222 
Supplenmi to the Tvopical Agvicultuvist." [September i 1891. 
to depth, tlie plant has supeiftcial 'roots and can 
adapt itself to a very thin stratum of fertile sol], 
but, if it can send its roots deeper, it will, like all 
cereals, give a better crop. Generally the best soil 
is clayey with a moderate dose of lime, and a 
little silica and humus ; afterwards follow clayey 
calcareous, then calcareous, and lastly silicious, 
but few soils are absolutely unsuited. An interest- 
ing table of analysis gives the composition of 
paddy, rice, &c. , taken from an acre. 
The composition oi the 237 cwt. of paddy got 
from the acre was found to be 21'31b. of nitrogen, 
138'o of ash, 14'1 of phosphoric acid, 10 of potash 
and 5"3 of lime. The composition of the rice 
(11 cwt.) was 13"o of nitrogen, 17'4 of ash, 5'7 of 
phosphoric acid, 3'6 of potash, 1-2 of lime. 
With regard to manures we read : It is usual 
not to give any manure on good soil and in 
succession to meadow for 2 years and for 1 year 
on average soil or in succession to cereals. In any 
case, some manure is spread the third year. This 
however would not answer on perennial rice- 
lields when there is no rotation. In these, yearly 
manuring is essential to maintain the quality of 
the produce constant, and here it is particularly 
advisable to use alternately manures of different 
kinds such that one shall correct the defects of 
another. The manures used in Italy are lupin 
seeds, roots of monks' grass or Jimne/i paticutia, 
meadow truf when ploughed in, stable manure, 
stable drainage, waste of hemp, flax, &c., ashes of 
various plants, also bones treated with sulphuric 
acid or calcined. This last is of great value, and 
the same is said of normal and phospliatic guanos. 
Green crops are also ploughed in, for whicli those 
most used are red clovers, rye, vetches, oats, &c. 
The practice of alternating rice with other crops 
dates from the time of the introduction of rice into 
Italy, but it has become much more common of 
late years, since it has been found to increase the 
outturn. The principal crops with which rice is 
grown in rotation in Italy are oats, wheat, 
grasses, maize, flax, clover and various fodder 
plants. 
With regard to the question of irrigation Ave 
are told that it is impossible to establish any 
luiiversal rule as to the quantity of Avater required 
as it depends upon too many causes, such as 
porosity of soil, quality of rice-field, that is 
whether permanent or in rotation. According 
to the engineer Cantaluin, in Lombardy 1'23 
cub. feet per second suffices for about 64 acres of 
not very porous land ; this is equivalent to 1 c. ft. 
per second to 54 acres or '02 c. ft. per second per 
acre. In Verona and Montova Wo and '048 0. ft. 
per second are considered sufficient. Berti-Pichat 
put down the quantity required per second per 
acre generally at '0143 c. feet, while Cantoni and 
i)e Regis fixed the average quantity at '02 c. feet 
per second per acre for rice in rotation, and '016 
for permanent fields. Paolo Angiolini, another 
engineer, gi ves "036 c. feet for stiff soil, '071 for less 
stiff soil, and '14 for very porous land. The Societa 
d'li'rigazione Vercellese, a large association of pro- 
jjrietors Avho irrigate their own lands with 
Uovernment water consumes on an average over 
several thousand acres, '038 c. ft. per sec. per 
acre. On their clayey lands they use barely "019. 
The sources of supply of irrigation water in 
Italy arc: — Canals, in 63 per cent of the total area, 
rivers and streivms, in 2i per cent, springs, in 10 
per cent, artificial reservoris in 2 per cent, and 
lakes and ponds I per cent. 
The Avater from canals has to be paid for. 
The paddy crop in Italy is said to vary from 22 
bushels to 100 bushels per acre, or an average of 
about 61 bushels for rotation rice-fields and 5 J 
bushels jjer acre for permanent rice-fields. 
The above resume we think should not only 
prove interesting, as it would from merely com- 
piaring the system of cultivation in Italy and 
Ceylon, but should furnish fi fewpractical hints as 
regards the question of irrigation, manures, and 
rotation. 
GENERAL ITEMS. 
When one cites examples of practices carried 
on in the West ; and advices their adoption in 
the East, the remark is made that "it is all A ery 
Avell in the West, but people of the East Avill 
ncA'er be made to take to it," or "the tiling is 
not practicable here," such liave been tlie cus- 
toms that haA^e met the proposal that town 
sewage should be made use of for agricultural 
purposes in Eastern tOAvns, as it is in Western cities. 
Before saying anything further let me quote 
the folloAving from the Indian Agriculturist 
of the 18th July: — "The Municipal tOAvns in the 
Punjab are realizing a steadily growing income 
from the sale of toAA^n SAveepings and manure. 
From the several annual sanitary reports it is 
to be gathered that the sums realized have in- 
creased from R89,483 in 1886 to Rl, 20,790 
in 1890, and the field must still be a remuner- 
ative one ; for it is reported that in many places 
a strong prejudice exists on the part of agri- 
culturists against utilizing sewage as a manure. 
The sooner this prejudice disappears the better 
for both the municipal coffers and the agricul- 
turist as a common gain must fall to both. At 
Umritsur, for instance, there was once a pre- 
judice : noAv practical experience having shown 
the cultiA"ator the value of seAvage as a manure, 
there is eagerness to obtain it, and last year the 
Muncipality realized R3,468 from this source. 
At Peshawur, too, there is a demand, and other 
Muncipalities would do well to create one. In 
this connexion it may be remarked that the ex- 
portation from the country of animal bones in 
large quantities has attracted attention, and an 
endeavour is to be made to restrict this expor- 
tation by inducing the zemindar to use this 
A'aluable fertilizing substance Avhich lies at his 
A'ery door in the cultivation of his own land. 
The North British Agriculturist in reviewing 
Warrington's Chemistry of the Farm — the text- 
book in agricultural Chemistry for the senior 
class of the School of Agriculture, says :— " War- 
rington's chemistry of the farm is one of the 
most useful and most popular handbooks on 
agricultural science that liaA-e been issued, and any 
one who makes himself master of all the facts in 
this half-crown manual of agricultural chemistry, 
will then haA c as accurate and complete a know- 
ledge of the scientific principles of agriculture 
as would be acquired by attending a complete 
course of lectures on the subject by many a 
professor in our universities and colleges. The 
fact tliat 27,000 copies of this handbook liave 
