THE FRUITS OF THE MOFUSSIL PRESS. 
481 
m«nic.ilioii, we think there csm be little question 
(liat a laii-vvay will ite f<tuii(l preferable to a canal* 
P-'i haps there is no pan of the couuiry, possess- 
ed of greater iiatuial facilities for the consiruciiou 
of a tail load, than that to wliich we allude. The 
line is not like other parts of Bengal intersected 
with stieams, neither does fhe obstruction arising 
frttni uiidnlaiions of the soil exist to any extent, 
li lies inoieover in the vicinity of the coal uiines ; 
Uiijmahl w'ould stipply coal, for one portion of the 
route, and Bnrdwatt for the other. The advantages 
of estahiishitig sitcli a line to the coinineice of the 
country, and to the geneial inieicottrse of societ) , 
are incalctihible.. No enlerin ize crrnid perhaps lie 
thonglit of tnoi e useful, mot e necessary, or more 
likely to yield a pt ofiiahle rcttirn than this. The 
dtstatice would he traveised in a little tnore iliati 
five liottis; so that ajotirney to Rajnialil and back 
again might be petloinied in a single day Of 
course all the freight wliich is imw sent tip, or 
brought down by way of ilie Sooiuleibnus dining 
ih“ dry ntoinhs, would be disoaielied bv the lail 
road ; and the siieed of iIk* coinmnn caiion, the 
absence of risk, and the nioderation of tlie expense, 
would possibly induce tlie itnnsinis-ion of till inei- 
chandize, even dtning the rains, liy lliis channel. 
All European passengers would necessaiily avail 
themselves of it ; aud the pointof starting to the 
Western Provinces would be removed from Cal- 
cutta to Kajmalil. This place would at once be- 
come the port for onr Steamers ; there would no 
longer exist any necessity to employ a flat in addi- 
tion to the steamer, and a steam vessel without ibis 
drag might easily teach Ailaliabad from Kaj- 
mahl in less than ten days So vast indeed is the 
commerce that would instantly occupy this road, 
that the expenditure which Government might in- 
cur would in all probability be refunded in a few 
years, while the advantage of shortening the dis- 
tance between the metropolis and our north- 
western fiotiiier by ten days would be found, in a 
political point of view, an object of the highest ad- 
vantage to Oovernmeut. We have thrown out 
these ideas, in the hope that others beiiei aide to 
enter into details, will be induced to discuss the 
plan, and thus pave the way for its eventual adop- 
tion. 
GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS OF INDIA. 
At a recent meeting of the Asiatic Society, it 
was determined to engiaft a geographical and 
statistical class upon the parent stock of that 
institution, which will no doubt attract the atten- 
tion of our leading scientific characters, and ste(>8 
will be taken to encourage geographical aud statis- 
tical researches at this Presidency, and to place 
the documents which may be collected on these 
subjects ou record. 
SUGAR CANE IN INDIA. 
Our readers will perceive from our nume- 
rous extracts from the Mofussil papers, the 
value of the press, beyond the Mahratta ditch. 
The following, from our able contemporary of 
the Meerut Observer, will not, we presume, be 
deemed unimportant at this moment. 
As the country cane is far inferior to the 
canes of Otaheite and Mauritius, especial care 
has been taken to naturalize them, and the at- 
tempt has so far succeeded that they have af- 
ter nine years’ cultivation not been found to 
degenerate in India under common care, tieen 
proved to yield four times as much as the 
ceuntry canes, and that hopes are entertain- 
ed that in four yeai*s more the country cane 
will be completely displaced. That this is not 
a chimerical hope we beg to record a fact 
which, however astonishing it may appear, is 
vouched for in the high authority of Capt. 
Cautley. Two years since Colonel Colvin re- 
ceived from Calcutta about seven living Ota- 
heite canes ; from these he has succeeded in 
raising a large plantation ; last year he sent 
nine canes lo Capt Cautley, who planted 
them at Manuckmow, and reaped this year no 
less than squ < anes from them, being a sixty - 
fold return for the cuttings planted ; nearly the 
whole of these Capt. C. purposes replanting 
with the view of distributing the produce 
amongst the Zuineendars of his neighbourhood. 
The Horticultural Society of Meerutt has re- 
ceived a sti ply of cuttings of tiie same cane 
from Dr. Stevenson at I ucknow, from Colo- 
nel Colvin’s plantation at Dadoofioor, from 
Capt Cautley, and from Capt Sleemaiv’s Jub- 
bulpoor Establishment, which ought to enable 
the Committee to raise a sufficient quantity 
of cuttings for next year, to distribute amongst 
the neighbouring planters. 
From the same paper, we extract the fol- 
lowing 
It I- marks on The corn of the spring 
t"ROl’, IN I'HF, VoUTHF.ll DIVISION op 
THE DOAB, IN THE Ul’PlUl PROVINCES 
OF INDIA. 
By Capt. Brown, Revenue Surveyor. 
Considerable aitenlioii has lately been paid to- 
wards tlie impiovement of certain products adapted 
for exporiatioii. |t may be thoiight worthy of 
consideiatioii to ascertain whether luoduce for 
home consnmpi ion, particularly the more valuable 
sorts, may not be equally capable of improvement 
with great heiiefii. 
ITie mass of the population of India being almost 
wholly employed in Agricitllural pursuits, has long 
been considered prejudicial to the improvements 
of the conntiy, the fiist step to vvhicli must natur- 
ally be looked for lo a new system, and cannot be 
better commenced, titan bv acquiring superior pio- 
ducp as the first stimulant to further industry. 
The .Agricultural products of India, as far as 
regards Coin, have probably never undergone any 
changes. Althongli in Europe great advantages 
from time to lime have been derived by the iiitro- 
diiciinti of superior foreign grain, the aileniion of 
Agiiciilturists seems still to be drawn to the subject, 
and new aud impoitaiii r.cquisilious to i..j English 
farmer have lately been made in the Victoria Wheat. 
The light Corn of India as at present grown may 
be best suited for dry light upland soils without 
ii tigation, but the rich and irrigated soils certainly 
desei ve a better and heavier description of giaiii 
than that n<iw used. 
In order to shew the necessity of improvement, 
the following is a short desci ipiion, with sketches, 
of bailey and wheat grown in India, conipaied 
with common wheat grown in England, and wheat 
in Syria, the latter in a cliniAte somewhat similar 
to Ibis, piemising that the crops selected of Indian 
produce, was of the best desciiption procurable in 
the district of Sabariinpoor, 
No i. Bailey, length of straw 3 ft. 2 inches, 54 
grains in the ear, weighing ,{0 grains. 
No. 2. Commtin red wheat, length of straw 3 ft. 
9 inches, 38 grains in tlie eat , weighing 2i giains 
1'hisistlie wheat sown geiieially in tlie Dooab in 
all soils. 
No. 3- The Daoodeeor Beardless wheat, length 
of straw 3 ft. 8 inches, 28 grains in the ear, weigh- 
ing 22 grains. The District of Rewarree in Dilhi is 
famous for this wheat, the flour from it is used for 
the finest sort of bread and sweetmeat. 
No- 4- Bearded large white wheal, 43 grains in 
each eaj, weighing 31 grains- This wheat is very 
uncommon ; it is sometimes grown in the Futty- 
giiiir Dislrict,a few heads of it were found at 
vSnharutipnor. 
No. 5- Heshbon wheat as sketched and describ- 
ed by Messrs, Irby aud Mangles in their travels 
