1917.] The Fourth Indian Science Congress. clix 



practicable in India. The following three points are especially dealt 



with : — 



(a) Under Indian agricultural conditions will a scheme of rain in- 



surance practically serve all the purposes of agricultural 

 insurance ? 



(b) Can any periods be marked off in the Indian agricultural 



year the quantity of rainfall in which by itself will practi- 

 cally determine the success or failure of agriculture for the 

 year ? 



(c) What percentage of deficiency in the normal rainfall should 



be regarded as a minimum limit for insurance purposes ? 



As regards (a) and (b) the result arrived at is an affirmative answer. 

 As regards (c) it is found that the percentage is different under differ- 

 ent conditions but a percentage can be arrived at for every risk-fixing 

 period of the agricultural year in any of the homogeneous agricultural 

 areas. 



The detailed investigations of the author on the subject of agricultural 

 insurance in Mysore and the concrete scheme which he has drawn up with 

 reference to that area are also referred to in the paper. 



" Some Enzymes of Germinating Red Gram " l (Cajanus 



Indicus). — By B. Visvanath. 



The enzymic activities of an aqueous extract of germinated red gram 

 have been investigated and it has been shown that diastase, maltase, 

 sucrase, oxidase, lipase, urease are present together with a rennet-like 

 enzyme. 



The main interest, however, attaches to the fact that, although these 

 seeds contain about 23 per cent of reserve proteins, there is no peptase 

 present either in the normal or freshly germinated seed. This enzyme 

 only appears at a much later stage of germination. There is, however, 

 an enzyme present which hydrolyses peptones. 



The proteolytic enzymes act best under slightly alkaline conditions 

 while the rest of the enzymes act best when the conditions are slightly 

 acid. 





Water Hyacinth (Eichomia crassipes) and its Value as a Ferti- 

 lizer. 1 — % R. S. Finlow. 



In recent years the growth of Water Hyacinth has assumed alarming 

 proportions in Bengal, Burma, Indo-China, Australia, Florida, etc. In 

 Burma it has caused such difficulties in the navigation of rivers that spe- 

 cial legislation has been resorted to with the object of eradicating it. 

 Different measures are being tried in different countries to remedy the 

 evil. The habit and growth of the plant has been described in this 

 paper. With a view to investigate its agricultural possibilities the author 

 in collaboration with Mr. McLean, Deputy Director of Agriculture, 

 Eastern Bengal, carried out a series of experiments at Dacca m the mon- 

 soon of 1916 with jute as a test crop. The results show that up to 9-4 lb. 

 potash (K 2 0) per acre with lime, applied to acid laterite soils in Bengal, 

 produces a remarkable effect on the yield of jute. The same result was 

 produced by equivalent amounts of potash in rotted Hyacinth, Hyacmtl 

 ash, carbonate of potash and chloride of potash. In the green state the 

 plant is very bulky. The rotted material is also very bulky, being com* 

 parable with Farm-yard manure, except in regard to the potash con ten 



— ■ ... . ■ 



This paper will be published in extenso m the Congress number of 

 the Agricultural Journal of India. 



