July, 1909.] 



25 



Edible Products, 



of over 30 barrels per acre, the barrel 

 being 162 lbs. of rough rice, including 

 the sack. This would seem to indicate 

 that the nitrogen accumulated from the 

 air and into the land by the leguminous 

 crop had a very positive effect upon the 

 rice planted upon such lands, Apart 

 from this, it has been noted that where 

 there has been stable manure dropped 

 on the land, the manured spots showed 

 a rapid and early growth of the rice, 

 even though it is an aquatic plant and 

 grows with its roots in the water. 



The Gueydan News now reports the 

 facts about the fertilization of a tract 

 of rice land in that vicinity. Messrs. 

 Riley & Neelis own a rice farm three 

 miles North-West of Gueydan. Last 

 year they planted and fertilized six 

 acres, keeping it entirely separate from 

 the rest of their fields. This six acre 

 field yielded twelve bags to the acre, and 

 each bag weighed 203 pounds, which 

 would be equal to fifteen standard bags of 

 rice per acre. In the milling of this rice 

 it was found to yield 108 ponnds of head 

 rice, the broken rice and other offal not 

 being included. The rice brought the 

 top of the market price and the gross 

 yield was $57 - 60per acre. 



These results were carefully compared 

 with those obtained from the land lying 

 alongside, which was not fertilized, but 

 which had otherwise received exactly 

 the same treatment. This yielded only 94 

 bags to the acre, each bag weighing 185 

 pounds of rough rice, and that the rice 

 mill yielded 100 pounds of head rice, 

 which sold for $3'50 per standard barrel, 

 the gross proceeds being $31'50 per acre, 

 It was not stated whether the rice was 

 harvested and marketed at the same 

 time, nor whether or not there had been 

 any change in the market price. It may 

 be left fair for us to infer that the best 

 rice was sold for seed rice, and hence 

 brought the fancy price. It, however, 

 was evidently very heavy rice, the bags 

 being of the same size, of about five 

 bushels each, and the fertilized rice 

 weighed 203 pounds to the sack, indi- 

 cating a very large amount of rice kernel 

 and less of rice hull than the other, which 

 only weighed 185 pounds • for the same 

 measure, and had a less yield in clean rice 

 to the extent of eight pounds per bag. 



In the description of the transaction, 

 in giving the yields stated, the yields of 

 108 pounds and of 100 pounds of head 

 rice are stated as being this much per 

 bag, but it is not stated whether the 

 bags of 203 pounds and 180 pounds 

 respectively were meant, or whether the 

 standard bag or barrel of 162 pounds 

 meant, when the yield of 108 pounds and 

 100 pounds respectively was reported. 



If these data are all accurate as given 

 and the difference of the gross proceeds 

 per acre actually amounts to $26*10, it is 

 a striking instance of the value of what- 

 ever fertilizer was used in this instance. 



TEA CULTURE. 



Experimental Works at Hekleaka. 



(From the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 

 XXXIII., No. 12, December 1, 1908.) 



Green Manures. 



The following are the concluding 

 portions of Dr. C. M. Hutchinson's in- 

 teresting report on the investigations 

 carried at the Heeleaka Experimental 

 Station during 1905, 1906, 1907. Dealing 

 with the question of green mauures Dr. 

 Hutchinson says : — 



One of the most interesting points in 

 connection with the use of green manures 

 in tea culture is the very wide diver- 

 gence of opinion as to their values ; this 

 suggests at once that in certain soils and 

 climates their effects are not sufficiently 

 marked to be obvious ; whereas, under 

 different conditions obtaining elsewhere, 

 no doubt arises as to their efficacy. 

 Another reason exists for this difference 

 of opinion, and that may be said to be 

 due in some cases to want of knowledge 

 of what a good crop of such green 

 manure as Mati Kalai is really like ; in 

 many soils this plant makes such a feeble 

 growth that, as a green manure, it is 

 practically valueless, and planters who 

 have only seen it under these conditions 

 very naturally have a low opinion of its 

 use. It is unfortunate that the Heeleaka 

 soil is of this character, and this has 

 made it necessary to give a preliminary 

 dressing of manure to all the plots under 

 treatment with green crops, in order to 

 get sufficient growth of Mati Kalai to 

 serve for comparison. 



The increased yields of leaf produced 

 by the use of green manures are very 

 small when compared with other manu- 

 rial treatment ; the increase on these 

 plots, however, was decided enough to 

 show the value of such treatment, besides 

 indicating the relative advantages of 

 the various crops experimented with, 

 and it cannot be too often insisted upon 

 that the principal object of growing 

 green manures is not so much directly 

 to increase the yield of leaf, as to im- 

 prove the condition of the soil both 

 mechanically and chemically, by re- 

 placing organic matter which the ordi- 

 nary processes of growth and cultivation 

 tend to remove, no rotation of manures 

 being complete without the inclusion of 

 a green crop in the series. In the case 



