{Miscellaneous- 



362 



[April 1908. 



of sowing in furrows instead of broad- 

 cast, and of intercultivation, have proved 

 of value ; in tracts, such as Broach, 

 where no improvements can yet be 

 suggested in cultivation, it is believed 

 that hybridisation and selection of seed 

 may improve the indigenous stocks ; and 

 everywhere there is imperative need of 

 the assistance of the entomologist. Few 

 plants have a more arduous struggle for 

 existence against the ravages of insects 

 than the cotton. A.s the season goes on, 

 its enemies multiply ; if climatic con- 

 ditions favour the propagation of insects 

 and retard the maturity of the cotton- 

 boll, the result will be disaster. 



The most destructive pests are the boll- 

 worm, the red cotton-bug, and the aphis. 

 Fortunately, India does not possess the 

 American cotton-boll weevil, which has 

 exterminated the cotton plant from 

 large areas in the United States, and 

 which in 1905 was computed to have 

 caused the loss of cotton to the value of 

 £4£ millions. Protective action has not 

 before been taken in India against the 

 importation of plant diseases, and the 

 measures which now enforce the fumiga- 

 tion of consignments of American cotton 

 seed may be placed to the credit of the 

 new department. 



In regard to insect pests, the native 

 cultivator is remarkably ignorant and 

 entirely helpless. Many simple and 

 efficacious remedies have been suggested 

 by the Imperial entomologist, the general 

 adoption of which would be of immense 

 benefit to agriculture. 



Before I leave the subject of cotton, I 

 may refer to a fact of some antiquarian 

 interest to this Society. Within the last 

 few years there has sprung up a large 

 export of cotton seed to England, 

 amounting last year to 220,000 tons. An 

 edible oil is expressed, and the residue, 

 sold as Bombay cotton cake, is a cheap 

 and valuable food for cattle. Thus there 

 has recently been carried into effect an 

 industrial project which was recommend- 

 ed by this Society 120 years ago, when in 

 the year 1785 it offered a premium for a 

 machine which Avould convert cotton 

 seed into oil cake. 



Food Supply. 

 The tear is sometimes expressed in 

 India that the inciease of population 

 will shortly overtake the supply of food- 

 crops in the country, and alarmists point 

 with apprehension both|to the exports of 

 wheat and rice, and the increasing 

 cultivation of fibres, oilseeds, and other 

 non-food crops. 



Great changes are occurring in rural 

 economy and vast vistas of speculation 

 open before us. The rise in the prices of 



agricultural produce demands enquiry. 

 Is it due to temporary or permanent 

 causes ? and what will be the effects ? 

 In Eastern Bengal, we hear of tne pros- 

 perity induced by the boom in jute 

 raising the standard of comfort, and 

 thus reacting on prices. If enhanced 

 prices lighten the burden of the obliga- 

 tions of the farmer, what of the labourer 

 and other sections of the community ? 

 Will the plague improve the position of 

 the labourer, as the Black Death did in 

 England ? Not only in areas stricken by 

 the plague, but in industrial centres, and 

 irrigational colonies, complaint is made 

 of the death of supplies of labour. 



No man will be so rash as to maintain 

 that the agricultural future of India is 

 free from peril, but this at least may be 

 said that whatever dangers may be in 

 store, would only be enhanced by any 

 attempt to interfere with the freedom of 

 action of the cultivator. Nor do the 

 statistics support the view that India 

 is within measurable distance of the 

 catastrophe of a shortage of food-stuffs ; 

 185 millions of acres in British India are 

 under rice, wheat, millets, and pulses, 

 and far more than suffice to feed the 240 

 millions of people dependent thereon. 



A few years ago Lord Curzon, in- 

 vestigating the larger question of the 

 expansion of cultivation as a whole, 

 found that in the previous twenty years 

 it had kept pace with the increase of 

 population. At the same time Lord 

 Curzon was led to emphasise the im- 

 portance of the development of the 

 irrigational resources of India " as the 

 most efficient factor in the increase of 

 agricultural production." At a later 

 date he would surely have coupled with 

 irrigation the application of science to 

 agriculture. We know already that 

 systematic observation and scientific 

 experiment can suggest improvements, 

 and we can judge of the effect of the 

 smallest improvement it it can be applied 

 over an area of 185 million acres. 



Oilseeds form another important 

 division. Sesamum, rape, mustard, lin- 

 seed and groundnut had last year an 

 area of 14,000,000 acres, an outturn of 2 

 million tons, and a value of £2,0 million. 

 The examination of these crops can 

 scai'cely be said to have begun, and the 

 possibilities of improvement cannot yet 

 be guaged. 



Minor Products. 



We must leave on one side the numerous 

 minor products of India ; the spices and 

 gums which were the earliest attractions 

 of the merchant adventurers ; the lesser 

 or more speculative fibres such as hemp 

 and agaves, in which men seek substi- 



