June, 1912.] 



533 



Scientific Agriculture. 



green manure would probably prove 

 decidedly profitable. Other and cheaper 

 poonacs might be profitably substituted 

 for castor, 



5. Saltpetre is not a profitable manure 

 for paddy and has produced no decided 

 increase in the yield over unmanured 

 plots. It has been uniformly at a great 

 loss. 



6. A complete artificial fertiliser com- 

 posed of saltpetre, basic slag, potassium 

 sulphate while producing a decided in- 

 crease in the yield was, owing to the 

 dearness of the manures, used at a great 

 loss. 



7. In general it seems fairly clear that 

 organic manures rich in nitrogen which 

 can be obtained cheaply or at a moderate 

 price are the ones to be recommended for 

 use in paddy cultivation. The results 

 obtained by the use of milled fish in 

 Madras bear out this statement, The 

 use of costly artificial manures which, in 

 the minds of many who have a smatter- 

 ing of information ou agricultural 

 subjects, have a special virtue, cannot at 

 all be recommended in the light of our 

 present experience. The use of bone 

 meal as a manure for paddy has been 

 shown to be advantageous in other parts 

 of India and in Japan and might be tried 

 with advantage here especially in con- 

 nection with green manures. The use of 

 lime in small quantities along with green 

 manures is also a question which will 

 receive the attention of the Agricultural 

 Department in experiments now being 

 planned, 



8. The results of the rotation experi- 

 ments are not such as to yiald us definite 

 information. It seems probable, how- 

 ever, that the rotation of paddy with a 

 suitable leguminous crop would be pro- 

 fitable. 



9. The salt water method of selecting 

 paddy seed which is widely practised in 

 Japan appears to be a practical method 

 for bringing about a decided increase in 

 the yield which can be applied at very 

 slight expense by any land-holder or 

 raiyat io Mysore. 



Some Results of Demonstrations op 

 Greenmanuring and Single 

 Seedling Transplantation 

 in Kadur and Shimoga 

 Districts. 

 As a result of a tour of inspection in 

 the western part of the State during the 

 autumn of 1910, it was decided to carry 

 out demonstrations of single seedling 

 transplantation and green manuring for 

 paddy at various centres in the western 

 part of Kadur District and the south- 

 western part of Shimoga District. Later 

 in the spring of 1911, similar work was 

 taken up in co-operation with the 

 Kadur District Agricultural Association 

 in villages in the neighbourhood of 

 Chikmatjalur. The results are, at the 

 time of going to press, only partially 

 p,vailable but as those which have been 

 received are decidedly interesting I have 

 thought it desirable to include them 

 here. 



Single Seedling Transplantation. 



The areas that were available for 

 single seedling transplantation were 

 usually small but, as far as possible, 

 areas of about one-tenth acre were 

 selected. These have, in each case, been 

 compared with equal areas near by 

 which were transplanted according to 

 the local custom. The number of seed- 

 lings usually planted together differs 

 very greatly in different parts, varying 

 from about seven seedlings per bunch at 

 Yedahalli to about forty per bunch at 

 Agumbe, The reason usually given for 

 planting such a large number of seedlings 

 together is the danger of the seedlings 

 being washed away by the heavy mon- 

 soon rains. In only one case was this 

 difficulty experienced in the single seed- 

 ling plots, viz,, at Nalur where replant- 

 ing had to be done. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that where one officer 

 has to conduct demonstrations of this 

 character over a tract over thirty miles 

 wide he cannot stop and choose the most 

 favourable weather for transplanting in 

 any one place. 



The following table gives the results 

 of the single seedling transplantations 

 as far as they are up to the present 

 available s-* 



