26 



Madras.— In 1893-4 when the collector at 

 Coimbatore raised the question of destroying 

 Opuntias in this way, the Government of Madras 

 stated that this method had been under considera- 

 tion for a long time. In 1896 it was suggested 

 that the matter should be investigated. 



The usual method of using prickly-pear as a 

 soil fertiliser is as follows :— Shallow pits are dug, 

 the pear being thrown into them during the rainy 

 season and then covered with a layer of earth 

 18 inches to 3 feet in depth. After some six or 

 more months, the plants are more or less fully 

 converted into humus, the thorns alone remain- 

 ing. Fields thus treated have been found to 

 produce more and better sorghum, plantains, and 

 sugar-cane than untreated land* at Veleapatty 

 and Kunnathur in the Coimbatore district. M. 

 E. Punchapicasa, Forest Department, Coimbatore, 

 told us that this practice is still followed there, 

 and is found especially useful in obtaining a good 

 crop of sorghum. Mr. H. Sampson, the Director 

 of Agriculture at Trichinopoly, informed the 

 Commission that he had frequently seen local 

 farmers using decaying plants with benefit as a 

 manure for Pennisetum and sorghum crops. He 

 also mentioned that his predecessor, Mr. Butter- 

 worth, had reported that in one district prickly- 

 pear was so extensively used as manure that 

 people could not obtain sufficient of it to meet 

 their requirements. 



G. Gfirimaji Rao, of Kolar, Mysore, in an 

 article on Prickly-pear written in 1911, t gave 

 details of a similar local procedure. 



He stated that the plants are cut down and 

 then thrown into large trenches, a layer of earth 

 about 2 feet in thickness being used to cover them. 

 Care is taken to destroy any new growth which 

 makes its appearance on the surface. After about 

 six months' decay, a very good manure is obtained, 

 its quality improving if it be left for a longer 

 period. This manure was found to be especially 

 beneficial for such crops as ground nut, rabi, 

 sugar-cane, betel vine, and dry-land paddy. 

 Owing to its use in this way. Prickly-pear has 

 been almost eradicated in the Kolar district, 

 Mysore. 



Dr. Coleman, Director of the Mysore Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, informed the Commission 

 that investigations were to be carried out to test 

 the value of the plant as a fertiliser. 



In the Bellary district, where prickly-pear 

 has been similarly used, inquiry elicited the fact 

 that its decay was found to be promoted by the 

 application of a certain amount of lime. 



Bombay Presidency. — W. H. A. Wallingerjt 

 the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Poena, had, 

 as early as 1876, in a pamphlet ' ' Concerning the 

 Opuntia vulgaris — the prickly-pear — as a natural 

 preserver of plants and trees, as a powerful and 

 valuable vegetable manure, . . . . " called 

 attention to this method of utilising 0. nigricans, 

 which he had found to be beneficial in the case of 

 poor soils. He also mentioned that the superin- 

 tendent of the Government Botanical Gardens at 



* Proo. Bd. Eevenue, Madras, No. 135, 17 June, 1896. 

 p. 3. 



t Translation from the " Mysore Revenue and Aeri- 

 oultural Gazette," VI., Nov. 1911, p. 23, sqq. 



t Folio, Gov. Central Press, Bombay, 1876. 



Ganesh Kind, near Poona, had deposited the pear 

 in tlie irrigation tanks, where it decomposed 

 readily, the resulting material being distributed 

 in the irrigating water. 



Professor Knight, of the Poona Agricultural 

 College, informed the Commission that he had 

 carried out experiments with 0. nigricans as a 

 fertiliser, but that the results obtained so far had 

 hardly paid for the cost of the work. Mr. Gamie, 

 the Imperial cotton expert, who also was seen in 

 the Poona district, stated that this method of 

 employing Prickly-pear did not add much humus 

 to the soil. 



The Commission noticed that, though the 

 practice of using Opuntias in this way was not 

 general, yet it is carried on in many places, as, 

 for example, in the Caveri Valley. That they 

 are not used to a much greater degree, is due to 

 the presence of abundant spines on both species 

 of Prickly-pear prevalent in the drier regions of 

 India. These thorns remain intact, even after 

 having been embedded in the ground for a long 

 time, and consequently would constitute a danger 

 to the barefooted agriculturists, especially in the 

 case of wet cultivation {e.g., rice growing). 



It may be added that this drawback to the 

 use of Prickly-pear as an ameliorator of the soil 

 would, by reason of a lesser development of spines 

 on its prevalent species, be far less felt in Queens- 

 land than in India, should its employment for 

 the purpose mentioned be found expedient. 



The following account of an attempt to over- 

 come this difficulty was brought under our notice 

 by V. Patthasaradhy Chetty, Deputy Collector 

 of the Trichinopoly district: — 



Recognising the value of the pulped plant 

 for rice fields, an English company, having a Mr. 

 Miller as its Director, had, some ten years pre- 

 viously, leased from a Zemindary at Sivagunga, 

 in the Madras district, certain lands infested 

 with Prickly-pear, which it was proposed to pass 

 through rollers so hea\'j' that not only would 

 the Prieklj'-pear be reduced but that the thorns 

 Avould be crushed. It was not ascertainable at 

 the time whether these operations had been 

 successfully carried out by the company. 



The accessibility of other plants capable of 

 supplying humus — e.g., the "Neem" {Melia), 

 Pongamia glabra. Cassia auriculata, Calatropis 

 sp., the wild indigo, &c., has in many districts 

 rendered unnecessary the use of the locally 

 growing Opuntias for the purpose. 



UTILISATION OF THE FIBRE. 



It was not observed during the limited 

 time available, that the woody fibrous portion of 

 the Prickly-pear was anywhere put to an 

 economic use other than its limited one as a fuel 

 constituent. Sir G. Watt (1891) has not only 

 included Prickly-pear amongst " The Economic 

 plants of India," but concerning its fibre has 

 stated as follows: — 



"A coarse kind of fibre can be obtained from 

 Opuntia dillenii which it has been sug- 

 gested might prove useful as a paper 

 material, and Dr. Bride, speaking of this 



