"تقرير عن إدارة رئاسة بومباي لسنة ١٨٨٨-١٨٨٩." [و‎‎٦‎٧] (٤٥٦/١٤٠)

^tracts
k *««,'
insuffici eit f 0H
id ^ 1
e cost of CUlffij
the previous „
pite of the baj,
} ciops wei(
Pf^t. 0u whea
nve-sixths of ^
ouble that of the
rop however va:
3n no yield at
improved yi e l
1 become accas
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d but in an n
years wasapaji
hat the colour u
that the wheats
. equal amount i
strict. One actt;
Les per pound,
jrain with hisali
the attacks ofi
grain. Exclusii
Rs. 990 against
e non-experimet
mental area, c«
ing a net loss i
Bourbon cot
oss. Experim
now that select
turn of the se
j on the Lois
ionstrate these
f rotation hasi
oerintendent, i
•evious year, i
nao’ement of tk
O
rposes,
nd tlic
1888-89.] AGRICULTURE. 79
and is less liable to rust than the indigenous kinds. With these advantages the imported
seed is likely to encroach still further on the area under Sindhi wheat; but with the
existing means of communication the difference between the price in the local market and
at Karachi is not sufficient to encourage exportation to the latter port. The distribution
of seed is made on the condition that seed equivalent to the amount given should be
returned to Government after the harvest. During the year an expenditure of Rs. 500
was incurred by the local board in connexion with the distribution.
In the Dharwar district about 700 acres were sown during the year under report with
the newly imported American cotton ; but the cultivators, though convinced of the superiority
of the new variety, are deterred from adopting it by the fear of immediate loss owing to
the small yield of the seed before acclimatisation. The experiments on the Bhadgaon farm
have already been noticed. Samples of improved Sindhi, Nankin, Bourbon and American
cotton grown in the Umarkot municipal gardens were submitted to the Karachi Chamber
of Commerce, which pronounced an opinion unfavourable to the two first named, but favour
able to the others. Experiments on the Hyderabad farm have, however, shown that Bourbon
cotton does not pay. Special inquiries into the deterioration of the Amraoti cotton, made
during the year by Mr. Ozanne, the late Director of Agriculture, went to show that the
cotton of inferior staple now chiefly grown, was introduced from the Nizam’s territories or
the adjacent portions of the Central Provinces and came into favour on account of its large
yield in comparison with that of the pure Jari and Bani varieties. The latter are now in
dan a-er of extinction, but to assist their preservation some good seed has been obtained and
planted on the Khandesh farm. The financial position of the ginning factories in Dharwar
has improved, and seven new steam gins were opened in the last season, bringing the
number in existence up to fifteen.
The tobacco experiments at Nadiad proved a filial failure in the year under report.
The experiments in the cultivation of the date palm ^av ^ encouia 0 m 0 results, and fresh
supplies of seed and of offsets have been ordered from Egypt. Sind appears best suited
for the cultivation of this palm. A quantity of date-seed from Bassorah was planted
by the Conservator, Northern Circle, in the forests of his circle ; but the result’s were generally
poor. The area under arrowroot grown by private individuals was small and did not
increase. The right of collecting the pods from the divi-divi plantations in Dharwar was
farmed to a company in Plubli by whom the crop, amounting to 69 cwts., was shipped
to London and partly sold at 7*-. 9ck per cwt. The Bhadgaon divi-divi crop did not find a pur
chaser. The Kanara plantation, which contains 19,703 of these trees, yielded 12 maunds of
pods, part of which was sent for plantation in Dharwar. Attempts were being made to
■resuscitate the cultivation of indigo in Gujarat and the adjoining States. An interesting
experiment on the qualities of the barilla plant in improving salt lands was carried out
on the Nadiad farm between 1886 and the year under review. The plants throve and
ultimately seeded; but though they became salt the soil did not become perceptibly sweeten
On being burnt the plants gave a small yield of carbonate of soda. The private sugar
refineries at Poona and Baroda worked at a loss, and it was reported that owing to the
lavish use of poudrette manure, the Deccan sugarcane yielded less crystallizable matter
than that of some other Provinces. Special attention to the largely increasing export
of hones was invited by the Government of India. During the last nine years exports of
this commodity by sea from Bombay and Karachi have risen from 2,927 to 19,783 tons.
Little demand for bones either in agriculture or manufacture exists in this Presidency and
the attempts hitherto made to introduce a scientific bone manure have been failures.
Cattle-disease exhibited a diminished prevalence during the year as compared with
that preceding ; but the presence of disease, chiefly foot and mouth or rinderpest,
was reported from 361 tillages in eight districts; and out of 16,041 cattle affected, 9,542
perished. Some slight diffusion of rational knowledge on the subject is said to be becoming
visible, and some of the native drugs and methods of treatment are described as useful. A
4 contagious disease, resembling pleuro-pneumonia, in goats, said to be common but hitherto
* unrecognised, appeared among the animals on the Bhadgaon farm and was subjected to
careful investigation; but the remedies tried proved ineffectual.
Details of the actual areas cultivated, uncultivated and under forest in the Presidency
will be found in Appendix IY of this report. The following table gives the percentages
represented by the figures therein shown. On comparing these statistics with those of pre
vious years, it must be borne in mind that they are subject to much variation from year to
year in consequence of the progress of the survey settlement in many districts, especially
those of Sind, and in consequence also of the correction of previously incorrect returns.
Thus in the year under report, the gross area recorded for the Presidency proper is less by
236,000 acres, and that recorded for Sind is more by 3 million acres than the gross area
shown in the previous year; while the area of alienated villages exceeds that given in the
previous year by 11,942 acres in consequence of the correction ©f an error by which in
former years the Government waste in alienated villages was entered under the head of
Government villages. The area for which statistics are available has increased during the
year in the Presidency proper by 171,000 acres or 0*38 per cent., and in Sind by 7,033,000
acres or, nearly 67 per cent. Most of the Sind district returns have been, for the first time,
compiled on the model of the district returns for the Presidency proper:
Chap, IV.
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.
Cotton experiments.
Miscellaneous
experiments.
Cattle-disease,
Cultivated and
uncultivated areas.