356 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November z, 1888. 
giving evident signs, that they could no longer travel 
long distauces over steep grass hills to get a living. 
From February to April I stall-fed 225 head and the 
loss was only 15 head, including deaths from old age 
and accidents (5 head) from October 1887 to July 188S, 
while in previous years I have lost 80 to 40 out of 100 
head, and tins is in spite of much of my ensilage and 
hay being of very poor quality from want of experience 
in making it and 70 of my cattle being newly pur- 
chased iu November to January, and therefore uuaccla- 
matised. The cattle fell off in condition, and I am not 
yet satisfied that the common grasses will give good 
enough enslage to keep cattle in condition all the year 
round, but I am certain, such ensilage will keep them 
alive for three months of the hot weather when they 
usually suffer most. 
Cattle have been stall-fed on guinea grass ensila;e 
in the hot weather, and 1 lb. coconut poonac a head a 
day for some years on the Naliampatties, and are 
always " fit for the butcher." The following hints 
as to filling silts may be of use: — 
Cut the sides of the pit perpendicular. 
See that there is no subsoil flow of water into the pit. 
Put a roof over it if it is to be filled or emptied in 
wet weather. 
The pit should not be more than 8 to 10 feet deep 
or more than 12 feet wide, as it is flifficult to make a 
strong cutuha roof more than 15 feet wide — A pit of 
this size and 27 feet long will take the grass from 20 
acres when the shoots are about 2 feet long. 
Put the grass in the pit the day it is cut.. 
If possible only put a depth of 2 to 3 feet into the 
pit on any one day, and fill on alternate days only. 
This is to let it settle and ferment, whereby more and 
sweeter ensilage can be got into the pit. 
See the grass cannot catch on the sides of the pit as 
if it sinks or fall below any point, where it catches, 
will turn black or mouldy. 
Put a tatty and a depth of 2 or 3 feet of earth on 
the top. 
If " Silo " cuts his grass youn^ and tender, or 
at any rate green aud succulent, and observes the 
above simple rule's he cannot fail to make good 
sour ensilage iu wet and sweat ensilage in dry weather, 
If after all his cattle will not eat it as I have heard 
of their refusing the best Luserne ensilage let him 
try watering the ensilage continually in the feeding 
troughs with brine or jaggery water. All the latest 
ideas on ensilage can be obtained from " Silos for 
British Fodder Crops," published at the office of the 
Field, 346 Strand, London.— Indian Agricidturist- 
PADDY CULTIVATION IN MADRAS. 
[The extracts which follow have an intimate bearing 
on rice cultivation in Ceylon . — Ed. — T. A.~\ 
In prearing the soil for paddy the practice in some 
parts of the Presidency is to work th 5 soil in the dry 
state and to defer flooding until the tillage operations 
are finished. But the more common practice is to flood 
the land at once and work the soil while under water 
into a liquid mud. The object of this puddling pro- 
cesss is " to make the land hold water," and this 
result is undoubtedly secured but at the expense of 
the healthy action of the soil. 
The crop is both sown and transplanted. When the 
soil is prepared in the dry state, it is usual to sow ; 
when the wet process is followed, both sowing and 
transplanting are adopted. The seed for sowing on 
wet land is frequently sprouted previously ; this pre- 
vents the seed sinking too deeply into the liquid 
mud. On the dry prepared soil the seed is sown both 
broadcast and in lines, the quantity used varying from 
20 to 150 pounds per acre There can be no doubt but 
that, there is in South India a very large waste of seed, 
from the thick sowing. The annual loss from this 
cause cannot amount to less that 20 per cent, on the 
assessment of the land. 
When it is intended to transplant instead of sowinor, 
the young Me&linga are usually raised in nursery beds, 
though not uufrequently the seedlings used are thin- 
nings pulled out roughly from a broadcast crop grow- 
ing near. Such plants, however, are frequently dam- 
aged and never give such good results as plants that 
have been reared in a nursery bed. The seedlings 
vary from 15 t) 28 days old ; when plan'ed out 
those about 21 days old are usually best. They are 
planted singly and in hunches of 2 or 3, at distances 
of about 6 to 9 inches, either irregularly over the 
land or in lines. There is, of course, in favour of 
transplanting a saving of water, fr im the shorter time 
the crop is growing in the field, aud a saving in the 
quantity of seed used, though the expense of plant- 
ing is greater than that of sowing. 
Manure is seldom used on paddy land. In some rare 
instances sheep folding is practised during the dry 
season, and sometimes, a leguminous crop is grown on 
the land and ploughed in as a green manure. Leives 
of trees are also used as green manure, but generally 
the manure given to paddydaad consists chiefly of 
rain-washed village ashes. Most irrigated land has to 
depend entirely on the silt brought in the irriga- 
tion water. In some cases the water brings large 
quantities of fertilizing silt, but not ^infrequently the 
water is either entirely without any suspended silt, or 
the silt consists only of finely divided sand, having no 
manurial value. 
After the crop has been sown, or planted, the irri- 
gation fljodings are commenced. The practice differs, 
but generally the land is floo led at once aud the flood- 
ings are repeated at intervals of two or three days 
during the whole time the crop is growing. On very 
porous soils, in dry bright weather, it is difficult to 
keep water always on the land; but on the stiffer 
soils especially thote that have been puddled no such 
difficulty is experienced. The time paddy occupies 
the land varies int he different varieties; some mature 
in 20 weeks, while other kinds need 24 to 30 weeks. 
Taking 22 weeks as a fair average, a crop of paddy 
will probably receive during its growth, in addition to 
the rainfall, about 60 waterings. 
Bach ryot usually attempts to get as much water 
as he possibly can, especially when the only trouble he 
has to incur is to open a sluice. In some places the 
sluices are so arranged that only a certain flow of 
water may pass through when open, aud the time 
the sluices are open is regulated by the area of land 
to be watered and the claims of the different persons 
eutitled to the use of the water. But too frequently 
the sluices are made of an uniform size, and are out 
of repair, and there is then pracfically no control 
over the quautity of -water used. 
If a ryot is asked what quautity of water he uses far 
his paddy crop, all he cau say in reply is, that he applies 
the water on each occasion to a certain depth over the 
land and at certain intervals. Of course the quantity 
applied at each time, as determined in this way, will 
depend on the state of saturation of the soil when the 
water is applied and will differ greatly. Assuming how- 
ever that each fresh flooding follows immediately after 
the drainage of the remains of the previous one, and 
that the soil is saturated at the time, we may obtain 
some data by the aid of which the quantity of water 
used may be approximately determined. Assuming 
then that the figures above given are fair average ones, 
and that about 60 floodings, each to the depth of 2 
inches on the land, are required to mature a crop of 
paddy, we find that the entire quantity of water used, 
will be equal to a depth often feet over the whole of the 
area irrigated. This seems to be an enormous quantity 
of water to use, but we have no hesitation in stating 
that, over a large area of South India, the quantity 
used is frequently much greater. If the soil was 
thoroughly worked and manured, half this quantity of 
water would be more than sufficient to bring to maturity 
a crop of paddy. 
The paddy crop receives very little attention during 
its growth, beyond an occasional wee ling which, as the 
ground is so soft, and the crop seldom grows iu 
lines must generally be done by hand at a considerable 
expense. Harvest seldom begins until the crop is dead 
ripe ; there is no doubt but that when cut in this state 
threshing is facilitated; but as the grain sheds so 
easily there is a considerable loss of it in the field, 
while the v;ilue of the straw as cattle food is consider- 
ably reduced. The crop is usually cut by means of a 
smaV lightly curved knife of 9 or 10 inches in length ; 
