198 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Tol. XXI. 



and in destroying wholesale a large part of the soil flora. When the 

 rains fall the spores of the varioiis soil bacteria again become 

 active, but it would appear that the new soil flora is more efficient 

 than the old from the point of view of the plant. 



Small iron ploughs are much more efficient instruments in 

 exposing the land in the hot weather than the common country 

 wooden plough. When the cultivators have been taught by 

 example the real use of these ploughs, a great market is bound to 

 arise in the plains and another outlet will be found for Indian 

 steel. The cultivator already practices this to a limited extent and 

 already appreciates the value of exposing his lands in the hot 

 season. It will be a comparatively easy matter therefore to teach 

 him to do this more efficiently than at present and to do it on a 

 much larger scale with more effective implements. 



Conservation of moisture. The next step in managing wheat lands 

 in the alluvium is concerned with the conservation of moisture. 

 Besides the hot weather cultivation one or two ploughings with 

 iron ploughs in the breaks of the early part of the monsoon will 

 enable more and more water to be taken up by the subsoil. After 

 the end of July iron ploughs are given up and the wooden countrj^ 

 plough is used instead as this packs the subsoil and also produces 

 sufficient upper loose soil to take in more water. The beam is 

 now also used after ploughing to prevent loss by evaporation in 

 the breaks of the monsoon. After the sowing rains^ — the last of 

 the monsoon shower of September ^ — the land is finally levelled 

 (or harrowed in case it is very heavy land) and left till 

 sowing time. Sowing is done preferably in the morning behind 

 the country plough and the land is immediately covered in with 

 the beam which must be passed over the land several times. After 

 the wheat begins to tiller the land is rolled once or twice and 

 nothing more is done till harvest. 



The essence of the process consists in absorbing as much water 

 as possible in the monsoon and in taking steps not to lose it after- 

 wards. Very little cultivation is done just before sowing time as 

 at this period moisture is easilj^ lost. The ryot commonl}^ leaves 

 his preparation for wheat till the last fortnight before sowing and 

 during the process a large amount of moisture is lost. At Pusa 



