APRIL, 1912.] 



841 



Scientific Agriculture. 



mended:— One ounce of mercuric oint- 

 ment, one-half ounce sulphur, one-half 

 ounce crude petroleum, two ounces lard ; 

 mix thoroughly and keep from air. 

 Apply with the finger, rubbing a little 

 into the down of the head and throat 

 of the chick when hatched. Avoid too 

 liberal use, as a little is all that is 

 necessary. This will, at all events, des- 

 troy the head lice, whether the disease 

 is pre\ented or not. 



A much-used remedy is to take a 

 horse hair and twist it, thus forming 

 a loop. Insert this iu the windpipe and 

 twist around, then withdraw. Many ot 

 the worms will have been caught in 

 the loop and detached. Ground, when 

 once occupied by diseased chicks, is 

 claimed to be dangerous for chicks for 

 some years it not disinfected, as the 

 worm, when coughed up will remain in 

 the ground for some years. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



THE PRINCIPLES OP PADDY 

 MANURING. 



Part I. 



(Prom Bulletin No. 63. Vol. III., of 

 the Department of Agriculture, Madras.) 



In the manuring of crops many factois 

 come into operation, and it is only after 

 a careful consideration of these that a 

 manure suited to the needs of a crop 

 and the soil on which it is grown can be 

 selected. The chemical and physical pro- 

 perties of the soil, the particular require- 

 ments of the crop grown, the type of 

 soil and the methods of cultivation em- 

 ployed are -among the most important 

 factors to be taken into account, and as 

 many of these apply with particular 

 force to paddy cultivation, they deter- 

 mine to a very large extent the kind ot 

 manure employed and the manner of 

 applying it. 



Paddy cultivation as practised in 

 Southern India differs essentially from 

 ordinary cultivation in that (1) the land 

 is prepared for the reception of the crop 

 by a system of puddling, and (2) the land 

 is kept flooded and therefore saturated 

 with water during the greater part of 

 the growing season. These two factors 

 dominate the whole of the conditions 

 under which paddy is grown and their 

 effect on the soil and the plant must 

 receive careful consideration if the 

 manuring of paddy is to be placed on a 

 rational basis. 



The puddling of paddy land previous 

 to transplanting affects the physical 



condition of the soil mainly by bringing 

 about the disintegration of the soil 

 particles, and thus increasing their 

 number and producing a finer and more 

 clayey texture. This effect is not con- 

 fined to the first few years after a soil is 

 brought under paddy, but continues so 

 long as the land is thus utilized, so 

 that unless counteracting influences are 

 brought to bear, a paddy soil tends to 

 become heavier in character as years go 

 on. This is well shown by certain 

 analyses carried out at Chaganoor in the 

 Bellary district. Here the ordinary dry 

 soil bordering some isolated paddy-fields 

 contained approximately thirteen mil- 

 lions of particles in every gram of soil, 

 whereas the land which had been under 

 paddy cultivation for about four years 

 contained 14^ millions and land which 

 had long carried paddy crops millions. 

 Further, it is an invariable rule that 

 paddy land has a finer texture and heavier 

 character than the surrounding dry 

 lands. The fact that paddy cultivation 

 produces a heavier and closer soil being 

 thus demonstrated, the first problem 

 which presents itself in the manuring of 

 such lands is the question of using 

 manures which will tend to counteract 

 this effect. Should the object aimed at 

 in manuring produce a lighter ani 

 coarser soil and so counteract the efforts 

 of the methods of cultivation, or should 

 the manure act by accentuating these 

 effects ? 



This problem can be solved by employ- 

 ing the principles which apply to dry 



