Miscellaneous, 



68 



[January, 1909. 



thus a large area can be worked in a day, 

 and often the ploughing rain can be 

 utilised for sowing the crop. 



Sowing. — The seed is sown with the 

 drill. This practice has many advan-. 

 tages over broadcast mowing. It regu- 

 lates the space for each plant. Sowing 

 can be done when the land is com- 

 paratively dry, as the drill can be set to 

 sow at the depth where there is most 

 moisture. Good germination is assured 

 and there is a considerable saving of 

 seed. 



After cultivation - Several implements 

 are in use in different parts for this 

 work, but the best are the Dunthalu 

 which is used in the Bellary District, and 

 a small U-untaka, which is a similar 

 implement with a wider blade, and in 

 the case of cotton and red gram is often 

 ussd after the cereal catch crop has been 

 reaped. The others work deep and 

 throw the soil up round the plants form- 

 ing ridges and furrows. The Dunthalu 

 consists of a set of three to six small 

 bullock hoes which are ^attached to 

 a wide yoke pole and is drawn by 

 two bullocks (page 67). Each hoe or 

 danthi has an iron blade some 9 inches 

 wide, which the driver guides between 

 two rows of the crop. The hoeing is 

 done after a good rain has fallen, but as 

 a rule the farmer does not seem to realise 

 that the operation is just as necessary 

 when the surface has caked after a light 

 rain, and, in consequeuee, this implement 

 is seldom worked more than two or 

 three times." 



Throughout the Tamil country and in 

 Malabar the plough is, with few excep- 

 tions, the only tillage implement for dry 

 cultivation. In Malabar the conserva- 

 tion of soil moisture is not so essential 

 owing to the heavy and continuous rain- 

 fall during the growing season. Plough- 

 ing commences with the close of the 

 monsoon, and is continued afterwards 

 until the early sowing rains commence 

 in April and May. In the dry Eastern 

 Tamil country the rainfall is limited, 

 and does not admit of repeated plough-- 

 ings before the sowing rains, The land 

 is usually left untitled until a ploughing 

 rain falls, when as large an area as 

 possible is ploughed. About four plough- 

 ings are usually given. The ryot then 

 waits for a sowing rain when the seed is 

 sown broadcast and lightly ploughed in. 

 The subordinate pulse crop, usually 

 Cajanus indicus or Dolichos lablab, is 

 sown immediately afterwards, the seed 

 being dropped behind a light plough. 

 In a few districts the value of a firm 

 seed-bed is appreciated, and after sowing, 

 the soil is made firm by dragging a 

 roughly made brush harrow across the 



ploughing. In parts of Tinnevelly also 

 the ryots cultivating red soil have an 

 implement made like a large wooden 

 rake which is used to break the surface 

 crust and assist the growth of the young 

 crop. When the crop is established, 

 the plough is worked through it. This 

 rough and ready method of cultivation 

 gives a good crop in good seasons, but if 

 the rain fails, the result is often a partial 

 or complete failure. 



In parts of South Arcot this practice 

 of ploughing through the crop has been 

 entirely given up in favour of the more 

 efficient practice of hand hoeing. Here 

 the dry cereal is considered as a catch 

 crop for the groundnut crop, the seed of 

 which is dibbled in after the cereal is 

 well established. The land is often hoed 

 two or three times. The first hoeing 

 includes weeding and thinning, while 

 the others are mainly for loosening the 

 soil surface, and is done even if the land 

 is perfectly free from weeds. The in- 

 troduction of the harrow into the Tamil 

 country would be an immense advantage. 

 If used instead of the plough, the surface 

 soil alone would be loosened and thus 

 the soil moisture would be better con- 

 served. The ground would be left level 

 instead of in ridges and furrows, which 

 are always objectionable in the case of a 

 dry crop as the ground soon dries out 

 and subsequently rain runs down the 

 furrows before it can soak in. If the 

 harrow were used instead of the hand 

 hoe, the cost of the work would be 

 greatly reduced and the farmer would 

 be able to complete the work in less 

 than a quarter of the time. The time 

 that this operation takes is of great im- 

 portance on the lighter soils. A harrow 

 made in the shape of an equilateral 

 triangle has been found to answer this 

 purpose well, and is not too expensive or 

 too elaborate for the ordinary culti- 

 vator. This and other implements used 

 in dry cultivation are illustrated. — Agri- 

 cultural Journal of India, Vol. III., 

 Part I., January, 1908- 



AMBALANGODA VEGETABLE SHOW. 



Held under the Auspices of the 

 Wellaboda Pattu (Galle) Local Branch, 

 19th Dec, 1908. 



This show was opened by the Government 

 Agent, Southern Province, and was attended 

 with success. It was the second Show for 

 the year, the first being held at Hikkaduwa 

 in the latter part of February. 



The exhibits were confined to vegetables, 

 of which there were large collections. Consid- 

 ering the lateness of the vegetable season, 

 the exhibits were good. Many of the exhibi- 



