fix Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XIII, 



which is several times greater. Transport difficulties will , therefore, prevent 

 its use at any great distance from the place of production. The plant can 

 be dried and burnt but, of course, all the organic matter and the nitrogen 

 are lost in the burning. The ash containing 50% of chloride potash in 

 addition to phosphate and lime can be profitably used as a fertilizer. 

 Messrs. Shaw Wallace & Co., of Calcutta, have offered to buy any quan- 

 tity of Hyacinth ash at Rs. 4 per unit of potash (K 2 0) landed in Cal- 

 cutta. This is equivalent to from Rs. 84 to Rs. 120 per ton of the ash. 

 Further the author mentions that there are already indications that the 

 cultivator has begun to appreciate the agricultural possibilities of Water 



Hyacinth. 



Conditions influencing the Distribution of Potato Blight in 



India. 1 — By J. F. Dastur. 



The author describes the conditions under which the fungus Phytoph- 

 thora mfestans was found to occur, and also how it spread all over potato- 

 growing countries from America where it made its first appearance. This 

 tungus was introduced into India from Europe along with the importation 

 of large quantities of seed tubers from infected countries such as England. 

 ±ne potato blight is not well known on the Indian plains, but it is to be 

 found with certainty in Northern India, and that, too, at high altitudes. 

 *rom the account of the experiments with potato cultivation at Jorhat, 

 habour, etc., it seems that at times this blight has also been found on the 

 plains, but the epidemic has always been sporadic and the origin of the 

 disease has been traced to the sowing of diseased seed tubers got from 

 infected sections of tubers after the end of summer 



ibJfS ^. dis< ; y er y Preludes the possibility of the fungus establishing 

 «Sl ? P ' ain f. and therefore potatoes of excellent quality, though sus- 

 hnrf JiS «r the , d ! seas V n hi "s> can be grown on the plains without being 

 tm! t K ™ V,ded P° tato seeds are obtained in summer when the tempera- 

 ture is high enough to kill this fungus. 



The Improvement of Cotton Cultivation in the Central Pro- 

 vinces studied from an economic point of view.'— By D 



Clouston. 



ces w^I y K!^ PtS 5 im P rove cot *on cultivation in the Central Provin- 

 ce ehiof hSI ♦ opposition that improvement in the staple was 

 lonV,tan,eH a! Um ' and * hat this could best be done by introducing 

 StLnof it fi ^ ^ E SyP tian varieties and by extending the cul- 

 cum As t£ r^f 8 ' 1 ?^ indi ^ nou3 ™nety known as Bani (0. Indir 

 oHhe work H«™ .^ u cla88i fi°ation of the indigenous cottons and 

 last tenTear, ?vf a °K COtt r c by the Apartment of Apiculture within the 

 varie^L w^ioh , + T. definitelv P roved that Rosfam, one of the six 

 sZrior to an ot) " tUte / he Jari mixture of the Provinces, is much 

 and a hiSie \£ T' '" 8 ° f&r &S tt « ive8 a hi g her y^ d of kapas per acre 

 h« several ffooHnnl ? *- Pei T nta8e - The lint of this variety, viz. Roseum, 

 anuTtTas ^oulk " Rv *° reCOmmend ifc - It is clean, its colour is good, 

 of at least R. i* y S rowin £ it the cultivator makes an extra profit 

 the Department \f r T^ There is a keen dc ™ a « d for this variety and 

 vL^^&^*™& * ? eed F "™ - d Co-operative Seed 



each yearToTtlio wft!^ fr ° m ^ to 2 million P° und * of Roseum seed 



less tC 7C?.(S) a" res Ttf-T' / he area Unde ' thi * n6W variety * « 



w,wu acres. Its introduction has added at least one crore 



^ 



the Ag^gSTj'^j 1 g« J* 1 in ext ^° * «» ingress number ef 



