AGRICULTURAL PAGEANT SHOWS INDIAN PROGRESS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6863, 19 March 1929, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL PAGEANT SHOWS INDIAN PROGRESS

AHMEDABAD, GUJRAT CAPITAL, EHIBITS MODERN IRRIGATION SYSTEM AT WORK. BOMBAY, Feb. 12. In order to open the eyes of the agriculturist iu India to possibilities in farming of which he has hitherto had no conception and to stimulate in all classes an interest in agriculture, the second Bombay Presidency Agricultural Show, perhaps the greatest show of its kind in this country, was recently held at Ahmcdabad, the capital of Gujrat. This show was fur more than a pageant of agricultural progress, for all the way through, the organisers endeavoured to maintain the ideal which tho Governor (Sir Leslie Wilson) set bofore the first great show held in Poona, namely, that everything must bo of a practical character, instantly and visibly indicative of how and why new methods are adopted and of what and when new varieties of seeds and crops should bo planted. Probably for tho first time in their lives, many of the cultivators were able to got a bird's-eye view of the actual extent and work of a modern irrigation system. The working models in the irrigation court provided all the visitors with a complete idea of the way in which the canal systems in Gujrat work anrj the amount of territory they benefit. The co-operative court was a comprehensive view of the numerical, financial, and moral strength of the movement illustrated by means of maps, charts, and models illustrating societies, banks, members, activities, and products. There were also the articles prepared by the producers’ societies, and a veritable emporium wub to be seen of weaving work, silver articles, gold thread work, and other novel and essential things, the majority of tho manufacturers having been assisted in various ways by the co-operative, movement.