demonstration of such machinery and implements as are suitable for the tract in which the show is held and exhibits of livestock and produce. If these shows are to exercise their full effect in educating opinion among local cultivators, it is essential that they should be held year after year, if not in one centre, at least in the same part of the country. A permanent agricultural stall should also be a prominent feature of the regulated markets, the establishment of which we recommend in Chapter XI of the main Report (see page 44 below). The agricultural departments might also have suitable exhibits at the big fairs and festivals which are so common in India.

The publications of the various agricultural departments include vernacular leaflets, bulletins, journals and calendars while the departments in most of the provinces supply regular material to the English and vernacular press. The success of these publications depends primarily on the amount of literacy in the various provinces and we have no desire to lay down any general directions in this matter. We would, however, point out that vernacular leaflets are of little value unless they are issued in connection with a definite demonstration of their subject matter. We approve of publicity in any form where it is felt that it will be appreciated by the public. Our remarks with regard to vernacular leaflets apply also to lectures, with or without lantern slides, and to cinema demonstrations. Propaganda through these means will be of little value unless it is used in conjunction with an actual demonstration of results. With regard to cinema exhibits, an agricultural film is apt to fail in its purpose unless it has been carefully prepared by a producer with considerable knowledge of village life and of the mentality of the average villager. For this reason, the agricultural departments should consider the advisability of preparing their own films.

In this connection, we would mention an interesting experiment which has recently been made in Bengal and the Punjab. A demonstration train was fitted up as a travelling exhibition by the Railway, Public Health, Agricultural, Industries, Co-operative and Veterinary departments and carried out an extensive tour throughout these provinces. In addition to the exhibits of various departments displayed to the public, open air lectures illustrated by films and lantern slides were given at each stop. The possibility of such a demonstration train should, when the results of the Bengal and Punjab experiment are known, be considered by other provinces.

Of other methods of propaganda, agricultural associations, as originally constituted, have, for the most part, hitherto proved a failure. The area from which the members were drawn was usually too large to permit of a concentration of activity sufficient to produce any positive results. The lack of a definite task often meant that nothing at all was done. Members were frequently drawn from people whose direct interest in the land was small or the associations depended too much upon the enthusiasm of a single member, while the staff of the agricultural departments was too limited to enable them to give the associations the necessary close attention. In recent years, however, in Bombay and the Central Provinces many of them have been reorganised in the light of experience

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and converted into active bodies. The tendency in the Central Provinces now is to develop the smaller unit, starting with the tehsils and working up to the circle and the district. An interesting development is in progress in Bombay, where taluka development associations and divisional boards of agriculture have been formed. This represents the most systematic attempt which has yet been made to co-ordinate the propaganda work of the agricultural and co-operative departments in respect of agricultural improvement. The idea is that, as soon as possible after the constitution of an association, a survey of the taluka is to be carried out by the agricultural and co-operative departments. Where such associations exist, they have taken over the work formerly done in the taluka by agricultural associations, co-operative development committees and similar bodies. The associations are mainly deliberative bodies and approve the programme of work in the taluka. Their main object is the demonstration of improved implements, improved seed and manures, but they do not undertake the demonstration of any improvements unless they have already been successfully demonstrated on the cultivators' own fields by the staff of the Agricultural Department. If an association asks for them, the services of a fieldman are placed entirely at its disposal by the Agricultural Department, the cost being met from the funds of the association. The funds required for the work of the association are provided by a capital fund raised by donations, by annual subscriptions from co-operative societies, individuals, and villages as a whole and by an annual grant from Government which at present is equal to the income from other sources up to a limit of one thousand rupees. The taluka development associations work under the supervision of divisional boards, consisting of two official and four non-official members, two representing the co-operative movement and two agriculture. The board is expected to meet at least once a quarter and to submit a report of its proceedings to the Director of Agriculture and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. The board distributes the government grants allotted to the taluka associations, and controls the distribution of the portion of the government grant for loans to co-operative societies which was formerly in charge of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. It undertakes the distribution of the discretionary grant for propaganda purposes which was formerly administered by the Director of Agriculture. It is also expected to advise local officers as to the way in which the policy laid down by Government or by the Director and the Registrar is to be carried out in their division. It discusses questions of general importance and brings to the notice of the department concerned such measures as it thinks should be taken for the economic advancement of the division. The Government of Bombay have laid down that the propaganda work of the Agricultural Department should be carried on as far as possible through co-operative unions where they exist and, where they do not, through isolated co-operative societies. A report on the work of all the propaganda staff is submitted to the divisional board by the departments concerned every quarter and is forwarded to the Director of Agriculture and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies with the board's remarks. Any recommendations made by the

board are considered and orders on them are issued by the Director and the Registrar jointly. We consider that this system provides a model which is worthy of study by other provincial governments. We are convinced that it is only by the adoption of this, or of some similar system, that the agricultural departments can effectively utilise the help of co-operative and other associations.

We have described the work of the taluka development associations in some detail because we consider that agricultural departments have, on the whole, failed to exploit the possibility of propaganda work through the co operative departments. While this has been largely due to the fact that the co-operative movement in several provinces in India has not yet reached a stage at which it can undertake on an extensive scale any activities other than credit, there can be no doubt that lack of sufficiently close touch between the agricultural and the co-operative departments has been a contributory cause. The agricultural departments should make far greater use of the co-operative credit society in their propaganda work than they are now doing.

We desire to emphasise the importance of concentration in all demonstration and propaganda work. For this reason small units should be selected. Once an improvement has thoroughly established itself in the agricultural practice of a small area, the knowledge of it spreads naturally over contiguous areas where conditions are similar. In particular, concentration is necessary in regard to the distribution of the seed of improved varieties. An improved variety can thus more easily be produced in bulk and a premium for the quality more readily obtained from the trade. Similarly the subjects selected for demonstration should be strictly limited. The energies of the agricultural departments should not be dissipated.

Questions of demonstration and propaganda are of such importance that we consider that an officer of the standing of a deputy director of agriculture might well be attached to the office of the Director of Agriculture whose sole duty would be to organise and systematise propaganda work throughout the province. His task would be to watch the various schemes of propaganda in operation, to record their results and to suggest methods of making them more effective. He would be expected to familiarise himself as far as possible, with experiments in demonstration and propaganda in other provinces and in other countries, and generally to keep the research staff in touch with what was going on in the districts. We consider that the propaganda work of departments concerned with rural welfare, other than the agricultural and veterinary departments, is best carried on through associations of a more general character than taluka development associations and agricultural associations.

We consider that a valuable stimulus to agricultural development in India would be given if the Government of India were to award an annual prize for the most striking agricultural improvement of the year. The conditions governing the award of the prize should be made as definite as possible and we would instance the invention of new or improved implements or the introduction of new or improved varieties of crops as examples of the class of work which would constitute a claim to it.

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V. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

The latest statistics give the following figures for the different CHAPTER VII or groups of livestock in British India.

THE MAIN REPORT.

OF

In the 66 Indian States for which statistics are available, there were, in 1924-25, over 36 million cattle and buffaloes, 25 million sheep and goats, one million horses, donkeys and mules, and 262,000 camels. In no country of the world are cattle of more importance than they are in India.. Milk, though important, is a secondary consideration. The primary function of the cattle is as draught animals for the plough or the cart. Without the ox, no cultivation would be possible: without the ox no produce could be transported.

In spite of the wide differences between province and province, in physical features and in the numbers of the cattle, there seems to be a general similarity in India in the methods of management by cattle owners. A detailed study of a few closely settled districts suggests that the total number of ordinary cattle is primarily determined by the number of animals needed for work on the land. A comparison of the number of cattle kept in India with those kept in other countries indicates the possibility of reducing the number of working bullocks without necessarily reducing the existing standard of cultivation. There would, in fact, appear to be an excess in the numbers of the cattle necessary for cultivation if these cattle were efficient. The figures suggest the existence of a vicious circle. The number of cattle within a district depends upon and is regulated by the demand for bullocks. The worse the conditions for rearing efficient cattle, the greater the numbers kept tend to be. Cows become less fertile and their calves become undersized and do not satisfy cultivators who, in the attempt to secure useful bullocks, breed more and more cattle. As numbers increase, or as the increase of tillage encroaches on the better grazing land, the pressure on the available supply of food leads to still further poorness in the cows. As cattle grow smaller in size and greater in number, the rate at which conditions become worse for the breeding of good livestock is accelerated. For it must not be supposed that the food required by a hundred small cattle is the same as that needed by fifty of double the size. As cattle become smaller, the amount of food needed in proportion to their size increases. Thus large numbers of diminutive cattle are a serious drain on a country in which the fodder supply is so scarce at certain seasons of the year as it is in India. The process having gone so far, India having acquired so large a cattle population and the size of the animals in many tracts having fallen so low, the task of reversing the process of deterioration and of improving

the livestock of this country is now a gigantic one; but on improvement in its cattle depends to a degree that is little understood the prosperity of its agriculture and the task must be faced.

Unless substantial changes in the existing management of cattle are introduced, a progressive deterioration in the quality of the cattle is to be feared. Four cardinal points in a policy of improvement must be (a) a reduction in the number of plough cattle; (b) an increase in the efficiency of plough cattle; (c) attention to all matters that would tend to decrease the number of bullocks required for cultivation; and (d) an effort to secure better treatment for dry cows and cows in-calf.

The most important matter in connection with the maintenance of stock is the manner in which it is fed. In India, where stall feeding is little practised, the facilities for grazing are the principal consideration. It may be said that, in nearly every part of India the common grazing lands and all grass lands close to villages are generally hopelessly overstocked. The custom that an animal, if not working, should find its own food in the jungle when there is no fodder available on his holding results in the cultivator being unwilling to make any unusual sacrifice for the well-being of his cattle. The general position as regards cattle management may be summed up as follows. The ordinary cultivator does what he can for his plough cattle and his cow buffaloes; quite often he does well for them, but bad seasons create difficulties for even the best cultivators, and the best of their cattle. The cow is less fortunate; she gets little stall feeding and has to seek the greater part of her food where she can; young cattle and the male offspring of her rival, the she-buffalo, share her fate and pick up their livelihood on common grazing grounds or by raiding crops.

It is only fair, however, to note that there are exceptions and that, where their treatment is good, many fine cattle belonging to a number of well recognised breeds are to be found. Amongst them the best known are perhaps the Hariana and Sahiwal of the Punjab, the Thar Parkar and Sindhi of Sind, the Kankrej of Gujarat, the Gir of Kathiawar, and the Ongole of Madras.

The two important factors in cattle improvement are feeding and breeding. We place feeding first because no outstanding improvement in the way of breeding is possible till cattle can be better fed. The crux of the situation is the period of scarcity which in most, though not in all parts of the country, is the two or three months preceding the break of the south-west monsoon. Since it is the curtailment of uncultivated land as population has increased during the past century that is the most obvious cause of the present overstocking of village grounds, it is not surprising that many witnesses have advocated the extension of grazing land. After an exhaustive survey of the possibilities, we are of opinion that no large additions to existing grazing areas are possible and efforts should therefore be concentrated on increasing the productivity of the land already growing grass. The scope for such efforts is very great. The productivity of the existing grazing grounds could be increased in the following ways: