September, 1909.] 



221 



Edible Products. 



leaves his work to look after itself on 

 the pretext of illness. 



As ploughmen for this kind of work 

 are not available in Chhattisgarh itself, 

 arrangements have been made to train 

 boys in transplanting on the Raipur 

 Farm. Twelve orphan boys varying in 

 age from 13 to 19 have already com- 

 pleted their training there this year, 

 and will be employed in future, either 

 by the Missions to which they belong, 

 or by the Department of Agriculture, in 

 introducing this method among cultiva- 

 tors. Next year a new batch will be 

 trained, and members of the Agricul- 

 tural Associations and others interested 

 in the work will also be asked to send 

 men to undergo this training. 



That this piece of demonstration work 

 has produced results beyond all expecta- 

 tion, that a great amount of work has 

 been accomplished this year with a very 

 small trained staff, and that even the 

 Chamar cultivators have learnt a most 

 useful lesson from it, is amply proved 

 by the fact that this year with five 

 assistants and twenty-four ploughmen 

 experienced in transplanting, the De- 

 partment is transplanting about 1,300 

 acres scattered over thirty-nine villages. 

 In addition to this, the members of 

 the Agricultural Associations, to whom 

 assistance could not be given this year, 

 have agreed to transplant in all about 

 250 acres. 



The success of this piece of work is 

 due in no small measure to the very 

 effective supervision exercised over it 

 by the Superintendent of the Raipur 

 farm ; for in these Provinces the policy 

 of the Agricultural Department is to 

 put the Superintendent of the experi- 

 mental station of each division in charge 

 of the demons oration wor k of the same. 

 This answers admirably where the 

 Superintendent is a sound practical man. 

 The experimental work and demonstra- 

 tion work form parts of one great scheme; 

 the one is incomplete without the other. 



If separate assistants were made res- 

 ponsible for the different parts of that 

 scheme, there would be less efficiency 

 and much less work done per man. 

 With one Superintendent for both, culti- 

 vators are made to feel that the demon- 

 stration farms are but off-shoots of the 

 experimental farm, the one difference 

 being that the former demonstrates only, 

 while the latter experiments and 

 demonstrates. The Superintendent in- 

 spects each centre once a month. The 

 assistants in charge of the different 

 centres forward weekly diaries to the 

 Deputy Director through the Superin- 

 tendent. The Deputy Director inspects 

 the different centres as often as possible. 



This year's results show that the opi- 

 nion held by many to the effect that the 

 Chhatisgarhi is too lazy aud unenterpris- 

 ing to adopt transplantation, that his 

 bullocks are too weak for it and his soils 

 unsuitable, is at least open to doubt. 

 Our experience of the Chamar plough- 

 men at the Raipur Farm is that they 

 are very good workers when properly 

 directed, though lacking in initiative. 

 Judging from the large number of 

 Chamar cultivators who have this year 

 come from neighbouring villages for 

 seedlings, which they have uprooted for 

 themselves and carried away iu head 

 loads for four or five mile«, I am con- 

 vinced that the term "lazy" is not 

 applicable to them all. In any case it is 

 the duty of the Agricultural Department 

 not only to demonstrate improvements, 

 but also to encourage, direct aud other- 

 wise assist the less enterprising culti- 

 vators to adopt them. That his soil is 

 suitable for transplanting there is no 

 shadow of doubt. 



That the weakness of the small Chhat- 

 tisgarhi bullock will stand in the way 

 of extensive cultivation of any kind is 

 evident ; still there are already in every 

 village a few fairly good buffaloes and 

 bullocks of sufficient strength to do all 

 the extra work required for transplant- 

 ing on a moderate scale even under 

 existing conditions. Next year the 

 Department intends to make the condi- 

 tions still more favourable for trans- 

 planting by encouraging the cultivators 

 to make a lighter datari specially for 

 this work, and by letting out buffaloes 

 on hire to cultivators at the rate of 

 oue pair for each area of 50 acres to be 

 transplanted. 



In his inspection note on the work 

 which is being carried out this year, 

 Mr. B. P. Standen, i.c.s., c.l E., Director 

 of Agriculture, writes as follows :— 



" There can be no doubt that trans- 

 plantation has come to stay in Chhat- 

 tisgarh. Nearly the whole of the 38,000 

 acres now transplanted in this division 

 lies in the zamindaris situated in the 

 hills and jungles to the south, east and 

 west. I am told that a great deal of 

 this so-called transplantation consists 

 rather of thinning by hand than of 

 transplantation proper. All cultivators 

 who have witnessed the demonstrations 

 have been deeply impressed by the 

 great saving of seed and the large 

 increase iu the outturn. The difficulties 

 to be overcome before the area trans- 

 planted will expand largely, are those 

 mentioned in Mr. Sly's inspection note, 

 together with the scarcity of strong 

 plough cattle and a rumour started by 

 ill-disposed persons, that all transplant- 



