148 



[August, 1912. 



Work on the above lines should result 

 in the production of a stable agricul- 

 tural type which alone should form the 

 basis of future seed distribution. 



II. The Testing of Varieties. 



In the testing of vai'ieties of crops 

 which cross-fertilize there are special 

 difficulties to be borne in mind. The 

 seed of different varieties grown side 

 by side cannot be employed for the 

 production of pure seed. For the same 

 reason variety trials should not be con- 

 ducted on seed farms unless special pre- 

 cautions are taken to isolate the plots 

 from which the pure seed will be 

 derived, 



III. The Maintenance op Pure Types. 



The Committee lay great stress on 

 the maintenance, by the Botanist in each 

 Province, of a collection of the improved 

 types introduced into general cultiv- 

 ation by the Local Department. This 

 collection will serve as a source from 

 which pure seed can be obtained when- 

 ever it is necessary to restock the seed 

 farms. 



IV. Distribution to Cultivators. 



The Committee are of opinion that 

 the following main principles should 

 guide the work of the Agricultural De- 

 partment in the growth and distribution 

 of seed to cultivators in India. These are 



1. The desirability of concentrating 

 the efforts of the department on one or 

 two well-defined problems at a time 

 rather than wasting its resources on 

 indiscriminate seed distribution. 



2. The desirability of confining the 

 work of seed distribution in any one 

 tract as far as possible to one sort and 

 of systematically replacing existing 

 mixtures by this pure type. This is 

 particularly necessary in the case of 

 cross-fertilized plants where degener- 

 ation through vicinism is of such great 

 importance. The distribution of one sort 

 only has the further advantage of 

 creating large supplies of one particular 

 type and thus forming a trade centre 

 for this produce and attracting buyers, 



3. The necessity of utilizing to the 

 utmost the piesent staff and resources 

 of the department, and of supplementing 

 this by enlisting the assistance of lead- 

 ing agriculturists in the work of seed 

 growing and seed distribution in the 

 tracts concerned. 



Madras and Central Province 

 as Examples. 

 Applying these principles to the 

 present projects in India, it was felt 

 that Madras and the Central Province 

 supply the most useful examples of suc- 

 cessful seed distribution which deserve 

 the closest possible attention on the part 

 of all concerned in this work. 



Among the successful schemes of seed 

 distribution in Madras the replacement 

 of the mixed crop by a pure Karungani 

 cotton in Tinnevelly District is a notable 

 achievement. This variety, originally 

 found in a pure cotton tract, was tested 

 on the Koilpatti Farm and proved to 

 be a great advance on the local mixture. 

 A system of seed distribution was then 

 gradually built up, and, at the present 

 time, after five years' work, there are 

 80,000 acres of this cotton in the district. 

 The agricultural farm grows sufficient 

 cotton to supply the contract seed 

 growers and buys the unginned seed 

 from these men, gins it and arranges the 

 distribution of the seed to the village 

 depots before the sowing season. Each 

 depot supplies two or three villages, and 

 a suitable man is selected as the depot- 

 keeper who retails the seed under depart- 

 mental supervision at a fixed rate and on 

 a commission of annas four per bag. The 

 village is regarded as the unit, and every 

 effort is made to get all the growers in 

 each village to take up the seed. It is 

 important to notice that the procedure 

 follows that of the best seed growers in 

 Europe, and that the seed grown by the 

 contractors is under strict control and 

 comes back to the department every 

 year. 



In the Central Provinces, equally 

 striking examples are furnished by the 

 Agricultural Department. In the cotton 

 tracts the work of seed distribution is 

 confined to two suitable kinds, and a 

 fairly large supply of seed is produced 

 on the Government farms which is distil* 



