December, 1912.] 



437 



BURMA. 



Report of the Agricultural Department. 



The Report of the Director (Mr. MacKenna) for the year ended June 

 30th, 1912, is to hand, and has as its chief heads : Agricultural Edu- 

 cation, Agricultural Research and Experiment, Demonstration, Publi- 

 cations and the supply of information. 



In Agricultural Education a small beginning has been made in training 

 District Agriculturists by taking them through a short course of lectures 

 and practical work in Agriculture, Chemistry, Botany and Entomology: 

 while a hand book on School Gardening is about to be issued with a view 

 no doubt of developing work on lines similar to those adopted in Ceylon. 



Under Agricultural Research and Experiment a system of Agricultural 

 Surveys, which are mainly crop Surveys, has been established in order to 

 collect information so as to organise work on the most correct lines. At 

 the two Agricultural Stations (one iu Mandalay and auotheT at Hmawbi) 

 attention has been given to seed production with a view chiefly to meet 

 the large demand for improved and selected seed-paddy. While these 

 Stations or Farms are doing excellent work, the Experimental Gardens do 

 not appear to have been much of a success, though from a financial point 

 of view they have more than met the cost of their upkeep. 



The rapidity with which the ground-nut industry came to be estab- 

 lished in Burmah is well known. The area under the crop during the year 

 was 142,316 acres against 102,232 in the previous year. 



The record of cotton experiments with the object of introducing exotic 

 varieties is reported to be one of complete failure ; the only satisfactory 

 results being those obtained with Cambodia cotton (the variety that has 

 taken so well in the Madras Presidency) which gave a yield of about 

 108 lbs. clean cotton per acre. 



As regards tobacco the average export of the manufactured product 

 for the last five years has been close on 3,000 tons, that for the year under 

 review figuring out at nearly 5,000 tons. This represents an average 

 annual area of some 80,000 acres under the crop. The Department has for 

 some time been distributing Havana and Virginia seed among growers 

 and the Director is of opinion that the distribution has had a marked effect 

 on the tobacco supply of the country. 



Under rubber we read that the planting up of new estates is going on 

 with vigour though it is feared without due regard to suitability of 

 conditions. 



Lemon grass cultivation is attracting some attention and locally ex- 

 tracted oil is fetching 50 cts. per oz. on the spot. 



During the year the Department had numerous indents for castor 

 seed which bids fair to become an important crop in the Province. 



Experiments with soya bean were disappointing. 



The Director speaks hopefully of the new Department as having set- 

 tled down to useful and practical work with a better understanding of 

 the special lines to be adopted, and expresses his conviction that in Co- 

 operative Credit Societies the Department recognises an agency which 

 will be of great assistance in giving practical effect to its recommen- 

 dations— an opinion in which we entirely concur, 



