Miscellaneous, 



150 



[August, 100S. 



standard of quality and productiveness 

 is maintained or improved by continual 

 selection. 



In other countries the difficulty is got 

 over, in a measure, by the existence of 

 professional seed growers, who are selec- 

 tors — in general— to the community. A 

 farmer may use his own seed repeatedly, 

 but ultimately he goes elsewhere for it, 

 and obtains it, directly or indirectly, 

 from a special seed merchant. Here in 

 India we have no professional seed 

 growers on a large scale- For exotic 

 crops the usual remedy is to import 

 fresh seed at frequent intervals. 



For indigenous crops which can be 

 easily selected, like Jowar, the culti- 

 vators have, in many places, done the 

 selection themselves. But for crops like 

 cotton, where the seed cannot usually 

 be imported every year, and where the 

 selection, plant by plant, not only for 

 staple, but also for percentage of lint, 

 for weight of crop per plant, and so on, 

 is difficult, selection is by no means 

 generally carried out. 



There are only two remedies so far as 

 I can see. One of these is to train 

 cultivators in cotton seed selection by 

 means of frequent short courses at the 

 experimental farms, or similar short 

 courses in their own villages ; the other 

 is for Provincial Governments either to 

 organise seed farms themselves on a 

 considerable scale, or give expert assis- 

 tance to outside capitalists who may be 

 induced to become seed growers on a 

 commercial scale. The first method is 

 admirable as far as it goes. I feel that 

 too much cannot be made of its impor- 

 tance. But it is slow in action. It is 

 necessary not only to teach how to 

 select, but to make the cultivators 

 realise the importance of selection. 



A number of speakers at the Con- 

 ference emphasised the fact that dete- 

 rioration of cotton, due to admixture of 

 varieties, was largely caused by the ex- 

 tension of steam ginning factories. The 

 general opinion was that pure types of 

 cotton could not be maintained in these 

 districts, where mixed types are grown, 

 if cultivators depend upon ginning 

 factories for their seed. Steam gins are 

 usually so arranged, that without very 

 elaborate care it is practically impossi- 

 ble to give back unmixed to cultivators 

 of small holdings their own seed. Large 

 cultivators can arrange so that several 

 gins and the adjoining floor space in a 

 factory can be cleaned out before their 

 cotton is put in. Thus, there is a fair 

 chance that they can get back their own 

 seed reasonably pure. There was a 

 decided feeling at the Conference that it 

 would be well for the cotton industry of 



any district if we could get back to the 

 system of hand-ginning which has almost 

 entirely died out, or failing this, if pure 

 types of cotton were ginned under the 

 direct supervision of officers of the 

 Agricultural Department, or by genuine 

 seed merchants. 



It seems necessary, therefore, that a 

 system of seed growing and ginning for 

 sale must be part of the organisation of 

 the cotton industry if real improvement 

 is to take place. The same reasoning 

 applies equally to any other agricultural 

 crop in which selection cannot be made 

 with considerable ease. In this article 

 it is out of place for me to describe fully 

 the requirements for seed growing, but 

 alternative methods might be suggested 

 as follows : — 



I. Should Government initiate large 



seed farms ? 



II. Should selected cultivators be 

 subsidised and their work con- 

 trolled or guided by trained men 

 of the Agricultural Department? 



III. Can outside capitalists be in- 

 duced to take over such large seed 

 farms as are initiated by Govern- 

 ment and extend them as a speci- 

 alized Indian industry? These 

 suggestions demand careful con- 

 sideration, and a criticism by 

 practical men of their advantages 

 or disadvantages would doubtless 

 be ^welcomed by the Agricultural 

 Department. 



There was a good deal of animated 

 discussion at the Conference as to the 

 means of securing a fair price for im- 

 proved cottons. Many of these better 

 types are recognised as being more 

 difficult to grow ; a longer staple usually 

 means a longer growing season ; often 

 the percentage of lint to seed is lower; 

 and it is only if the cotton obtains a 

 distinctly higher price in the market 

 that it will pay to grow the better 

 variety. On the other hand, it was 

 urged on behalf of the manufacturers 

 that small quantities, though recognised 

 as being superior, were no use to them. 

 Unless at least five bales* are marked 

 together, they could not give a better 

 price. Now, five bales of cotton are usu- 

 ally beyond a single cultivator's power 

 to produce. So that till a considerable 

 area is under an improved cotton, no 

 better price is obtainable. The difficulty 

 is considerable. The cultivator says : 

 "Unless you give me better price for 

 my lint, I cannot grow the improved 

 cotton." The manufacturer replies : 



*This amount was mentioned as their mini- 

 mum by the millowners of Ahmedabad, 



