are worth noting : 



" I cannot help suspecting that the system of shallow 

 ploughing, as practised by the Native, and his aversion to 

 ploughs that turn over a broad slice and form a wide furrow, 

 may have something to do with this matter of the retention 

 of moisture, and that the effect of deep ploughing would too 

 generally be to lose the very moisture the cultivator so 

 treasures" (p. 43^. 



*' After seeing for myself what is used, and what have 

 been suggested for use, I am obliged to conclude that 

 there is not much scope for improved implements under 

 existing conditions " (p. 217). 



" Even if a thing be good in itself, patience, perse- 

 verance and energy are required to make the Native com- 

 prehend its advantages, but when once he is thoroughly 

 convinced of its utility he will not be slow to follow it up. 

 It took several years of waiting before the Beheea Sugar-mill 

 began to make its way, but when once it was introduced into 

 a District the demand for it often exceeded the supply " 

 (p. 217). 



189. With regard to the relative merits of Watt's 

 Plough and the country plough, Dr. Leather says : - " At Cawn- 

 pore an improved plough having an iron share, and plough- 

 ing 5" deep, has been tested against the country-plough since 

 1881. Six years' experiment, during four of which they were 

 made in duplicate, showed with one exception, a distinct in- 

 crease in the cotton crop ; and eight years' experiment, of 

 which seven years' were in duplicate, and in which wheat was 

 the crop, showed, with one exception, an increase apparently 

 due to the improved ploughs. Leaving out of consideration 

 the actual increase obtained, which varied considerably it 



