No. LXI. 



Printed for the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



NITROGEN-GATHERING CROPS. 



It is needless to discuss the value of Papilionaceous crops in agriculture. The manner in which 

 these plants import atmospheric ^-nitrogen into the soil with the aid of the bacteria in the nodules on 

 their roots is now pretty well known, since it has been explained over and over again in the Society's 

 publications and by its travelling instructors. 



The question .is' often asked ; what ^leguminous crop ^should;, be grown with the objectfof its being 

 wholly or' partially returned to the land. The tendency in most matters is to look for something new,' 

 and tho newer the better ! As a^general rule, however, these new plants are unsuitable to local conditions, 

 unless, of course, they came from countries with almost identical natural conditions. 



Wild species of Crotalaria have been highly recommended and utilized with marked benefit both 

 in up-country and low-country estates. The difficulty, however, in inducing the native cultivator to 

 grow such a crop as Crotalaria striata is that he does not see sufficient virtue in a plant that does not 

 give him some tangible return. 



For this reason, it is politic to recommend to him — for the present at least — a crop which yields him 

 some useful produce. The American cow-pea ( Vigna catiang) is a plant that has come back to", Ceylon 

 with a new name, since it is no more than a variety of the familiar mi beans ^largely cultivated, 

 particularly about Colombo. The legumes are wholesome and palatable when taken early, and command 

 a ready sale as " curry beans." 



There are other crops which similarly yield marketable produce, such as dhall (Cajanus indicus), 

 san-hemp {Crotalaria juncca), dhaincha {Sesbania aculeata). Whether cow-pea or one of these three 

 should be selected is for the cultivator himself to decide after carefully considering the " pros and cons " 

 of the case. 



AH are excellent in rotation, or as " inter-crops " in permanent plantations. Tho dwarfish forms of * 

 cow-pea or mi are perhaps more suitable from the point of convenience, especially when grown as 

 inter-crops. 



Dhall (Sin. rata-tora, Tamil thavarai), which yields one of the staple foods in India, is a shrubby 

 plant, which sometimes grows up to a height of 15 or fi 20 ft., and will suit cases where shade is also 

 a desideratum . These two plants (cow-pea and dhall) are therefore of economical value as food crops. 

 [In this connection may also be mentioned ground-nuts (Arachis hjpogaea). but the great difficulty 

 of protecting and harvesting the crop in Ceylon has made it unpopular among cultivators.] 



Crotalaria juncea and Sesbania aculeata, on the other hand, are fibre plants, and will suit localities 

 where there is use for fibre. The first is already under cultivation in the Chilaw District, and in parts of 

 the Northern, Province, the fibre .which is extracted by the^simple process of retting or steeping in water, 

 being in requisition for fishing nets, &c. Dhaincha is practically unknown in the Island, but is closely 



9(5)09 



