August, 1908.] 



149 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



USE OF DRIED COW-DUNG AS 

 FUEL IN INDIA. 



The common practice among the 

 natives of India of using air-dried cow- 

 dung as fuel has frequently been con- 

 demned on the ground of the loss of the 

 nitrogenous constituents which are of 

 value as manure, and samples of this 

 material have been sent to the Imperial 

 Institute recently for examination with 

 a view to ascertaining whether or not 

 the calorific value of this material is high 

 enough to warrant its use in this way 

 now that coal is becoming relatively 

 cheap in many parts of India. 



The sample consisted of flat cakes of 

 air-dried material, containing fragments 

 of dry fibrous vegetable matter and a 

 considerable proportion of soil. 



The examination of the sample gave 

 the following results : — 



Calorific value 2,045 calories.* 



per cent- 

 Phosphoric anhydride Pa Cb (MG 

 Lime ... ... Ca 4-88 



Magnesia... ... M 0-94 



Potash ... ... K 1-60 



Soda ... ... Na 2 068 



Nitrogen... ... N 0'04 



Ash ... ... ... 52-96 



The calorific value of the dry cow-dung 

 is therefore about one-third of that of 

 Indian coal, which generally ranges from 

 6,000 to 7,000 calories. 



The manurial value of the cow-dung 

 in the condition in which this sample 

 was received is very small, and the only 

 constituents of manurial value lost by its 

 combustion are the small amount of 

 nitrogen and the organic matter, since 

 the phosphoric acid potash and lime be- 

 come concentrated in the ash left after 

 burning. 



No information was supplied regarding 

 the methods employed in preparing the 

 dung for fuel, but apparently most of the 

 manurial constituents have been removed 

 either before collection or during the 

 process of preparation. Presumably the 

 dung is not collected for fuel until it has 

 become dry and combustible, by which 

 time the bulk of the soluble manurial 

 matter has probably passed into the soil. 



It is obvious from the above results 

 that, if the sample submitted for examin- 

 ation is generally typical of the dried 

 cow-dung used as fuel, the utilisation of 

 the material in this way entails very 

 little loss of manurial matter, and is 

 probably the most economical method of 

 disposing of it. The ash might be 

 employed as a manure. — Bulletin of the 

 Imperial Institute, Vol. VI. No. 1, 1908. 



* 1, calorie is the amount of heat required to 

 raise the temperature of one gram of water 0° to 

 PC 1 ,, so that one gram of this material when 

 thoroughly burned will raise the temperature of 

 2,045 grams of water from 0° to 1° C°. 



AGRICULTURE IN JAPAN. 



Sir Fredrick Nicholson, the eminent 

 Madras civilian, whose careful study of 

 agricultural banks on the Continent led 

 to the adoption of special measures to 

 encoui'age them in India, has added yet 

 another to the obligations under which 

 the Empire lies to him by publishing 

 the note on Agriculture in Japan, which 

 has recently issued from the Madras 

 Government Press. While in some mat- 

 ters there are startling contrasts, the 

 poiuts of contact between Japanese and 

 Indian agriculture are many, and a 

 study of the system existing in Japan 

 from time immemorial and of the 

 measures recently taken to popularise 

 new methods to suit the changing condi- 

 tions of the country must be of the 

 very greatest utility in suggesting im- 

 provements in Indian practice and ad- 

 ministrative measures to further them. 

 It is satisfactory, therefore, to see that 

 the author proposes at an early date 

 to issue a revised note with the addi- 

 tions of suggestions for Madras based 

 on the hints and examples derived from 

 Japanese experience. Meanwhile, how- 

 ever, it will be interesting to discuss 

 some of the features of Japanese agri- 

 culture as described in the note. 



Japan has a climate favourable to 

 agriculture, with regular seasons and a 

 considerable rainfall which varies from 

 50 to 100 inches. " Drought ol any 

 duartiou or widespread character," we 

 read, "is almost unknown. Owing to 

 this regular and considerable rainfall, 

 and to the island position of Japan with 

 its immense coast outline, the air is 

 nearly humid, especially in hot months, 

 June to September, which are the 

 period of the heaviest rains, but yet they 

 enjoy abundant sunshine, so that rice— 

 the mainstay of Japanese food— thrives 

 luxuriantly. From March to October 

 sun and rain alternate with nleasing 

 and fruitful diversity, while late Octo- 

 ber and November, wh en the summer 

 harvests are being reaped and the land 

 prepared and sown for the spring and 

 early summer crops, are among the 



