Miscellaneous, 



342 



[October, 1909. 



because, as they heard just then, that 

 success had been achieved amidst con- 

 siderable difficulties. His Excellency 

 hoped that nothing had been omitted 

 which might be required for the training 

 of students and for the experiments of 

 all kinds of practical as well as scientific 

 Agriculturists. 



At the same time the Government 

 would not hesitate to increase the 

 capacity of this Institution just as they 

 pointed out in their address. The 

 Government had already expended a 

 large sum of six lakhs for this College. 

 The Government of India in the interests 

 of the ryots had been doing much in 

 this direction. His Excellency then 

 spoke at length about the benefit and 

 advantage of the British Rule in India, 

 and said that under British Government 

 there was justice between man and man 

 as far as possible, as the Government had 

 not forgotten the interests of the ryots, 

 and this work had been taken purely for 

 agriculturists and cultivators of this 

 land. The Estates Land Act was for 

 their good, and it was a matter for regret 

 that the Hon'ble Mr. Forbes who did so 

 much had now retired. It was in the 

 interests of ryots that they found 

 themselves in their midst, and Mr. Stuart 

 had given a short sketch of the efforts 

 that had been made in this Presidency 

 to improve methods cf agriculture. It 

 was only in recent years that a change 

 had taken place in the matter of agri- 

 cultural science. The difficulties were 

 great, and they must try to surmount 

 those difficulties. It seemed to him 

 that Agriculturists had now taken 

 not only cultivation of lands but 

 also culture of those who lived on them. 

 By cultuie, His Excellency meant the 

 enlightenment of the discipline which 

 is acquired by manual training, and had 

 nothing to do with the mischievous 

 interpretation of that phrase. It was 

 universally recognised that agriculture 

 to-day meant the cultivation of people 

 who were in it. There must be intelligent 

 and proper efforts if a ryot wanted to 

 succeed in manuring and increasing the 

 fertility of the soil. His Excellency here 

 quoted the example followed in Canada 

 in this respect. It was extraordinary to 

 observe what a marvellous advantage 

 science had made in this country, and 

 not only science has advanced but also 

 the material prosperity in the research 

 investigation. It was easy that any 

 difficulty in this direction might be over- 

 come. His Excellency hoped that young 

 men in the College would be educated to 

 a higher conception of the standard of 

 living in this direction. It seemed to 

 him that the field of research was 

 practically limitless. His Excellency 

 next spoke about the duties of professors 



who ought to train students here. The 

 Government he said would like to admit 

 only those students who would make 

 agriculture their life work and would 

 refuse admission to those who want to 

 join the Government service other than 

 the Agricultural Department. 



SOME INDIRECT BENEFITS OP 

 IRRIGATION NOT GENERALLY 

 RECOGNIZED. 



By Henry Marsh, c.i.e., m. inst.c.e., 

 Consulting Engineer, Protective Irriga- 

 tion Works, Central India. 



(From the Agricultural Journal of India, 

 Vol. IV., Pt. 1, January, 1909.) 



Many people think that Irrigation 

 from canals, wells, and tanks is only of 

 use as a protective agent in tracts of 

 precarious or slight rainfall. They 

 know, of course, that millions of acres 

 have been reclaimed from desert by the 

 harnessing of rivers in the Punjab, in 

 Sindh, and in Egypt. But they are 

 probably not aware of the many indirect 

 benefits which accrue to the State aud 

 agriculture from the presence of unfail- 

 ing irrigation even when the rainfall is 

 fair to good. In this article it is pro- 

 posed to deal with the advantages which 

 are thus derived, and though not patent 

 to the public, are well known to revenue 

 officers in Upper India, 



2. Before going into details, it is well 

 to summarise these unconsidered assets 

 as follows : — 



(a) Power of substituting immediate 

 sowings in case of destruction to ad- 

 vanced crops, or harvests. 



(6) Diversity of cropping, i.e., insur- 

 ance against losses. 



(c) Maintenance of cultivation, and 

 demand for labour throughout the 

 season. 



(d) Presence of fodder, pasturage, 

 and water for cattle. 



(e) Improved sanitary conditions. 



(f) General increase of comfort, well- 

 being, and decrease of crime. 



Power op Substituting new Sowings 

 in case op Accidents to Advanced 

 Crops or Harvests. 



3. The last two decades have afforded 

 many melancholy opportunities of ob- 

 serving injuries to crops, which were 

 giving splendid promise of bumper 

 harvests. In 1904-05 the autumn sow- 

 ings had been unusually extensive, and 

 the winter rains had benefited them 



