January, 1910.] 



05 



Miscellaneous, 



Dr. H. M. Fernando moved that the 

 recommendations of the Tobacco Com- 

 mittee be adopted. 



The Hon. Mr. P. C. Loos seconded, and 

 the motion was carried. 



THE CEYLON AGRICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



Memorandum on a Tour in South India 



(Nov. 29— Dec. 17, 1909). 

 Read before the Board of Agriculture, 

 December 18th, 1909, 



Believing that it would be a good thing 

 to show some of our Instructors the 

 work going on at one or more of the 

 Agricultural stations in India (which 

 with the enormous resources it com- 

 mands and the settled policy it has 

 adopted, presents special opportunities 

 for study to those who are concerned 

 with the improvement of native agri- 

 cultural methods), I conceived the idea 

 of conducting a short tour in Southern 

 India accompanied by the two senior 

 Instructors ; and I feel grateful for the 

 sanction which H. E. the President gave 

 to my proposal that we should visit the 

 Koilpati Agricultural Station and the 

 Home Farm at Sivagiri. 



The futility of attempting to effect 

 agricultural reforms among a conser- 

 vative people, wedded to 



THE SETTLED PRACTICES OF AGES, 



by the wholesale introduction of the 

 methods and appliances of another 

 nation with which they have little in 

 common, has been proved too often. 

 The more rational policy is undoubtedly 

 an evolutionary one which seeks to 

 bring about the gradual improvement of 

 existing methods and appliances. The 

 Imperial Agricultural Department of 

 India, working on these lines is endea- 

 vouring in the first instance to spread a 

 knowledge, and popularise the practice, 

 of all that is best in the Empire before 

 looking to outside sources for means of 

 impi'ovement, and it is surprising how 

 much good work has been done in 

 this way. 



I selected the two stations referred 

 to above owing to the fact that the one 

 illustrates the system of cultivation 

 recommended for dry lands, and the 

 other for wet lands. 



The Koilpati farm is conveniently 

 situated about a mile from the Railway 

 station of the same name. This insti- 

 tution is one of three working under 

 Mr. H. C. Sampson, Deputy Director of 

 Agriculture for the Southern Division 

 of the Madras Presidency, whose head- 

 quarters are Trichinopoly. Of the other 

 two stations one is at Palur, a 



CENTRE OP THE GROUNDNUT AREA, 

 and the other at Talliparamba in the 

 Malabar country where the principal 

 crops are paddy and pepper. Koilpati 

 is the centre of an important cotton 

 district. 



The permanent staff at the station 

 consists of a Manager, two assistants, 

 and a clerk, besides watchers, overseers, 

 and coolies. 



The farm is 140 acres in extent, and is 

 made up of a black soil tract of 115 acre?, 

 and a red soil of 25 acres, The farm 

 stock couaist of 8 pairs of working bulls, 

 chiefly Congayum cattle, noted for their 

 strength and endurance, and costing 

 from Rs. 150 to Rs. 250 a pair. 



The station is allowed an annual vote 

 of Rs. 5,000, more than half of which is 

 recovered in one way or another. The 

 average rainfall at Koilpati is 25 inches. 

 The implements used are of the simplest 

 description, consisting of the country 

 plough and three other appliances 

 employed in the Northern districts, viz., 

 the seed drill or " gorru," the blade culti- 

 vator or " guntaka," and a combination 

 of blade hoes called the " Dantalu." 



The ordinary method of cultivation 

 by the ryot is entirely dependent on the 

 plough which is used to prepare the 

 land for sowing, cover the seed, and for 

 stirring the soil and thinning out after 

 the plants are up. 



By the use of the three other imple- 

 ments named much more 



SYSTEMATIC AND SATISFACTORY WORK 



is possible. The seed drill enables the 

 seed to be sown in straight rows in 

 narrow furrows opened out by the tines 

 runuing in front of the tubes (of bamboo 

 or tin) through which the seeds are 

 dropped. The drill is constructed to 

 sow from 2 to 6 rows, and is worked by a 

 pair of bullocks, a driving man and a 

 boy feeding the seed. After the drill 

 comes the blade cultivator which acts as 

 a harrow and covers the seed. 



The blade hoes are employed for weed- 

 ing and stirring the soil while the crop 

 is growing, the regular sowing allowing 

 of inter-cultivation resulting in a soil- 

 mulch which is so important a provision 

 in dry cultivation. A set of these imple- 

 ments — which I have secured— costs only 

 Rs. 15 on the spot. They are easily made 

 and repaired, and should at least serve 

 us as models. 



The station is chiefly concerned 

 with the 



IMPROVEMENT OF COTTON CULTIVATION, 



and the importance of this work may be 

 judged from the fact that there are 

 about If million acr es under this crop in 



