'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1908-1909' [‎79v] (20/132)

XIV
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
[1908-
1909,
Advances to
Cultivators.
Breeding
operations.
Fairs and
Shows.
Meteorology.
ment in quality gained by the latter method is accompanied sooner or later by
Till in the ginning percentage. Among cultural experiments, those desigj
to elucidate the comparative advantages of deep an s a ow culti nti
occupied a prominent position. The most important results were those wh ich
demonstrated the value of the American method of dry farming as applied to
rabi cultivation. Manurial experiments again illustrated the value of ammoni Urri
sulphate for sugarcane; and this is now being distributed among e u mvato tS;
but for dry-crop farming no artificial manure has been found profitable at the
present prices. During the year a separate branch was established for dealing
with agricultural mechanics and engineering.
30 A remarkable increase of Hi lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees or nearly 112 per cent, in advances
under the Agriculturists’ Loans Act testifies to the growing P 0 P ular % of this class
of tasdvi During the past 5 years the rise under this head has been interrupted
only by the check exhibited in the figures of last year. The resumption of the
upward movement in the year under review was not, as so often before, due to the
pressure of scarcity; on the contrary, it was almost confined to the districtsi n
which the season was relatively favourable. The cause is to be found partly in the
enhanced demand for loans for the purchase of seed and cattle which naturally
accompanied the improved prospects of the year and especially the expansion of
cultivation in Sind; and partly, perhaps, in the increased difficulty of obtaining
such loans from sdvkars which has resulted from the operation of the Deccan
Agriculturists’ Relief Act and the system of restricted tenure. On the other hand
advances under the Land Improvement Loans Act followed the tendency of the
preceding three years and showed a further decline of 9f per cent. This Act
was principally utilized in the Deccan, where the necessity of extending agri
cultural safeguards such as water-supply is always most felt; and the decrease
during the year was possibly due to the fact that the several preceding seasons
had not been sufficiently profitable to favour agricultural enterprize.
31. The system of giving joint tagdvi for the purchase of stock bulls through
the agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. of the Civil Veterinary Department was continued successfully
in Ahmednagar, and 87 bulls had been procured in this manner up to the
close of the year. So far no other distriot has adopted the scheme. The
herd of the Northcote Cattle Farm at Chharodi increased considerably and
a number of animals were also disposed of by sale. Although Government
stallions were more extensively used during the year in Gujarat, the figures
again declined in the Deccan, where there are indications that horse-breeding
as an industry is dying out under the influence of economic changes and the
series of had seasons.
32. Much interest was taken in the Ahmedahad Horse Show and the
annual cattle shows held at Mhasvad and Sholapur, and better stock was
exhibited. The cattle shows at Ahmedabad and Ahmednagar were revived, and
three new shows were organized, one of which at Panvel promises to become
annual. In Sind cattle fairs were held at Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Talha 1 *)
the first-named being a new institution. The Talhar Pair is to be abandoned
owing to the continued decrease in attendance, but the others showed satisfac*
tory results.
33. Ihe character of the season bore a considerable resemblance to
of the preceding year, the chief points of similarity being the late arrival and
early withdrawal of the monsoon, its compensating strength during the m tef ‘
mediate period and the feebleness of the retreating current. The distribution
vms, however, very uneven. While rainfall was much in defect in the Eastern
Deccan and much of the Southern Mardtha Country, it was continuous during