April, 1910.] 



307 



Fibres, 



tion iu the neighbourhood, In March, 

 1907, when the cotton-picking was at its 

 height, Mr. Couchman, Director of Agri- 

 culture, and Mr. Wood, Deputy Director 

 of Agriculture, who then had charge of 

 this division when inspecting this station, 

 assembled the neighbouring: ryots. The 

 methods of cultivation were explained 

 to them, the farm crops were compared 

 with those Outside, and the implements 

 were shown at work and even handled 

 by the ryots. Several of them there and 

 then promised to try this method of 

 cultivation if assistance were given them. 

 The very roughness in the workmanship 

 of the implements pleased them, as such 

 work could easily be turned out by their 

 own carpenters and blacksmiths. But 

 there were many obstacles to be over- 

 come before such a revolutionary change 

 iu the methods of cultivation could be 

 brought about. Instead of sowing cotton 

 broadcast, covering with the plough and 

 doing the after-cultivation with hand- 

 hoes, it was sought to introduce the 

 practice of sowing in rows with the 

 bamboo seed-drill covering the seed 

 with the blade cultivator and doing the 

 after-cultivation with the small blade 

 bullock-hoes. All these implements, 

 though common in the Northern Districts 

 and in other parts of India, are unknown 

 in the south of Madras. When it was 

 decided to take steps to introduce this 

 system of cultivation, there were only 

 two coolies in the District who knew 

 how to work these implements, and these 

 were only local men who had been 

 trained on the Koilpatty Agricultural 

 Station, and who only knew that parti- 

 cular class of soil. Therefore, it was 

 decided to bring down men who had 

 been used, all their lives, to these imple- 

 ments from the Bellary District. Ac- 

 cordingly, some 26 sets of implements 

 were made during the hot-weather 

 months, ready to be lent out to ryots, 

 and six Bellary men" were sent down at 

 the beginning of September (six weeks 

 before the sowing season). In the first 

 year, about 200 acres were sown on 

 ryots' fields with the drill. In the year 

 1908-09. a similar allotment was made 

 for cotton improvement, and it was 

 decided to continue this work as well as 

 to introduce seed farms for growing pure 

 Karangani cotton of the strain selected 

 on the Koilpatty Agricultural Station. 

 This gave an opportunity of spreading 

 this system of cultivation further afield 

 than Koilpatty, but was a much more 

 difficult matter to arrange, as in many 

 parts of the District, the Department 

 was unknown, and the Agricultural 

 Station at Koilpatty had not been heard 

 of. In order to cope with this work 

 as well as the extension, probably on 



the success of the previous year's oper- 

 ations, several new hands had to be train- 

 ed. This meant a very careful selection. 

 Apart from the seed farms and demon- 

 stration plots, there has been a rapid 

 extension of drill sowing in the villages 

 around Koilpatty, where some 500 acres 

 have been sown. One village alone 

 accounted for more than 230 acres, while 

 two more each had over 70 acres. In 

 a few cases outlying ryots have also 

 sown, having either seen the farm crops 

 last year or the crops of ryots who 

 had sown with the drill the previous 

 season. Including the seed farms there 

 is an area of about 1,000 acres this year 

 sown with the drill. The mere fact of 

 sowing is, however, by no means every- 

 thing. Each " ryot " who has sown has to 

 be seen constantly. He has to be induced 

 to thin, and shown, when and how, to use 

 the bullock-hoe. As the thinning and, 

 very often, the hoeing clash with other 

 farm-work, the " ryots " are often unwill- 

 ing at the time tc do so. This means con- 

 siderable patience and tact in dealing with 

 them. Thinning especially goes against 

 the grain, for the "ryot" says, " It is 

 like taking the life of my children to 

 pull these plants which have grown," 

 but still this must be done if this system 

 of cultivation is not to degenerate into 

 that of the Bellary District where the 

 seed-rate is more than double that used 

 in Tinnevelly and no thinning is done, 

 Many of the wives and children of the 

 Koilpatty cooly staff who are employed 

 for casual labour on the Agricultural 

 Station, were sent out with one of the 

 Assistant Managers to show "ryots" 

 how to thin their crops. Small boys 

 are probably the best, as their youth 

 favours them in their training, and 

 they can do the work with that un- 

 conscious confidence which always ap- 

 peals to a "ryot." With all the success 

 already obtained in this introduction 

 it is by no means certain yet whether 

 this method of cultivation, if now left 

 to itself, would last. The questions 

 which next present themselves are : 

 (1) when should the Department with- 

 draw its help, and (2) how to leave 

 the work on a substantial basis. This 

 is, of course, looking into the future, 

 but it seems necessary that the Depart- 

 ment should give some concession, if 

 the " ryots " do the same. The proposal 

 next season is that the Department 

 should lend one set of implements to 

 the village for every one that the village 

 is prepared to make, provided that ( 

 acres are sown with the two sets, and 

 if the villagers themselves guarantee 

 to sow 200 acres with the drill, the 

 service of a trained coolie will be leDt 

 to them for the season, 



