Albuquerque morning journal., 1916-12-25

was able to esta bliSh a properly organ
lied staff of agricultural officers with
! headquarters at Pusa in Bihar. and
organize provincial agricultural estab-
| lishments. At Pusa, where the CEN
| tral research institute IS established
ana where there is large expert
mental farm, seventeen officers are
employed and it was to the establish
ment of this institution that the bene-
faction of Mr.. Phipps was devoted
The inadequacy of the present staff
is fully realized and there Is at present
under consideration q scheme for an
immediate increase 1t is hoped we
shall be able to place every major
province in a condition Of self-con-
tinence in regard to research matters
and also considerably to strengthen
their teaching side
But for some period after the war
there will be many demands upon the
governments purse 'and the develop
ment of the agricultural department
is only one of the many directions in
which progress will be demanded.
Methods of Instruction.
"We rely at present upon two main
.imethods, demonstration farms, and
sVernacular instruction in agriculture.
am told that in America demOnstra-
ton farms very largely consist of the
farms Of individual farmers lent for
the purpose and farmed by the farmer
himself under the general advice and
control of an agricultural expert. Here
in India il is not always easy to per
suade a farmer to modify his methods
in accordance with the advice of Of
ficeTs of the department. We have,
therefore, established demonstration
farms at different Centers which are
controlled by the administrative staff
of the department under the imme-
diate management of a farm superin-
tendcnt
In the case of some crops very con,
siderable Improvement has resulted.
Where the Indian farmer is persuad-
led that practical advantage results
from adopting new methods he is by
no means backward. In the Punjab
where the farmer is usually well off
and remarkably intelligent, he has
readily taken to American variety of
cotton, which has been proved to be
suited to the climatic conditions. There
DIS reason to hope that the country
variety of short-staple cotton Will al
most disappear from the PLnjab in
favor of this American variety. Also
more than one variety of wheat has
been established, the best Of which we
hope soon to see grown on a very large
scale in suppression OF inferior arti-
Clcs.
we are indebted to an American
mission situation in the United PROV
inces near Allahabad under Samuel
HigginbOtham. Mr. HigginbOtham is
an enthusiastic agriculturist and has
succeeded in popularizing improved
methods. We have also received CON
siderable assistance in suggestion from
studying the proceedings of the gen
eral education board in America.
Cooperative Crcdit.
zone other development of recent
years is cooperative credit which was
was legally established in this country
in 1904 The movement has progress
ed by leaps and bounds one Of the
chief difficulties in the way Of agri-
culture in India consists in the small
size of the holdings in many parts of
the country and the consequent lack
of capital. Moreover, custom in CON
ncction with marriage and other Ger
SmOnial occasions demands a heavy
toll on all classes Of the CommnitY
This has been largely responsible
for the poverty of the agriculturists.
When a farmer had to marry his son
pr his daughter or to perform any of
the innumerable CcTemOnials connect
ed with his domestic life, he inVari-
ably had recourse to the village money
lender who demanded a high rate of
interest, When a farmer ddesired to
improve his holding by the construc-
tion of a well or--%%-ss---uIehase OF bul-
locks, he was compelled to resort to
the same quarter and paid rate Of
interest which amazes those not famil-
lar with Indian conditions.
The Indian statute book of the
past half century contains many eX-
amples Of the attempts to relieve the
agriculturist but none Of these prior
to the passage of the cooperative
credit societies act had the result so
much desired.
"In 1909 there were zoos societies
In India, and in the year 1915 the
total registered societies numbered
1922. Hitherto the main purpose Of
these societies which are Of unlimited
liability has been the advance Of
money to individual cuItvatOrs for
specific purposes, but the movement
is rapidly developing, and progress,
along lines analogous 10 those adopted
by the Agricultural Organization So
ciety in Ireland, is already marked.
There Is room to hope that in the CO.
operative system may prove to have
been discovered the remedy, so long
sought, for the tendency Of thrifuness