176 



[February, 1909. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



A BRIEF NOTE ON A VISIT TO 

 OOIMBATORE AGRICULTURAL 

 COLLEGE, 



la the course of a short holiday in 

 South India between the 17th and 25th 

 of December last, I took the opportunity 

 of spending; a day in Coimbatore and 

 visiting the Agricultural College there. 

 The main building, which is an imposing 

 structure, is still incomplete, but work 

 has already commenced with the first 

 batch of twenty students who were 

 admitted last July. It is intended to take 

 in twenty each year, limiting the full 

 complement to sixty. The course of 

 study will thus extend over three years. 

 At present no fees are charged, but 

 students are expected to defray the cost 

 of their own board in the hostels provided 

 for them on the premises. Each block 

 consists of six rooms with a kitchen and 

 dining-room, to enable men of* different 

 castes to make suitable arrangements for 

 their own dieting. The monthly cost to 

 a vegetarian is about Rs. 10. Athletics 

 is a part of the curriculum. In addi- 

 tion to their theoretical course, the 

 students of the College are expected to 

 take part in all the ordinary farm oper- 

 ations, such as ploughing, sowing, weed- 

 ing, &c, and in their second and third 

 years to cultivate a plot of laud them- 

 selves. 



The farm attached to the College, 

 which is situated about three miles away 

 from the town of Coimbatore, consists of 

 450 acres, of which 5^ acres are devoted 

 to wet cultivation, chiefly paddy ; of 

 the balance 300 acres are available for 

 dry land cultivation, about 127 of which 

 consist of the well-known black cotton 

 soil. There are other kinds of soil as 

 well— varying from sandy to stiff clay 

 loams. These high lands depend on the 

 water supply of ten wells on the premises. 

 Wells are not what we generally know 

 them to be in this country, but consist 

 of excavations of considerable capacity, 

 suitable for the working of water lifts, 

 and costing anything up to Rs. 2,000 or 

 even more. The farms are thus suitable 

 for a variety of crops and for different 

 methods of cultivation. Among the 

 rops I saw were sorghum, ground-nut, 

 paddy, kurakkan, dhall, cow-pea, sugar- 

 cane, cotton and plantains. Sorghum is 

 a very important cultivation, both as a 

 grain and fodder crop. 



There would seem to be two draw- 

 backs in the natural condition at Coim- 

 batore, viz., the small annual rainfall 

 (about 20 inches), and the somewhat 

 saline character of the water ; but appar- 

 ently neither of these is considered of 

 any importance by the authorities. 

 I was greatly interested in the large 

 and varied collection of implements 

 and other labour-saving appliances- 

 different types of the plough, culti- 

 vator, harrow, etc. — of both local and 

 foreign make. What particular imple- 

 ments are suitable for a given district 

 will of course depend on the character 

 of the soil to be worked and the nature 

 of the cultivation required. The prac- 

 tical methods followed on the farm are 

 those found to be best suited to the 

 locality, but these would naturally need 

 modification when introduced into other 

 districts. The object of the instruction 

 given in the College is to enable the 

 students to think out their own parti- 

 cular difficulties and apply the best 

 means from their own special circum- 

 stances with a view to improve the yield 

 of the land. 



Though my visit was made during the 

 vacation, I was fortunate in meeting the 

 Principal (Mr. Shepperson), Dr. Barber 

 (the Government Botanist), and Mr. 

 Harrison (the Agricultural Chemist). 

 These three officers constitute the 

 present European staff of the College. 

 To each is attached one or more intel- 

 ligent native assistants whose work is 

 conti oiled and directed by the Professors 

 —the agricultural work being under the 

 supervision of Mr. Shepperson himself, 

 who has the qualification and experience 

 of a teacher. All the Professors and 

 their assistants are resident on the pre- 

 mises, the extent of accommodation 

 allowed to each native assistant varying 

 with the status to which his salary enti- 

 tles him. 



I understood from the Principal that 

 he would be prepared to consider ap- 

 plications for admission into the Col- 

 lege from Ceylon students, though the 

 vacancies for such would probably be 

 very limited. For the present I think 

 this Society would do well to offer one 

 or two scholarships to promising 

 Ceylonese students to enable them to 

 undergo a course of trainin at the 

 Coimbatore College, while an Agricul- 

 tural School or College for Ceylon 'might 

 be modelled on the same lines. 



C. DRTEBERG, 



titcretary, C, A. S. 



