and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



563 



PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE AT PUSA. 



Shout Courses. 



Mr, J Moliison, Inspectur-General of Agricul- 

 ture in India, has issued the following note: — 



The function of the Pusa College in the 

 general scheme of Agricultural Education in 

 India has been defined as that of a Higher 

 teaching Institution and Research Station for 

 post-graduato agricultural students and for ad- 

 vanced science students, particulary from Indian 

 Universities. At the present stage of develop- 

 ment of the Provincial Agricultural Colleges it 

 also seems necessary for the Pusa Institute and 

 Estate to assist Provinces and Native States by 

 instituting short courses of instruction in 

 special branches of agriculture or in simple in- 

 dustries connected with the agriculture. There 

 are now facilities at Pusa for thorough instruc- 

 tion in the subjects referred to. Such instruc- 

 tion cannot well be given in other parts of 

 India for at least some years ; therefore I hope 

 that a hearty response will be given to the pro- 

 posals which I note below. The short courses 

 which I propose are broadly defined in a 

 Syllabus for each subject which is appended 

 hereto. I attach the greatest importance to 

 the value of these courses. There is an un- 

 doubted demand for them, but it is impossible 

 to get at present elsewhere in India such 

 simple technical instruction except as a part 

 of much longer course. The instruction will 

 be essentially practical in character and will 

 require no scientific training and not even a 

 knowledge of English. It would, however, be 

 an advantage if the men had all a fair general 

 education. Men who have not the instincts of the 

 professions which they are following or propose 

 to follow will not be accepted. I desire to admit 

 in particular to Pusa for these courses men, 

 who are bona fide agriculturists or malis by 

 caste. The courses will be suitable for men of 

 the subordinate staff of all the Agricultural 

 Departments, and will be opeu to private indi- 

 viduals who are engaged or propose to engage 

 in the special branchesof agriculture and allied 

 subjects dealt with. It is not possible at first 

 to take more than nine students in each subject 

 at one time, but several subjects can be simul- 

 taneously taken up by the same students. A 

 recommendation by a Director of Agriculture 

 or any other authorised authority will be ac- 

 cepted in regard to any application for admis- 

 sion, if the applicant is, certified to be of good 

 character and in robust health. Free quarters 

 of a very simple but sufficient character will be 

 provided. Students will have to pay all travel- 

 ling and personal expenses. The latter at Pusa 

 need not exceed R15 per mensem and might 

 easily be less. No books will be required. It 

 is proposed to start classes as soon as possible ; 

 so applications should be addressed to the Dir- 

 ector and Principal, Agricultural Research Insti- 

 tute, Pusa, Bengal, at as early a date as possible. 

 Section op Agriculture. 



Cattle Breeding and Management.— The course will 

 occupy three months. It will deal with the general 

 management of breeding herds and of milch and draught 

 cattle and will include simple instruction in the recogni- 

 tion, treatment and prevention of the more common 

 diseases. The second Imperial Entomologist will deal 

 ■with the principal insect-pests of cattle, the part which 

 they play as disease carriers and methods of treatment. 

 Courses will commence in October and January. 



Poultry Management.— This will be a three months' 

 course and will include instruction from the second Im- 

 perial Entomologist in the treatment of the insect-pests 

 of poultry. Courses will commence in Oct. and January. 



Dairying. — This is intended to be a complete course 

 extending over six months, in up-to-date dairying. 



Tillage Implements and Agricultural Machinery. 

 — Training will be given in the principles of construction 

 and in the handling of the common Indian and European 

 tillage implements and agricultural machinery, including 

 ploughs, drills, cultivators, water-lifts, steam-engine, oil- 

 engine, etc. Arrangements have been made for a complete 

 collection at Pusa of all useful indigenous agricultural 

 machinery, implements and tools. The course will occupy 

 three months and will commence in October or January. 



Section of Economic Botany. 



Fruit Growing.— The course will be an eight month's 

 one and will deal with — 



(a) The general management of a fruit garden including 

 choice of site, laying out, draining and planting, the choice 

 of varieties, irrigation, cultivation and manuring, (b) 

 Special processes, such as budding, grafting, layering, pru- 

 ning and root pruning, weathering, (c) Disposal of fruit, 

 including picking, grading, packing and marketing, (d) 

 Evaporating, drying and preserving. 



The course will begin each year on the 1st of October 

 and will last till the end of May. 



. Section of Entomology. 



Eri-silk as a Cottage Industry. -The course will 

 occupy about three months and will commence in October 

 and January. It includes rearing and spinning, If dyeing 

 and weaving are to be learnt, three months more would 

 be required. 



Lac Cultivation as an Adjunct to Ordinary 

 Agriculture.— The training can be given only from 

 the 15th May to the loth June or the iOth Sep- 

 tember to the 20th October. These dates vary a little 

 according to the season as lac does not always come 

 out regularly. The training includes pruning and hand- 

 ling of trees, inoculation of lac, harvesting scraping and 

 washing. It covers the whole industry to the production 

 of seed lac and is exclusive of the production of shellac. 



Mulberry Silk Culture.— The course would include 

 rearing, selection of disease-free eggs, reeling and the 

 utilisation of waste cocoons. Instruction would also be 

 given in the varieties of silk worm. Silk twisting (spinning) 

 and dyeing with the simpler forms of weaving could be 

 taught. The course would occupy six months if it ended at 

 the reeling, nine months if it included twisting, dyeing and 

 weaving of simpler fabrics. The training would cover only 

 the ordinary existing methods, not improved methods or 

 reeling of the more complex forms of weaving. The course 

 will commence on the 15th June each year.— M. Mail, Nov. 15. 



LECTURE ON AN ARECA PALM 

 DISEASE. 



By the Mysore Mycologist. 



Mysore, Oct. 31.— After some postponements 

 the lecture promised by Dr. Leslie Coleman 

 was delivered at the Lecture Hall in the Exhi- 

 bition grounds at 8-30 a.m., yesterday. The 

 Dewan of Mysore, Mr. T Ananda Rao, said a 

 few words by way of introduction, though, as he 

 said, it was really unnecessary to introduce the 

 State Mycologist, who was well-known to most, 

 if not all, of those assembled in the Hall. 



Dr. Coleman spoke to the following effect, 

 exhibiting specimens here and there, and making 

 a few sketches to show the forms of some of 

 the spores, etc., of the fungus which was the 

 cause of the plant disease he had selected as his 

 subject, viz., holeroga, a disease that affects the 

 supari or areca, more especially in the Malnad 

 tracts of the State of Mysore:— 



Knleror/a of supari is a disease produced by a definite 

 parasite. The holeroga fungus is an organism much 

 simpler and more insignificant in appearance ; it never 

 forms any such body as the shelf fungus or mushrooms 

 we so well know. It is because of this smallness of 

 size and of the fact that its real structure can be made 

 out only under the microscope that it so readily escapes 

 attention ; in fact, it is known largely only by the effects it 

 produces and these effects are certainly serious enough 



