CROP AT DAPHAR, 4 YEARS OLD, RAISED BY SOWING SHISHAM IN PLOUGHED THE EXCELLENT SOIL AND ADEQUATE RAINFALL MAKE THIS POSSIBLE A COMPARTMENT AT CHANGA MANGA SHOWING THE DAMAGE DUE TO THE that crops of four and five years of age have had to be thinned, and even at five years the work has to be cautiously carried out, for the stems have already become somewhat whippy. Later thinnings have been carried out at the ages of eleven and sixteen years, but with as short a rotation as twenty years it would appear necessary to thin much more frequently, and experiments on these lines are being carried out. Since mulberry logs of 3 feet in girth-which can be produced in twenty years-fetch up to Rs.4 per cubic foot, when there is much mulberry in the crop the more frequent attention the young trees are given the better will be the quality of the logs produced. After the first thinning, mulberry, if it has not already appeared, can be introduced by under-sowing with great success. This has been done in places in Chinchawatni, where no mulberry has come in naturally. Irrigation. The quantity of water which a shisham crop requires during the growing season to enable it to put on its normal growth under different conditions of texture of soil, depth of water-level and climate factors, has not yet been established; but experiments are being carried out to determine this. In Daphar Plantation, with a rainfall of over 20 inches, where the water-level is little over 20 feet from the surface, and where the water-retaining capacity of the soil is considerable, a crop of shisham once established can put on excellent growth with but one watering a year, and also a young crop of three years can be completely starved for a growing season without any very detrimental effects. In Khanewal, situated in the arid district of Multan, with a rainfall of but 3 or 4 inches or less in the year, the water-level at 60 feet and a considerable admixture of sand in the soil, two waterings a year given to an established crop is insufficient to keep it alive. An experiment was carried out in Khanewal (where the water supply available is now very deficient) last year to determine the effect of extra watering on shisham crops, the growth of which had been restricted through inadequate supply. Separate plots were given two, three, four and five waterings respectively, and the effects of the different quantities of water given are already very conspicuous. The trees to which two waterings have been given are practically dying and in many places the dead stems have been blown down. The plot with three waterings delivered is little better, except that new shoots have been put forth and it is doubtful whether the crop will ever recover to normal growth, but the crops which received four and five waterings show marked differences in height and girth." The photographs show one or two of these crops. The quantity of water delivered is measured by the depth which would stand on the area if the ground was impermeable. The unit of the discharge of canal water to irrigated ground is the "cusec," or I cubic foot per second. One cusec discharge running for one hour will water I acre to a depth of 1 inch. The amount of water being delivered can thus be readily ascertained. From experience gained in the Southern Plantation Division it is considered that a total depth of 60 inches must be delivered to a shisham crop during the season to enable it to put on normal growth. This incidentally is the depth considered necessary for a crop of rice, and is far higher than that required for cotton. The discharges of channels feeding compartments should be measured daily, and it is essential that the subordinate staff should be trained to take these measurements accurately, and these require to be checked with those of the Canal Officers. Different depths of water can easily be delivered, varying from the minimum required to keep the crops alive to the maximum under which the crops can live, and that quantity of water required by the crop to enable it to put on normal growth can be easily established by experiment. These experiments are now in progress. A few remarks will be of interest on the three chief plantations referred to above. Changa Manga.-This plantation is now in its third rotation, the latter being one of twenty years, although the average periods during the first two rotations were fifteen and seventeen years respectively. Various factors appear to have impeded the growth during recent years. It may be considered that a third cropping with the same species would account for the want of uniformity in the growth. This would appear to be contradicted by the fact that agriculturally, at any rate, the soil is more valuable than that outside the plantation. A second factor is insufficiency of water, a point alluded to by Fluett. This may be attributed to several causes, some easily ascertainable, others more difficult to surmise. The shorthandedness of the staff during the War years, perhaps, resulted in a slackening of the necessary vigilance in this respect, a factor which would account for the grip the so-called shisham fungus (Fomes lucidus) has attained over the plantation. One fact is apparent, that parts of the plantation have taken more water than should be the case. This is attributed to the |