Miscellaneous, 



538 



(June, 1910. 



winnowers; horse-hoes and ploughs and 

 hopes are entertained of the extension 

 of the use of hand-hoes and seed drills. 

 The first step has been to show the 

 machine working on a farm or at fairs. 

 In the case of the reaper the demonstra- 

 tion took the form of offering to reap 

 the crops of private cultivators at a 

 fixed price and this has led to the 

 purchase of a large number of reapers 

 by private persons. The cultivators 

 being entirely new to machinery, every 

 assistance has been given by forming 

 classes for teaching village mechanics 

 and farm labourers the management and 

 adjustment of machines, by visiting 

 purchasers frequently and removing 

 difficulties in the field, b> providing 

 mechanics competent to execute repairs, 

 by showing purchasers how to organise 

 their labour to the best advantage, by 

 issuing, where necessary, pamphlets of 

 instructions and by sending out men to 

 see that machines are properly stored 

 during the off-season. 



United Provinces.— Demonstration 

 farms have not been markedly successful 

 in the United Provinces, but some good 

 results have been obtained on private 

 farms conducted on similar lines. For 

 instance, the Meerut Farm has been the 

 means of popularising oats, and the Jatau 

 Farm near Agra (now replaced by one 

 at Phariha) has introduced Muzaf- 

 farnagar wheat. The Jalaun Farm in 

 Bundelkhand. whilst primarily an experi- 

 mental farm, has successfully started 

 the introduction of groundnuts. In- 

 cidentally the experimental farm at 

 Partabgarh has served for demons- 

 tration in the improved methods of 

 cultivating sugarcane. On the whole, 

 however, small plots in the hands of 

 cultivators have been more effective 

 than actual farms under the control of 

 the department. By this means Muzaf- 

 farnagar white wheat has been introdu- 

 ced into a large number of districts as a 

 preliminary to the extension of seed 

 depots. 



Eastebn Bengal and Assam.— In 

 Eastern Bengal and Assam demons- 

 trations in the spraying of potatoes as a 

 preventive of disease and in the use of 

 bone-meal and saltpetre as manures 

 for paddy have been carried out on 

 cultivators ' holdings. The method 

 which is being followed is for the farm 

 superintendent to go out and select the 

 land, then one or more demonstrators 

 who are the sons of cultivators trained 

 at an experimental station are sent out 

 to conduct the demonstration. It is 

 found that cultivators, especially in the 

 Khasi Hills, welcome these demons- 

 trations and are eager for more. 



It is obvious that full details of the 

 results obtained by demonstrations of 

 whatever kind are not given in the 

 preceding paragraphs. The information 

 given is only a sketch of some of the 

 successes obtained. It appears probable 

 that the establishment of demonstration 

 plots or farms on lines similar to those 

 adopted in the Central Provinces is 

 likely to prove very useful in many 

 other places. The sympathy and in- 

 terest of the cultivators should, however, 

 first have been won ; without this the 

 method is not likely to have any very 

 marked success. 



IV.— Village Agencies. 

 It has always been a problem of con- 

 siderable difficulty in connection with 

 the introduction of new implements, to 

 get such as are of undoubted value, 

 adopted by the cultivators, but the 

 institution of village agencies as devised 

 in the United Provinces promises success. 

 These are managed by local agents with 

 whom implements are placed and from 

 whom they can be hired out or sold. 

 Before the agency is established the 

 particular implement is always demons- 

 trated carefully to cultivators on the 

 spot. A member of the staff of the 

 Agricultural Department then visits 

 such agencies from time to time, accom- 

 panied by a mistri who can repair the 

 implements. He also visits the culti- 

 vators who have adopted them, ascer- 

 tains whether they are working satis- 

 factorily and arranges for such repairs 

 as are necessary. Arrangements are 

 now being made to train village mistries 

 at Cawnpore in the work of repairing 

 the simpler implements. For such use- 

 ful implements as chaff-cutters, etc., a 

 stock of spare parts on the spot has been 

 found essential. A register is kept of 

 all those who buy the implements, and 

 an occasional note is sent out enquir- 

 ing whether cultivators are satisfied. 

 Various implements have been distri- 

 buted by this means. Village agencies 

 have not yet, however, been tried long 

 enough to enable a definite opinion to be 

 formed of their utility, but they seem to 

 fill a distinct want. 



V.— Vernacular Agricultural 

 Journals. 



Vernacular AgriculturalJournals have 

 been established in several parts of 

 India by the Agricultural Departments. 



United Provinces — In the United 

 Provinces a monthly vernacular paper 

 of six to ten pages edited by the Assis- 

 tant Director of the Department is 

 published at Cawnpore. It has been 

 successful in arousing general interest in 



