It is wonderful to me to think that the Poona College of Agriculture has reached its Golden Jubilee. When I arrived in Poona in the latter part of 1907 to take my place as the first Principal of the College very few people would have believed that it would have the brilliant career which it has had, and that in 1957 it would have established itself as one of the great agricultural institutions of the world. In 1907, when it had just been separated from the College of Science (now the Engineering College), it was housed in a couple of bungalows in Kirkee and though plans had been approved for the construction of the present college buildings, it was a couple of years or more before it was possible to occupy even one block of these buildings. The farm had been purchased and established as a teaching centre for practical agriculture, and the Ganeshkhind Gardens served as a place for training in Horticulture. But the whole scheme was very much in an embryo stage and many people doubted whether the College would ever attain the status of a real University College. The students were few in number and most of them were attracted by government scholarships and the promise that graduates would be well considered for employment in the Revenue Department. Dr. Harold H. Mann was the founder Principal of the College since its inception in 1908. A chemist by training, he was a scientist with catholic tastes and built up not only the Chemistry Section but also all the other sections of the College. Today, the Poona Agricultural College is prominent in the scientific map of India and this eminent status is in no small measure due to the pioneering efforts and foresight of Dr. Mann. An octogenarian, he is still an active scientist and our salutations to him on this auspicious occasion. The College, however, quickly established itself as perhaps the most successful of all the agricultural colleges in India. It attracted students from Burma, from Ceylon, and from every part of what was then the Bombay Presidency, and it gradually built up a reputation which it has maintained to the present day. I was surrounded by a staff who were not only highly qualified but also enthusiastic and ready to go to almost any length to increase the reputation and influence of the College. Many of these have passed away; others have retired followed by the respect of several generations of students; and others again will, I hope, be present at the Golden Jubilee celebrations. But to them and to their successors the College owes undying gratitude for their devotion which has led to its present outstanding success and reputation. One feature of the College from its earliest days was unique. It was not merely a centre for training agricultural graduates but also a research institute in which almost every member of the staff was expected to have some subject of investigation in hand to which he could give his time and attention when not actually teaching. College holidays were not holidays really, but opportunities for research and it gradually became the ambition of quite a large proportion of the students to initiate such work and to make discoveries of scientific or agricultural importance. The result is seen in the stream of original work which has appeared by members of the staff and by graduates of the College right up to the present time. I am proud to have been the head of the College for the first eleven years of its existence, and I am proud of its present reputation. I hope it will go on from strength to strength and be always an institution which will be in the forefront of agricultural progress in India.

The credit for establishing healthy traditions which made the present esteemed status of the College of Agriculture, Poona, possible, is in a great measure due to Dr. W. Burns. He was later the Agricultural Commissioner with Government of India from where he retired. We wish him our best. When, in October 1908, I arrived at the bungalow of Dr. H. H. Mann, then Principal of the newly-formed College of Agriculture, Poona, he was away on a sea-trip to convalesce after an attack of enteric. When he returned, he asked me to share his house and I stayed with him till 1912. At that time (1908) the College buildings were unfinished and the classes were held in some hired buildings in Kirkee, opposite the Boat Club. All departments of the College were at first accommodated, or rather squeezed, into the Chemical Block, while the Central Block was being completed. We had to do this again during the 1914–18 war, when the main block was taken over as a War Hospital. Additional wards were also built on the playing field. In the early years, life at the College went with a swing. The Debating Society of the College Gymkhana met once a week in the Chemical Lecture Room and the discussions were eagerly attended. All the activities of the Gymkhana were well patronised. The Inter-Collegiate Sports were started and I well remember the enthusiasm when the Agricultural College won the first Championship. The students, in their excitement, carried me and also Prof. Knight (a heavy man), shoulder-high from Fergusson College to the Agricultural College. We had some notable tennis-players. One (I think his name was Gurumurthy) had a trick of so under-cutting the ball that after striking the ground it bounced back to his side of the net, to the surprise of his opponent. During the 1914–18 war there was good feeling between the students and the staff and orderlies of the Hospital. On several occasions the orderlies came and sang or performed at the Annual Social Gathering. The Annual Social Gathering was a tremendous event, lasting two days, with all sorts of athletic events during the day, and dramatic performances at night in the great hall. There were usually four plays, two per night, in Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu and English. I recall a brilliant performance of "Othello" in Marathi. I think the Marathi title was "Zunzarrao", and Othello was represented as a Koli. I also remember a student, named Lobo, singing an Urdu version of an old English Music-Hall song entitled "Where did you get that hat?" Nor can I forget Mr. Vasavada's comic Marathi song about the episode of a broken test-tube, which ended with the reproachful remark of the professor "Oh, Mr. Dikshit, how did you manage to do it?" On the serious side, we had many students who afterwards made their mark. There were some who became successful plant breeders such as Kottur, Prayag and Kadam. Many entered the then rapidly growing sugar industry, either in the field or factory. Some started their own dairy farms. Some entered firms like Imperial Chemical Industries, and at least one of them, Mr. Khambata, rose to high position. In the early years we had students from many lands. At one period we had as many as eighteen Burmese students. Then we had a very successful football team. One student came from Iraq (then called Mesopotamia); another from the (then) Straits Settlements. The College was the first in India to teach for a university degree and that attracted many men. In 1927, the great Agricultural Show, the first of its kind, was held in the buildings and grounds of the College. The playing-field was used for the opening ceremony, performed by the first Minister of Agriculture, Sir C. V. Mehta. On that field also there was a performance of trick-riding by the Indian cavalry unit, then stationed in Poona. I recollect that a wild boar, which had been captured and kept in a cage as an exhibit, managed to escape and cause consternation. I believe it was finally shot by Mr. Bhide, the Shikar Officer. But I could go on like this for hours. I must close these rambling reminiscences by saying how proud I am to have been associated with the College in its early days, especially under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Mann and I send my hearty congratulations on its Jubilee.
 

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My association with the College of Agriculture, Poona, can be divided into three periods. One extends from 1902 to 1909, as a student of the College (1902 to 06) and then as the Superintendent of the College Farm (1906 to 09). The second period covers only six months in 1914, when I worked as the Professor of Agriculture; and the third period extends from 1925 to 1932, when I was the Professor of Agricultural Economics and also acted as the Principal of the College on several occasions. I joined the College of Science, Poona, in 1902. It had a separate department of Agriculture which provided for a three year course leading to the degree of L. Ag. (Licentiate of Agriculture). It would be interesting to know that in these days the basic sciences like Botany, Physics, etc. were taught to the agriculture students along with other science students. The additional subjects which the students of the Agricultural Section had to study were Agriculture, Veterinary and Entomology. Of these, Agriculture was taught for about two months a year by Mr. P. R. Sethna the then Superintendent of Land Records till 1904–05, when Mr. J. B. Knight M. S. (MASS. U. S. A.) was appointed Professor of Agriculture and the teaching of the subject was placed on a sounder footing. Veterinary Science was taught by Messrs Sanga and Juda-Hayam who were attached to the Government Veterinary Dispensary situated near the College. Mr. Juda-Hayam, also taught Biology to the students of the B. Sc. Classes. Organic Chemistry and Entomology were taught by Dr. Leather and Dr. Lefroy who used to come down from Pusa ( Bihar ) specially for teaching. Obviously, these arrangements were far from satisfactory. As the importance of Agriculture began to be realised, attempts were made to appoint separate and whole-time teachers for agricultural subjects. Finally in 1906 it was decided to take away the Agricultural section from the College of Science and to develop it into a full-fledged College of Agriculture. It was my good fortune to be associated with this phase of the development of the College and to be among the first batch of students to obtain the L. Ag. degree. Having obtained the first rank in the first class, I was quickly appointed probationary Superintendent of the proposed College Farm in 1906 which I held till 1908. As part of my duties, I had not only to work as Demonstrator in Agriculture under Prof. Knight, but I had to handle the problem of acquiring lands for the proposed College-farm and buildings. I was even required to appear in Court on behalf of Government. Even to-day, I have a lively recollection of the manner in which Mr. Patwardhan, a veteran pleader who had espoused the cause of the landlord, tried to heckle a fresh graduate like myself. But I saw to the successful end of the acquisition proceedings. After taking possession of the land, fencing, levelling, construction of the irrigation channels etc., were undertaken. I am happy and proud about the part I played in the scheme which gave the present beautiful premises and buildings to our beloved College. Even today a visit to the quarters where I stayed and my children played brings sweet memories to my mind. With my appointment as Divisional inspector of Agriculture, Deccan in 1908 my first period of contact as a teacher in the College came to an end. As compared to the conditions of to-day, the Agricultural College and even the Agricultural Department of these early days were very small. The College did not even exist as an independent institution and formed only a part of the College of Science. It had no whole-time and separate staff. Initially when it became an independent unit, with a separate staff of its own, it had to be housed in rented premises until the present buildings were ready. As the Superintendent of the Farm, all my establishment consisted of one clerk, two non-graduate fieldmen, and one mukadam. Other sections also were planned on a similar small scale. I had the unique good fortune to be a College student and also a member of the College staff in these early days, when everything was so humble and to retire as the Principal of the College in 1932 when everything was so grand. I can visualize the tremendous difference between what is and what was. As I look back, I am also struck by the tremendous change that has come over Poona city itself. Although an educational centre of great importance, there were only 3 colleges in Poona and the total number of college students then was about 500 only. There was absolutely no difficulty in getting admission to any college. Education was far less expensive than to-day. The expenses including fees and all other charges came to about Rs. 250/- to Rs. 300/- per annum and being a recipient of Alfred Scholarship of Rs. 25/- p. m. it could cover all my expenses at Poona. Tea, cigarettes, bicycles, and such other luxuries–or shall I say the so-called necessities–were practically unknown. In the College mess, no tea used to be served and only one or two students used to prepare it in their rooms. In the city there were very few restaurants and they generally served only tea, bread and biscuits being almost unknown. Food charges in the College messes were about Rs. 11 to 13 p. m. Though the College was far away, we used to walk to and fro and only two students of the Engineering Section had bicycles. The automobile did not exist; and even our European Professors moved about in horse traps or on push cycles. Women students were rare even on the Arts side and were totally absent in our College. I often wonder whether students of the present generation can even realise how a simple and cheap life in Poona was about 50 years ago. Although my formal connection with the College came to an end in 1908, I did not lose touch with it entirely. In these early days, there was no clear cut division between teaching and extension staff. Thus Prof. Knight was a Professor of Agriculture in the College, no doubt, but he also exercised authority as Deputy Director of Agriculture for the Divison in which I was posted as Inspector. Hence, although posted in district work, I still continued to be the assistant of Prof. Knight. Moreover, I was in supervisory charge of Manjri Farm from 1908 to 1913. In this capacity, I had to control the experiments at the Farm and these were later on made use of in the instruction at the College. It may, therefore, be said that I had a sort of a loose contact with the College throughout this period, although not concerned with regular teaching as such. In 1914, however, I was appointed to act as Professor of Agriculture in the leave vacancy of Prof. Knight. I thus came back to the College, this time, in a fairly senior capacity. The appointment did not involve much financial gain, as I drew my own pay and an additional allowance of Rs. 100/- p. m. But I loved to come back to the old *Alma Mater*. I also took great interest in the teaching of agriculture and tried to give it a practical and realistic bias. I enjoyed my work immensely and looking back, I find this period a happy one in my life. One queer incident of this period deserves narration. As officiating Professor of Agriculture, I was entitled to stay in the quarters formerly occupied by Prof. Knight. But in those days, it was unthinkable that a black man should occupy the house designed for a white one. So a very clever way was found out to dodge the issue. I was politely informed that the house would not be available for occupation, as the repairs, long overdue, would take much time. So throughout my acting period I had to stay in a private house in the city. By the middle of 1914 I went out again for extension work, as Extra Deputy Director of Agriculture and in 1915 was appointed to act as Dy. Director of Agriculture, N. D. in the Imperial Service in place of T. F. Main and was made permanent in 1918. I was the first Indian from this Presidency to be thus appointed. As this came rather early in my life, I not only reached the highest salary in the scale but also was promoted to the selection grade where I served for five years before retiring in 1932. My experience with the Departmental work soon convinced me that an intensive and special study of Agricultural Economics, including the collection and collation of facts regarding cost of production, was needed in India. This was a new concept then and very little was known about it even in England. Needless to say, the subject was quite new in India. I, therefore, decided to study it in U. S. A. for which I left India in 1921, spent a year at Madison (Wisconsin) and took M. S. in Agricultural Economics in 1922. The remaining six months I spent in studying Agricultural conditions in U. S. A., Canada, Japan and Java. Soon after my return, a new chair of Professor of Agricultural Economics was created at the College through the efforts of Dr. Harold H. Mann—the other great Director of Agriculture who influenced my life as well as those of a few friends of mine, like Messrs. D. L. Sahasrabudhe, V. A. Tamhane, N. V. Kanitkar, K. V. Joshi and K. M. Pawar, to a very large extent. The original idea of the Government was to appoint some European to the post. But Dr. Mann insisted that he would have none but me. Ultimately, Government yielded on the issue and I came back to the College as Professor of Agricultural Economics in 1925 and held this post till my retirement in 1932. The appointment also meant my elevation to the post of Acting Principal of the College. I was thus the first Indian in the Bombay Presidency to be a Principal of a Government College. I am also glad to state that, this time, there was no trouble about quarters and I was able to occupy the Principal's bungalow straightaway. Even Dyarchy had its own minor blessings. During my stay at the College from 1925 to 1932, there are hardly any major events to report. The College had already attained a great stature and was well staffed by 1925. But, as is well known, a wave of retrenchment began by 1924 and continued till 1937. This was, therefore, a period of general financial stringency and the College also had to mark time just as most other educational institutions did. The usual routine, therefore, went on and there were no great changes to record. As for myself, I was fully occupied in conducting investigations at the College as well as in the districts and gathering material to be used in classes. Some of the material was published in a number of bulletins and books. I taught General Economics to S. Ag. and Agri.-Economics, Agri.-Cooperation and marketing to B. Ag. classes. In collaboration with my graduate assistants Messrs. T. G. Shirname, K. M. Shah and T. B. Pawar, I published two or three bulletins. One of the bulletins published during this period on 'Studies in the cost of production of crops in Deccan' created much controversy. This study was one of the researches we conducted in Agricultural Economics and the conclusion was that under the prevailing conditions, agriculture did not leave any net profit. This was quoted against Government in the Bardoli case, as irrefutable evidence to show that land-revenue should not be raised. The then Director of Agriculture–Mr. T. F. Main–thereupon withdrew the publication from circulation even without consulting me. I lodged a protest on the contention that as a scientist I was entitled to state the truth as one finds it and not as the politicians require. Mr. T. F. Main argued 'How could the cultivators then live?' I replied that they somehow managed to merely exist on their labour-income and so, my thesis must be allowed to stand. As the Director would not agree, I protested to Government which I must say rose to the occasion. It directed Mr. Main to apologize but requested me not to insist on the reinstatement of the same bulletin. It was however suggested that I should write another book using the same material and adding further investigations. This I did and Government was kind enough to publish it. This was one of the books I submitted as Thesis for D. Sc. and thus became the first person to receive the D. Sc. degree of the Bombay University. I was also awarded the Moos Gold Medal in the Bombay University. A few other incidents stand out before my eyes as I look back and it is these that I propose to describe in some detail. When the Royal Commission on Agriculture, came to Poona for collecting evidence, I had to appear before it as Principal of the College. The late Sir Gangarm, a big landlord and a very influential businessman, was one of its members. He asked me many questions and read a few of my publications. From my publications as well as from the evidence that I tendered before the Commission, Sir Gangaram felt that I was a nationalist which offended his sense of loyalty. He wrote to the Government of Bombay saying that young students should not have been committed to the care of such a nationalist. A copy of the letter came down to Dr. Mann, who passed it on to me. I, therefore, saw him and asked him whether I was expected to give a reply. He thereupon took the letter in his hands, tore it to pieces, and said that the question may be considered only if a reminder was received from Government. But I never heard anything more on the subject. Another important event was the Presidency Agricultural Show held at Poona in 1926, with Mr. T. F. Main as the Special Officer in charge. But as it was held on the premises of the College I had to do a good deal to organize it. I particularly remember the good work done in this connection by my friend, Professor D. L. Sahasrabudhe who was later on given the title of Rao Bahadur in appreciation of his services. Before I bring these reminiscences to a close, I would like to refer to some of the outstanding students of my time. They are Tun Shwe who came from Burma, Shri V. M. Tarkunde, who later specialized in Law and to-day is one of the Judges of the High Court and Shri B. S. Seshagiri who is now the Director of Civil Supplies.

It was in the year 1902, when the College of Agriculture had no separate existence but was only a part of the College of Science, Poona (now known as the College of Engineering) that I joined the course of Agriculture for the degree of Licentiate of Agriculture of the University of Bombay. This degree of L. Ag. was then recently instituted to replace the Diploma in Agriculture of the College of Science. Ours was a batch of about 17 students to join the course of Agriculture in that year and was then considered to be a fairly big batch. There was no separate Principal or Vice-Principal for the course of Agriculture but for all the three degree courses taught at the College of Science, there was one Principal (Major Scudamon) at that time. Separate classes were held in the premises of the College of Science for students of agriculture only for agricultural subjects viz. Agriculture, Botany, Veterinary, etc. Agriculture was taught by Mr. P. R. Mehta, Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay. He was soon succeeded by Mr. J. B. Knight. Botany was taught by Mr. Gammie and later by Dr. Burns and Veterinary was taught by Dr. Sanja, succeeded by Dr. Setna. But, for subjects which were common to both the Agricultural and Engineering courses e. g. Physics, Mathematics, Surveying and levelling, Chemistry, Geology etc. the Agricultural and Engineering students had to attend common classes. For subjects for which facilities did not exist at the College of Science arrangement was made with the Imperial (now Indian) Institute of Agricultural Research to send experts to Poona to teach agricultural subjects. Thus Dr. Leather came down to Poona to teach Organic Chemistry, to the students of the final year course and Dr. Lefroy delivered lectures on Entomology. Having obtained the L. Ag. in 1906, I was selected as a probationer in Chemistry Section under Mr. Meggitt newly appointed Agricultural Chemist and Professor of Chemistry. By this time, the agricultural course was separated from the College of Science and classes were conducted in a specially hired bungalow (known as the Jali Bungalow) near the Kirkee Boat Club. This was the beginning of the College of Agriculture of which Mr. J. B. Knight was the Principal till Dr. H. H. Mann was appointed as the permanent Principal of the College and Agricultural Chemist to the Government of Bombay vice Mr. Meggitt transferred to Bengal. In 1907 the College was permanently shifted to the present maginificent building where a number of new branches of Agricultural Science were gradually established e. g. Horticulture, Plant-Pathology, Mycology, Agricultural Engineering, Soil Physics etc. Dr. Mann can therefore be said to be the main architect of the Poona College of Agriculture. He attached great importance to research in Agriculture, and encouraged it among his staff. He also induced the staff to acquire higher academic qualifications. As a result, I was myself able to get many things to my humble credit from time to time during my career as one of the oldest alumni of the Poona College of Agriculture, until I retired in 1939 after full forty years' of service.

As an Agricultural student I was connected with the then College of Science where instruction in University degree courses in Agriculture was imparted. I took my University degree in Agriculture (L. Ag.) in 1905, before our present Agricultural College was finally separated from the College of Science on 1st January, 1908. We could maintain our connection with our Alma Mater through Annual Social Gatherings, the Debating Society etc. The College Magazine served as a very valuable venue for expressing one’s agricultural experiences and thus come in touch with one’s colleagues and new friends. The Magazine was much appreciated even in foreign countries and often extracts from it appeared in foreign magazines. At the request of the late Prof. J. P. Trivedi who took great interest in developing the activities of the Gymkhana I presented a Challenge Cup to the Gymkhana in 1921. The college library has always appeared to me as a vast treasure of knowledge, “Dnyana-Bhandar” and I avail myself of it off and on. For me, it serves to keep in touch with the Alma Mater. May it live for a long time and grow from strength to strength.

I joined the Poona Agricultural College as a government scholar in 1912, after passing my Previous Examination of the Bombay University from the Fergusson College, Poona. There were eight such scholarships of Rs. 15/- per month each, with freeship, and I was awarded one. The total strength of the College was limited to 120. The rent for one double room in the hostel was Rs. 2 p. m. and two students were accommodated in each room. Each student, therefore, had to pay only Rs. 12/- yearly for his lodging. Boarding arrangements were made by the students themselves by starting their own clubs, each club having about 15 to 20 members on an average. There were different clubs such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mohammedan, Karnatak, Christian and Cosmopolitan. The clubs were managed by the General Secretaries and Secretaries, elected by the members, the former annually and the latter monthly, without any interference of the Hostel Superintendent or any other college authority. In spite of the good food and the holiday and the monthly feasts, the monthly charges of our Maharashtra Club came to Rs. 17/- to 18/- only. The term fees were Rs. 32/- and the Gymkhana fees were Rs 6/-. All the three classes had University examinations and candidates had to go to Bombay for the written examination. The practical examination was however held at Poona. The fees for the examination were Rs. 25/- for the F. Ag. and S. Ag. and Rs. 50/- for the B. Ag. Examinations. Thus, the total expenses of a student came to barely Rs. 350/- to Rs. 400/- per year or Rs. 1000/- to 1200/- for the whole three years' Degree Course. The present hostel being then under construction, the students of the College were accommodated in hired private buildings round about. During my first year in the College, 10 students including myself had to stay in Date's Bungalow on Kirkee Road which was about a mile away from the College. It was in 1913, that the new Hostel Building was completed and we could shift into it. The College and its environments were then almost rural in nature and we all were fortunate in enjoying a real country life. There was also a great demand for the graduates of the Poona Agricultural College in the various Government departments such as Revenue, Agriculture, Forest etc. and also in the Native States and private companies. When I graduated in 1916, the result of the B. Ag. Degree Examination was out on the 27th of March and 23 students came out successful. Even by the 1st of April, 17 of us, got an appointment order, and before long the remaining six also got jobs somewhere. During the above period, the following were the members of the lecturing staff. The subjects they taught are shown against their names:— "Dr. Harold H. Mann (Principal) " Agricultural Chemistry and Climatology. Dr. W. Burns "Cryptogamic Botany and Plant Breeding " Prof. J. B. Knight "Agriculture " Rao Bahadur P. C. Patil ", , " Rao Bahadur G. K. Kelkar ", , " Mr. S. L. Ajrekar "Mycology " Rao Bahadur D. L. Sahasrabuddhe "General Chemistry " "Mr. R. Kasargode " Zoology and Entomology "Mr. S. S. Godbole " "Mensuration, Trigonometry and Agricultural Engineering " "Mr. Grasceais & Mr. B. B. Joshi " Veterinary "Mr. G. B. Patwardhan & Mr. H. P. Paranjpye " Botany Rao Bahadur D. L. Sahasrabuddhe was the Superintendent of our Hostel. The Gymnasium in the new hostel was organised by me and I was its Secretary for all the three years. I was a member of the Gymkhana Committee. The sports activity was again a special feature of the College, and the annual tournaments were held at the time of the Social Gathering every year. I was lucky in winning the athletic sports championship, the very first year of my college career i. e. 1912–1913. When H. E. Lord Willingdon, the then Governor of Bombay, was invited as Chief Guest of our Social Gathering in 1913, His Excellency gave the running Challenge Cup to be presented to the champion of the Athletic Tournaments held every year. I was again lucky in winning this new cup successively for two years. The general atmosphere of the College was very healthy and sportive and all the members of the staff and the students mixed very freely on all occasions. Yet there was no lack of discipline or regard towards each other. The proverb “ Students’ life is the best life ” was actually realised and experienced by all the students. Inspite of the fact that this was a cosmopolitan college, having students not only from all over India, but from abroad also, there was brotherly and friendly feelings towards each other. There being no specialization all subjects were taught and studied fully and the Poona Agricultural College turned out all-round graduates, who could join successfully many a line in their future life. Thus the old students of our college have proved their merit not only in Agriculture or Revenue departments but also in Forest, Commerce, Education, Law and even the Police department too. The Geological tour in the F. Ag. class and the Agricultural tour in the B. Ag. class, were special features of our college every year, and gave us a good deal of experience and knowledge, which was of great use to us in future life. The past history and traditions of the Poona Agricultural College are very great indeed and every alumnus can be proud of his *Alma Mater*. Every effort should be made to establish and maintain a permanent contact between the past and present boys of our *Alma Mater* by bringing them together on occasions like Annual Social Gatherings etc. This will enable them not only to know each other better but will help them to exchange thoughts and experiences they may have gained in their respective lines, resulting in mutual benefit. Long live the Poona Agricultural College !

It is said that from disaster good may arise. This adage appears to have held good in the case of the establishment of the Agricultural Department at the Centre by Lord Mayo followed soon by the organization of similar departments in the provinces and in laying the foundation of agricultural education in this country during the eighteen seventies. The recurrent famines of the previous decades and specially the devastating ones that occurred between 1860 and 1870 in different parts of the country compelled the then Central Government and the Provincial Administrations to take suitable measures to combat the dire consequences of such calamities by adopting famine relief work and by inducing the ryots (Farmers) to adopt improved agricultural methods for increasing food production and to store food-grains for distribution in times of scarcity. However it very soon became evident to the administrators of the times that inducement and persuasion of the cultivators to increase and improve production could be effectively undertaken only when trained personnel who had received basic agricultural education were available in adequate numbers. This much-felt need led to the beginnings of agricultural education in this country. The exact beginning of agricultural education in India is not precisely known. The earliest college to be established in this country appears to be the college at Saidapet, Madras, which arose out of an experimental farm established in 1864. This college was subsequently transferred to Coimbatore. The famine of 1877 in the Deccan, resulted in the starting of a large number of public works. Among several measures taken at the time, the provision for agricultural education was one and the credit of the introduction of agricultural education in the Bombay State goes to Sir Richard Temple, Governor of the State, from 1877-1880. He was responsible for the proposals outlined in 1879 for the development of agricultural education in the State which aimed at (1) the establishment of an agricultural college at Poona, (2) the opening of agricultural classes in high schools in the districts, (3) the introduction of elementary agricultural education in all primary schools, (4) the teaching of agriculture through Indian languages in the primary stage by attaching farms to selected full-grade primary schools, (5) the appointment of persons trained in agriculture as Mamlatdars, Mahalkaris and clerks in order to promote agricultural education among the public and (6) the training of Patils and Talatis in some form of elementary agriculture. In making these proposals Sir Richard had visualized how very important was the need for agricultural science and improved husbandry in a country where farming was backward, where the slow deterioration of the soil by exhaustive processes was not countered and where there was an absence of restorative measures. He believed that it was not sufficient to impart superior instruction in agriculture in high schools and colleges, but that it was important to broadcast, as it were, the elements of such instruction among middle schools in the vernacular. He went so far as to advocate that it would be most desirable to give some rudimentary instructions in agriculture in all primary schools by means of the introduction of a primer of agriculture in the vernacular. The importance attached to agricultural education is further evident from the Famine Commission's Report of 1880 in which it was recommended that attention should be directed to the introduction of agriculture as a subject in country schools. About the same time, the Revenue and the Agricultural Department of the Government of India had pointed out that without the co-operation of the people the working of any programme of agricultural improvement would be impracticable. The then Government was convinced that no general advance in the agricultural system could be expected until the rural population had been so educated as to enable them to take a practical interest in agricultural progress and reform. The Agricultural Conference of 1888, in endorsing this view, urged that immediate measures should be taken to train competent teachers who could give instructions of the required kind. In the same year, the Home Department of the Government of India made it clear by a resolution that it was an obligation on the part of the Agricultural and Educational Departments in every province to draw up a practical scheme of agricultural education for implementation. In 1889 Dr. Voelcker, Agricultural Chemist to the Royal Society of England, was specially deputed to India to study the agricultural situation then current in the country and to advise the Government of India on measures to be adopted for the development of agriculture and agricultural education. In his report he has devoted an entire chapter to agricultural education. After a survey of the schools and colleges then teaching agriculture in the different provinces, he found that the Poona College of Science, in which agriculture was taught as one of the many branches of science, had shown satisfactory progress on the whole compared to other colleges in other States. Under the then prevailing circumstances, he did not favour the establishment of a separate college of agriculture but envisaged the possibility of organizing one or more Central Colleges of Agriculture. He was of the opinion that spreading general education and making the agricultural class literate would be an important element in the improvement of agriculture. He favoured greater encouragement being given to agricultural education as, in India, agriculture was the main occupation of the people and a chief source of employment. He went much further than Sir Richard Temple in recommending that the class of Indians who were to receive agricultural education should be (1) experts of the Agricultural Department, (2) subordinate officials of the Land Revenue, Settlement, Forest and cognate departments, (3) teachers of agriculture at High, Middle and Primary Schools and (4) the youth of the cultivating class and non-official landed proprietors ( Zamindars ) etc. At this date, a little over three-quarters of a century later, it is very interesting to find what a far-sighted view was held by Sir Richard Temple and what great importance was attached by him to agricultural education when he opined “one effective method of diffusing a knowledge of agriculture among land-holding classes is to ensure that our native Revenue officers and officials, the Mamlatdars, the Mahalkaris and those Karkuns who hope for promotion to the higher grades shall graduate in this science”. He went so far as to suggest “if a degree in agriculture shall be established by the University, the preference might be given to that degree over other degrees for this particular class of appointments. Or else it might be ordered that all officers and officials in the Land Revenue Department must go through an agricultural course,—the higher grades through the college course and the other grades through the school course. Further, as the system takes root, it will not be difficult to arrange that all headmen ( Patils ) and Village Accountants ( Kulkarnis ), whose hereditary appointments require the confirmation of the authorities, shall pass some elementary examination in Agriculture”. If the successive Governments had held to these most practical and desirable proposals of Sir Richard and had implemented them, the agricultural development of this State would have had a far more satisfactory progress. The loss of such a perspective as that of Sir Richard Temple had cost not only the Bombay State but the entire country very dear in as much as a set-back in agricultural development has had to be experienced in these intervening years. The crux of the recommendations of Sir Richard Temple bore fruit when in 1879 the College of Science, Poona, opened a branch for teaching agriculture which later was envisaged to develop into an independent agricultural college which was to be the fountainhead of all development in agricultural science. In the following year, a 72 acre farm was attached to the College of Science to provide practical training. The farm was brought to a highly efficient state under the management of Professors Cooke and Nagarkar and Mr. Shearer. It was further extended in 1882. In 1885 Mr. Ozanne, the then Director of Agriculture, formed a scheme of higher instruction which was considered by a committee which subsequently recommended that the University be induced to grant a degree in agriculture by framing a suitable course. After long consideration, the Bombay University did not see its way to the award of a degree but agreed instead to institute a diploma in agriculture after a three years course at the College of Science, Poons, or the Baroda College. Thus for the first time in 1890, agriculture received University recognition. The result was that from this time for several years a number of men were trained in agriculture. However, the number fell off because the holders of diploma in agriculture were given no advantage for entrance into Government service, except for being shown a preferential right to minor appointments over those who had merely matriculated. The number joining the agricultural Classes, therefore, fell to 4 in 1893 and to 3 in 1894 while there were home at all in 1895. Not a single student obtained the diploma in agriculture from the College of Science from 1897 to 1901 inclusive. In 1897 the first step was taken to remove the causes of unpopularity of the agricultural course. The standard of admission to this course was raised from Matriculation to the "Previous" examination of the college, in consideration of which fact the Government agreed to give the same privileges to persons who had obtained the agricultural diploma as to graduates of the University. This did not, however, revive interest at once. Since the diploma course had long been evidently unsatisfactory and there was a general demand for granting an agricultural degree by Bombay University, in 1899, the University instituted a regular course leading to the degree of Licentiate in Agriculture. The course became popular again partly due to the development of the Department of Agri-culture and partly because the holders of an agricultural degree had been given the same privileges as other graduates possessed, in the matter of admission and promotion to the Revenue Department of the Government. The increase in the size of the agricultural classes resulting from the salutary changes in the recognition given to agricultural graduates by Government caused such a congestion at the College of Science that, in 1905, Government decided to establish a separate College of Agriculture. A fine site for the college with a farm of 150 acres was selected close to the College of Science. By 1907 the smaller of the two large blocks of buildings which now houses the Chemistry section, was ready and was occupied. The larger imposing block with its grand dome, a beautiful entrance hall, museum, herbarium and adequate facilities for teaching and research in agriculture, botany, mycology and entomology, was finished in 1911 and was formally opened by Lord Sydenhan (Sir George Clarke), the Governor of Bombay. While awaiting the completion of these buildings, the college was temporarily located in hired buildings at Kirkee and the College of Agriculture was finally separated from the College of Science on 1st January 1908. With this change the control over the college was transferred from the Director of Public Instruction to the Director of Agriculture. Coinciding with the complete separation of the College of Agriculture, in 1909 the Bombay University made a further significant change The scope of studies was extended, the standard raised and the graduates from that year were awarded the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture and the commencement and closing of the College was adjusted to fit in with the most important agricultural months of the year. In 1916 on the recommendations of a Committee appointed to reconsider and revise the course in agriculture, the Bombay University modified its regulations for the agricultural examinations. These regulations enabled the students to specialize in certain subjects In the same year, the degree of Master of Agri-culture was instituted. Another important change brought about in 1925 was the recognition given to Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Economics and Horticulture as independent subjects although they were formerly included under agriculture. Option was given to the students to take the University examinations in Botany and Plant Pathology at the end of their Second Year to reduce burden on the final year. The next significant change was introduced in 1934. Due to the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture (B. Ag.) not being valued as equal in importance with the degree of Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.), its nomenclature was changed to that of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B. Sc. Agri.) and first batch of graduates to be awarded this degree came out in 1937. Simultaneously with the change in degree, the course was amended and improved. The optional subjects were abolished as it was considered that this specialization was premature. The last of the major changes to be introduced in 1950 was the swing back to the earlier practice of admitting the students after Matriculation to the degree course with the difference that the course was extended from one of three years to that of four years. The changes effected in the curriculum since 1934 have laid greater stress on practical work by providing more time for field work. Certain number of weeks were entirely set apart for intensive field work so that students could do greater amount of work with their own hands and also break the prejudice against manual labour which was regarded as demeaning. In the early years of the life of the institution it was clearly noticeable that agriculture as a line of study was not popular for more than one reason. Firstly the Department of Agriculture.