AGRICULTURAL PAGEANT SHOWS INDIAN PROGRESS

Shannon News, 19 April 1929, Page 2

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 in India to possibilities in farming of which he has hitherto had no conception and to stimulate in all classes an interest in agriculture, the 1 second Bombay Presidency Agricultural Show, perhaps the greatest show, of its kind in this country, wa's recently held at Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujrat. This show was far more than a pageant of agricultural progress, for all the way through, the organisers endeavoured to maintain the ideal which the Governor (Sir Leslie Wilson) sot before the first great show held in Poona, namely, that everything must be 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 be planted. Probably for the first time in their lives, many of the cultivators were able to get 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 and 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 svn» to be seen of weaving work, silver articles, gold thread work, and other novel and essential things, the majority of the manufacturers having been assisted in various ways by the. co-operative movement.