[The author's love of his country. He makes a proposal of much advantage to the king, which is rejected. The king's great ignorance in politics. The learning of that country very imperfect and confined. The laws, and military affairs, and parties in the state.]

Nothing but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my story. It was in vain to discover my resentments, which were always turned into ridicule; and I was forced to rest with patience, while my noble and beloved country was so injuriously treated. I am as heartily sorry as any of my readers can possibly be, that such an occasion was given: but this prince happened to be so curious and inquisitive upon every particular, that it could not consist either with gratitude or good manners, to refuse giving him what satisfaction I was able. Yet thus much I may be allowed to say in my own vindication, that I artfully eluded many of his questions, and gave to every point a more favourable turn, by many degrees, than the strictness of truth would allow. For I have always borne that laudable partiality to my own country, which Dionysius Halicarnassensis, with so much justice, recommends to an historian: I would hide the frailties and deformities of my political mother, and place her virtues and beauties in the most advantageous light. This was my sincere endeavour in those many discourses I had with that monarch, although it unfortunately failed of success.

But great allowances should be given to a king, who lives wholly secluded from the rest of the world, and must therefore be altogether unacquainted with the manners and customs that most prevail in other nations: the want of which knowledge will ever produce many prejudices, and a certain narrowness of thinking, from which we, and the politer countries of Europe, are wholly exempted. And it would be hard indeed, if so remote a prince’s notions of virtue and vice were to be offered as a standard for all mankind.

To confirm what I have now said, and further to show the miserable effects of a confined education, I shall here insert a passage, which will hardly obtain belief. In hopes to ingratiate myself further into his majesty’s favour, I told him of “an invention, discovered between three and four hundred years ago, to make a certain powder, into a heap of which, the smallest spark of fire falling, would kindle the whole in a moment, although it were as big as a mountain, and make it all fly up in the air together, with a noise and agitation greater than thunder. That a proper quantity of this powder rammed into a hollow tube of brass or iron, according to its bigness, would drive a ball of iron or lead, with such violence and speed, as nothing was able to sustain its force. That the largest balls thus discharged, would not only destroy whole ranks of an army at once, but batter the strongest walls to the ground, sink down ships, with a thousand men in each, to the bottom of the sea, and when linked together by a chain, would cut through masts and rigging, divide hundreds of bodies in the middle, and lay all waste before them. That we often put this powder into large hollow balls of iron, and discharged them by an engine into some city we were besieging, which would rip up the pavements, tear the houses to pieces, burst and throw splinters on every side, dashing out the brains of all who came near. That I knew the ingredients very well, which were cheap and common; I understood the manner of compounding them, and could direct his workmen how to make those tubes, of a size proportionable to all other things in his majesty’s kingdom, and the largest need not be above a hundred feet long; twenty or thirty of which tubes, charged with the proper quantity of powder and balls, would batter down the walls of the strongest town in his dominions in a few hours, or destroy the whole metropolis, if ever it should pretend to dispute his absolute commands.” This I humbly offered to his majesty, as a small tribute of acknowledgment, in turn for so many marks that I had received, of his royal favour and protection.

The king was struck with horror at the description I had given of those terrible engines, and the proposal I had made. “He was amazed, how so impotent and grovelling an insect as I” (these were his expressions) “could entertain such inhuman ideas, and in so familiar a manner, as to appear wholly unmoved at all the scenes of blood and desolation which I had painted as the common effects of those destructive machines; whereof,” he said, “some evil genius, enemy to mankind, must have been the first contriver. As for himself, he protested, that although few things delighted him so much as new discoveries in art or in nature, yet he would rather lose half his kingdom, than be privy to such a secret; which he commanded me, as I valued any life, never to mention any more.”

A strange effect of narrow principles and views! that a prince possessed of every quality which procures veneration, love, and esteem; of strong parts, great wisdom, and profound learning, endowed with admirable talents, and almost adored by his subjects, should, from a nice, unnecessary scruple, whereof in Europe we can have no conception, let slip an opportunity put into his hands that would have made him absolute master of the lives, the liberties, and the fortunes of his people! Neither do I say this, with the least intention to detract from the many virtues of that excellent king, whose character, I am sensible, will, on this account, be very much lessened in the opinion of an English reader: but I take this defect among them to have risen from their ignorance, by not having hitherto reduced politics into a science, as the more acute wits of Europe have done. For, I remember very well, in a discourse one day with the king, when I happened to say, “there were several thousand books among us written upon the art of government,” it gave him (directly contrary to my intention) a very mean opinion of our understandings. He professed both to abominate and despise all mystery, refinement, and intrigue, either in a prince or a minister. He could not tell what I meant by secrets of state, where an enemy, or some rival nation, were not in the case. He confined the knowledge of governing within very narrow bounds, to common sense and reason, to justice and lenity, to the speedy determination of civil and criminal causes; with some other obvious topics, which are not worth considering. And he gave it for his opinion, “that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.”

The learning of this people is very defective, consisting only in morality, history, poetry, and mathematics, wherein they must be allowed to excel. But the last of these is wholly applied to what may be useful in life, to the improvement of agriculture, and all mechanical arts; so that among us, it would be little esteemed. And as to ideas, entities, abstractions, and transcendentals, I could never drive the least conception into their heads.

No law in that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only of two and twenty. But indeed few of them extend even to that length. They are expressed in the most plain and simple terms, wherein those people are not mercurial enough to discover above one interpretation: and to write a comment upon any law, is a capital crime. As to the decision of civil causes, or proceedings against criminals, their precedents are so few, that they have little reason to boast of any extraordinary skill in either.

They have had the art of printing, as well as the Chinese, time out of mind: but their libraries are not very large; for that of the king, which is reckoned the largest, does not amount to above a thousand volumes, placed in a gallery of twelve hundred feet long, whence I had liberty to borrow what books I pleased. The queen’s joiner had contrived in one of Glumdalclitch’s rooms, a kind of wooden machine five-and-twenty feet high, formed like a standing ladder; the steps were each fifty feet long. It was indeed a moveable pair of stairs, the lowest end placed at ten feet distance from the wall of the chamber. The book I had a mind to read, was put up leaning against the wall: I first mounted to the upper step of the ladder, and turning my face towards the book, began at the top of the page, and so walking to the right and left about eight or ten paces, according to the length of the lines, till I had gotten a little below the level of mine eyes, and then descending gradually till I came to the bottom: after which I mounted again, and began the other page in the same manner, and so turned over the leaf, which I could easily do with both my hands, for it was as thick and stiff as a pasteboard, and in the largest folios not above eighteen or twenty feet long.

Their style is clear, masculine, and smooth, but not florid; for they avoid nothing more than multiplying unnecessary words, or using various expressions. I have perused many of their books, especially those in history and morality. Among the rest, I was much diverted with a little old treatise, which always lay in Glumdalclitch’s bed chamber, and belonged to her governess, a grave elderly gentlewoman, who dealt in writings of morality and devotion. The book treats of the weakness of human kind, and is in little esteem, except among the women and the vulgar. However, I was curious to see what an author of that country could say upon such a subject. This writer went through all the usual topics of European moralists, showing “how diminutive, contemptible, and helpless an animal was man in his own nature; how unable to defend himself from inclemencies of the air, or the fury of wild beasts: how much he was excelled by one creature in strength, by another in speed, by a third in foresight, by a fourth in industry.” He added, “that nature was degenerated in these latter declining ages of the world, and could now produce only small abortive births, in comparison of those in ancient times.” He said “it was very reasonable to think, not only that the species of men were originally much larger, but also that there must have been giants in former ages; which, as it is asserted by history and tradition, so it has been confirmed by huge bones and skulls, casually dug up in several parts of the kingdom, far exceeding the common dwindled race of men in our days.” He argued, “that the very laws of nature absolutely required we should have been made, in the beginning of a size more large and robust; not so liable to destruction from every little accident, of a tile falling from a house, or a stone cast from the hand of a boy, or being drowned in a little brook.” From this way of reasoning, the author drew several moral applications, useful in the conduct of life, but needless here to repeat. For my own part, I could not avoid reflecting how universally this talent was spread, of drawing lectures in morality, or indeed rather matter of discontent and repining, from the quarrels we raise with nature. And I believe, upon a strict inquiry, those quarrels might be shown as ill-grounded among us as they are among that people.

As to their military affairs, they boast that the king’s army consists of a hundred and seventy- six thousand foot, and thirty-two thousand horse: if that may be called an army, which is made up of tradesmen in the several cities, and farmers in the country, whose commanders are only the nobility and gentry, without pay or reward. They are indeed perfect enough in their exercises, and under very good discipline, wherein I saw no great merit; for how should it be otherwise, where every farmer is under the command of his own landlord, and every citizen under that of the principal men in his own city, chosen after the manner of Venice, by ballot?

I have often seen the militia of Lorbrulgrud drawn out to exercise, in a great field near the city of twenty miles square. They were in all not above twenty-five thousand foot, and six thousand horse; but it was impossible for me to compute their number, considering the space of ground they took up. A cavalier, mounted on a large steed, might be about ninety feet high. I have seen this whole body of horse, upon a word of command, draw their swords at once, and brandish them in the air.

Imagination can figure nothing so grand, so surprising, and so astonishing! it looked as if ten thousand flashes of lightning were darting at the same time from every quarter of the sky.

I was curious to know how this prince, to whose dominions there is no access from any other country, came to think of armies, or to teach his people the practice of military discipline. But I was soon informed, both by conversation and reading their histories; for, in the course of many ages, they have been troubled with the same disease to which the whole race of mankind is subject; the nobility often contending for power, the people for liberty, and the king for absolute dominion. All which, however happily tempered by the laws of that kingdom, have been sometimes violated by each of the three parties, and have more than once occasioned civil wars; the last whereof was happily put an end to by this prince’s grand- father, in a general composition; and the militia, then settled with common consent, has been ever since kept in the strictest duty.

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[The king and queen make a progress to the frontiers. The author attends them. The manner in which he leaves the country very particularly related. He returns to England.]

I had always a strong impulse that I should some time recover my liberty, though it was impossible to conjecture by what means, or to form any project with the least hope of succeeding. The ship in which I sailed, was the first ever known to be driven within sight of that coast, and the king had given strict orders, that if at any time another appeared, it should be taken ashore, and with all its crew and passengers brought in a tumbril to Lorbrulgrud. He was strongly bent to get me a woman of my own size, by whom I might propagate the breed: but I think I should rather have died than undergone the disgrace of leaving a posterity to be kept in cages, like tame canary-birds, and perhaps, in time, sold about the kingdom, to persons of quality, for curiosities. I was indeed treated with much kindness: I was the favourite of a great king and queen, and the delight of the whole court; but it was upon such a foot as ill became the dignity of humankind. I could never forget those domestic pledges I had left behind me. I wanted to be among people, with whom I could converse upon even terms, and walk about the streets and fields without being afraid of being trod to death like a frog or a young puppy. But my deliverance came sooner than I expected, and in a manner not very common; the whole story and circumstances of which I shall faithfully relate.

I had now been two years in this country; and about the beginning of the third, Glumdalclitch and I attended the king and queen, in a progress to the south coast of the kingdom. I was carried, as usual, in my travelling-box, which as I have already described, was a very convenient closet, of twelve feet wide. And I had ordered a hammock to be fixed, by silken ropes from the four corners at the top, to break the jolts, when a servant carried me before him on horseback, as I sometimes desired; and would often sleep in my hammock, while we were upon the road. On the roof of my closet, not directly over the middle of the hammock, I ordered the joiner to cut out a hole of a foot square, to give me air in hot weather, as I slept; which hole I shut at pleasure with a board that drew backward and forward through a groove.

When we came to our journey’s end, the king thought proper to pass a few days at a palace he has near Flanflasnic, a city within eighteen English miles of the seaside. Glumdalclitch and I were much fatigued: I had gotten a small cold, but the poor girl was so ill as to be confined to her chamber. I longed to see the ocean, which must be the only scene of my escape, if ever it should happen. I pretended to be worse than I really was, and desired leave to take the fresh air of the sea, with a page, whom I was very fond of, and who had sometimes been trusted with me. I shall never forget with what unwillingness Glumdalclitch consented, nor the strict charge she gave the page to be careful of me, bursting at the same time into a flood of tears, as if she had some forboding of what was to happen. The boy took me out in my box, about half an hour’s walk from the palace, towards the rocks on the seashore. I ordered him to set me down, and lifting up one of my sashes, cast many a wistful melancholy look towards the sea. I found myself not very well, and told the page that I had a mind to take a nap in my hammock, which I hoped would do me good. I got in, and the boy shut the window close down, to keep out the cold. I soon fell asleep, and all I can conjecture is, while I slept, the page, thinking no danger could happen, went among the rocks to look for birds’ eggs, having before observed him from my window searching about, and picking up one or two in the clefts. Be that as it will, I found myself suddenly awaked with a violent pull upon the ring, which was fastened at the top of my box for the conveniency of carriage. I felt my box raised very high in the air, and then borne forward with prodigious speed. The first jolt had like to have shaken me out of my hammock, but afterward the motion was easy enough. I called out several times, as loud as I could raise my voice, but all to no purpose. I looked towards my windows, and could see nothing but the clouds and sky. I heard a noise just over my head, like the clapping of wings, and then began to perceive the woeful condition I was in; that some eagle had got the ring of my box in his beak, with an intent to let it fall on a rock, like a tortoise in a shell, and then pick out my body, and devour it: for the sagacity and smell of this bird enables him to discover his quarry at a great distance, though better concealed than I could be within a two-inch board.

In a little time, I observed the noise and flutter of wings to increase very fast, and my box was tossed up and down, like a sign in a windy day. I heard several bangs or buffets, as I thought given to the eagle (for such I am certain it must have been that held the ring of my box in his beak), and then, all on a sudden, felt myself falling perpendicularly down, for above a minute, but with such incredible swiftness, that I almost lost my breath. My fall was stopped by a terrible squash, that sounded louder to my ears than the cataract of Niagara; after which, I was quite in the dark for another minute, and then my box began to rise so high, that I could see light from the tops of the windows. I now perceived I was fallen into the sea. My box, by the weight of my body, the goods that were in, and the broad plates of iron fixed for strength at the four corners of the top and bottom, floated about five feet deep in water. I did then, and do now suppose, that the eagle which flew away with my box was pursued by two or three others, and forced to let me drop, while he defended himself against the rest, who hoped to share in the prey. The plates of iron fastened at the bottom of the box (for those were the strongest) preserved the balance while it fell, and hindered it from being broken on the surface of the water. Every joint of it was well grooved; and the door did not move on hinges, but up and down like a sash, which kept my closet so tight that very little water came in. I got with much difficulty out of my hammock, having first ventured to draw back the slip-board on the roof already mentioned, contrived on purpose to let in air, for want of which I found myself almost stifled.

How often did I then wish myself with my dear Glumdalclitch, from whom one single hour had so far divided me! And I may say with truth, that in the midst of my own misfortunes I could not forbear lamenting my poor nurse, the grief she would suffer for my loss, the displeasure of the queen, and the ruin of her fortune. Perhaps many travellers have not been under greater difficulties and distress than I was at this juncture, expecting every moment to see my box dashed to pieces, or at least overset by the first violent blast, or rising wave. A breach in one single pane of glass would have been immediate death: nor could any thing have preserved the windows, but the strong lattice wires placed on the outside, against accidents in travelling. I saw the water ooze in at several crannies, although the leaks were not considerable, and I endeavoured to stop them as well as I could. I was not able to lift up the roof of my closet, which otherwise I certainly should have done, and sat on the top of it; where I might at least preserve myself some hours longer, than by being shut up (as I may call it) in the hold. Or if I escaped these dangers for a day or two, what could I expect but a miserable death of cold and hunger? I was four hours under these circumstances, expecting, and indeed wishing, every moment to be my last.

I have already told the reader that there were two strong staples fixed upon that side of my box which had no window, and into which the servant, who used to carry me on horseback, would put a leathern belt, and buckle it about his waist. Being in this disconsolate state, I heard, or at least thought I heard, some kind of grating noise on that side of my box where the staples were fixed; and soon after I began to fancy that the box was pulled or towed along the sea; for I now and then felt a sort of tugging, which made the waves rise near the tops of my windows, leaving me almost in the dark. This gave me some faint hopes of relief, although I was not able to imagine how it could be brought about. I ventured to unscrew one of my chairs, which were always fastened to the floor; and having made a hard shift to screw it down again, directly under the slipping-board that I had lately opened, I mounted on the chair, and putting my mouth as near as I could to the hole, I called for help in a loud voice, and in all the languages I understood. I then fastened my handkerchief to a stick I usually carried, and thrusting it up the hole, waved it several times in the air, that if any boat or ship were near, the seamen might conjecture some unhappy mortal to be shut up in the box.

I found no effect from all I could do, but plainly perceived my closet to be moved along; and in the space of an hour, or better, that side of the box where the staples were, and had no windows, struck against something that was hard. I apprehended it to be a rock, and found myself tossed more than ever. I plainly heard a noise upon the cover of my closet, like that of a cable, and the grating of it as it passed through the ring. I then found myself hoisted up, by degrees, at least three feet higher than I was before. Whereupon I again thrust up my stick and handkerchief, calling for help till I was almost hoarse. In return to which, I heard a great shout repeated three times, giving me such transports of joy as are not to be conceived but by those who feel them. I now heard a trampling over my head, and somebody calling through the hole with a loud voice, in the English tongue, “If there be any body below, let them speak.” I answered, “I was an Englishman, drawn by ill fortune into the greatest calamity that ever any creature underwent, and begged, by all that was moving, to be delivered out of the dungeon I was in.” The voice replied, “I was safe, for my box was fastened to their ship; and the carpenter should immediately come and saw a hole in the cover, large enough to pull me out.” I answered, “that was needless, and would take up too much time; for there was no more to be done, but let one of the crew put his finger into the ring, and take the box out of the sea into the ship, and so into the captain’s cabin.” Some of them, upon hearing me talk so wildly, thought I was mad: others laughed; for indeed it never came into my head, that I was now got among people of my own stature and strength. The carpenter came, and in a few minutes sawed a passage about four feet square, then let down a small ladder, upon which I mounted, and thence was taken into the ship in a very weak condition.

The sailors were all in amazement, and asked me a thousand questions, which I had no inclination to answer. I was equally confounded at the sight of so many pigmies, for such I took them to be, after having so long accustomed mine eyes to the monstrous objects I had left. But the captain, Mr. Thomas Wilcocks, an honest worthy Shropshire man, observing I was ready to faint, took me into his cabin, gave me a cordial to comfort me, and made me turn in upon his own bed, advising me to take a little rest, of which I had great need. Before I went to sleep, I gave him to understand that I had some valuable furniture in my box, too good to be lost: a fine hammock, a handsome field-bed, two chairs, a table, and a cabinet; that my closet was hung on all sides, or rather quilted, with silk and cotton; that if he would let one of the crew bring my closet into his cabin, I would open it there before him, and show him my goods. The captain, hearing me utter these absurdities, concluded I was raving; however (I suppose to pacify me) he promised to give order as I desired, and going upon deck, sent some of his men down into my closet, whence (as I afterwards found) they drew up all my goods, and stripped off the quilting; but the chairs, cabinet, and bedstead, being screwed to the floor, were much damaged by the ignorance of the seamen, who tore them up by force. Then they knocked off some of the boards for the use of the ship, and when they had got all they had a mind for, let the hull drop into the sea, which by reason of many breaches made in the bottom and sides, sunk to rights. And, indeed, I was glad not to have been a spectator of the havoc they made, because I am confident it would have sensibly touched me, by bringing former passages into my mind, which I would rather have forgot.

I slept some hours, but perpetually disturbed with dreams of the place I had left, and the dangers I had escaped. However, upon waking, I found myself much recovered. It was now about eight o’clock at night, and the captain ordered supper immediately, thinking I had already fasted too long. He entertained me with great kindness, observing me not to look wildly, or talk inconsistently: and, when we were left alone, desired I would give him a relation of my travels, and by what accident I came to be set adrift, in that monstrous wooden chest. He said “that about twelve o’clock at noon, as he was looking through his glass, he spied it at a distance, and thought it was a sail, which he had a mind to make, being not much out of his course, in hopes of buying some biscuit, his own beginning to fall short. That upon coming nearer, and finding his error, he sent out his long-boat to discover what it was; that his men came back in a fright, swearing they had seen a swimming house. That he laughed at their folly, and went himself in the boat, ordering his men to take a strong cable along with them. That the weather being calm, he rowed round me several times, observed my windows and wire lattices that defended them. That he discovered two staples upon one side, which was all of boards, without any passage for light. He then commanded his men to row up to that side, and fastening a cable to one of the staples, ordered them to tow my chest, as they called it, toward the ship. When it was there, he gave directions to fasten another cable to the ring fixed in the cover, and to raise up my chest with pulleys, which all the sailors were not able to do above two or three feet.” He said, “they saw my stick and handkerchief thrust out of the hole, and concluded that some unhappy man must be shut up in the cavity.” I asked, “whether he or the crew had seen any prodigious birds in the air, about the time he first discovered me.” To which he answered, that discoursing this matter with the sailors while I was asleep, one of them said, he had observed three eagles flying towards the north, but remarked nothing of their being larger than the usual size:” which I suppose must be imputed to the great height they were at; and he could not guess the reason of my question. I then asked the captain, “how far he reckoned we might be from land?” He said, “by the best computation he could make, we were at least a hundred leagues.” I assured him, “that he must be mistaken by almost half, for I had not left the country whence I came above two hours before I dropped into the sea.” Whereupon he began again to think that my brain was disturbed, of which he gave me a hint, and advised me to go to bed in a cabin he had provided. I assured him, “I was well refreshed with his good entertainment and company, and as much in my senses as ever I was in my life.” He then grew serious, and desired to ask me freely, “whether I were not troubled in my mind by the consciousness of some enormous crime, for which I was punished, at the command of some prince, by exposing me in that chest; as great criminals, in other countries, have been forced to sea in a leaky vessel, without provisions: for although he should be sorry to have taken so ill a man into his ship, yet he would engage his word to set me safe ashore, in the first port where we arrived.” He added, “that his suspicions were much increased by some very absurd speeches I had delivered at first to his sailors, and afterwards to himself, in relation to my closet or chest, as well as by my odd looks and behaviour while I was at supper.”

I begged his patience to hear me tell my story, which I faithfully did, from the last time I left England, to the moment he first discovered me. And, as truth always forces its way into rational minds, so this honest worthy gentleman, who had some tincture of learning, and very good sense, was immediately convinced of my candour and veracity. But further to confirm all I had said, I entreated him to give order that my cabinet should be brought, of which I had the key in my pocket; for he had already informed me how the seamen disposed of my closet. I opened it in his own presence, and showed him the small collection of rarities I made in the country from which I had been so strangely delivered. There was the comb I had contrived out of the stumps of the king’s beard, and another of the same materials, but fixed into a paring of her majesty’s thumb-nail, which served for the back. There was a collection of needles and pins, from a foot to half a yard long; four wasp stings, like joiner’s tacks; some combings of the queen’s hair; a gold ring, which one day she made me a present of, in a most obliging manner, taking it from her little finger, and throwing it over my head like a collar. I desired the captain would please to accept this ring in return for his civilities; which he absolutely refused. I showed him a corn that I had cut off with my own hand, from a maid of honour’s toe; it was about the bigness of Kentish pippin, and grown so hard, that when I returned England, I got it hollowed into a cup, and set in silver. Lastly, I desired him to see the breeches I had then on, which were made of a mouse’s skin.

I could force nothing on him but a footman’s tooth, which I observed him to examine with great curiosity, and found he had a fancy for it. He received it with abundance of thanks, more than such a trifle could deserve. It was drawn by an unskilful surgeon, in a mistake, from one of Glumdalclitch’s men, who was afflicted with the tooth-ache, but it was as sound as any in his head. I got it cleaned, and put it into my cabinet. It was about a foot long, and four inches in diameter.

The captain was very well satisfied with this plain relation I had given him, and said, “he hoped, when we returned to England, I would oblige the world by putting it on paper, and making it public.” My answer was, “that we were overstocked with books of travels: that nothing could now pass which was not extraordinary; wherein I doubted some authors less consulted truth, than their own vanity, or interest, or the diversion of ignorant readers; that my story could contain little beside common events, without those ornamental descriptions of strange plants, trees, birds, and other animals; or of the barbarous customs and idolatry of savage people, with which most writers abound. However, I thanked him for his good opinion, and promised to take the matter into my thoughts.”

He said “he wondered at one thing very much, which was, to hear me speak so loud;” asking me “whether the king or queen of that country were thick of hearing?” I told him, “it was what I had been used to for above two years past, and that I admired as much at the voices of him and his men, who seemed to me only to whisper, and yet I could hear them well enough. But, when I spoke in that country, it was like a man talking in the streets, to another looking out from the top of a steeple, unless when I was placed on a table, or held in any person’s hand.” I told him, “I had likewise observed another thing, that, when I first got into the ship, and the sailors stood all about me, I thought they were the most little contemptible creatures I had ever beheld.” For indeed, while I was in that prince’s country, I could never endure to look in a glass, after mine eyes had been accustomed to such prodigious objects, because the comparison gave me so despicable a conceit of myself. The captain said, “that while we were at supper, he observed me to look at everything with a sort of wonder, and that I often seemed hardly able to contain my laughter, which he knew not well how to take, but imputed it to some disorder in my brain.” I answered, “it was very true; and I wondered how I could forbear, when I saw his dishes of the size of a silver three-pence, a leg of pork chicken hardly a mouthful, a cup not so big as a nut-shell;” and so I went on, describing the rest of his household-stuff and provisions, after the same manner. For, although he queen had ordered a little equipage of all things necessary for me, while I was in her service, yet my ideas were wholly taken up with what I saw on every side of me, and I winked at my own littleness, as people do at their own faults. The captain understood my raillery very well, and merrily replied with the old English proverb, “that he doubted mine eyes were bigger than my belly, for he did not observe my stomach so good, although I had fasted all day;” and, continuing in his mirth, protested “he would have gladly given a hundred pounds, to have seen my closet in the eagle’s bill, and afterwards in its fall from so great a height into the sea; which would certainly have been a most astonishing object, worthy to have the description of it transmitted to future ages:” and the comparison of Phaeton was so obvious, that he could not forbear applying it, although I did not much admire the conceit.

The captain having been at Tonquin, was, in his return to England, driven north-eastward to the latitude of 44 degrees, and longitude of 143. But meeting a trade-wind two days after I came on board him, we sailed southward a long time, and coasting New Holland, kept our course west-south-west, and then south-south-west, till we doubled the Cape of Good Hope. Our voyage was very prosperous, but I shall not trouble the reader with a journal of it. The captain called in at one or two ports, and sent in his long-boat for provisions and fresh water; but I never went out of the ship till we came into the Downs, which was on the third day of June, 1706, about nine months after my escape. I offered to leave my goods in security for payment of my freight: but the captain protested he would not receive one farthing. We took a kind leave of each other, and I made him promise he would come to see me at my house in Redriff. I hired a horse and guide for five shillings, which I borrowed of the captain.

As I was on the road, observing the littleness of the houses, the trees, the cattle, and the people, I began to think myself in Lilliput. I was afraid of trampling on every traveller I met, and often called aloud to have them stand out of the way, so that I had like to have gotten one or two broken heads for my impertinence.

When I came to my own house, for which I was forced to inquire, one of the servants opening the door, I bent down to go in, (like a goose under a gate,) for fear of striking my head. My wife run out to embrace me, but I stooped lower than her knees, thinking she could otherwise never be able to reach my mouth. My daughter kneeled to ask my blessing, but I could not see her till she arose, having been so long used to stand with my head and eyes erect to above sixty feet; and then I went to take her up with one hand by the waist. I looked down upon the servants, and one or two friends who were in the house, as if they had been pigmies and I a giant. I told my wife, “she had been too thrifty, for I found she had starved herself and her daughter to nothing.” In short, I behaved myself so unaccountably, that they were all of the captain’s opinion when he first saw me, and concluded I had lost my wits. This I mention as an instance of the great power of habit and prejudice.

In a little time, I and my family and friends came to a right understanding: but my wife protested “I should never go to sea any more;” although my evil destiny so ordered, that she had not power to hinder me, as the reader may know hereafter. In the mean time, I here conclude the second part of my unfortunate voyages.

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With ever Increasing population of the world, enhancement of food production is a major necessity. Biological principles as applied to animal husbandry and plant breeding have a major role in our efforts to increase food production. Several new techniques like embryo transfer technology and tissue culture techniques are going to play a pivotal role in further enhancing food production.

9.1 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. As such it is a vital skill for farmers and is as much science as it is art. Animal husbandry deals with the care and breeding of livestock like buffaloes, cows, pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, goats, etc., that are useful to humans. Extended, it includes poultry farming and fisheries. Fisheries include rearing, catching, selling, etc., of fish, molluscs (shell-fish) and crustaceans (prawns, crabs, etc.). Since time immemorial, animals like bees, silk-worm, prawns, crabs, fishes, birds, pigs, cattle, sheep and camels have been used by humans for products like milk, eggs, meat, wool, silk, honey, etc.

It is estimated that more then 70 per cent of the world livestock population is in India and China. However, it is surprising to note that the contribution to the world farm produce is only

9.1.1.2 Poultry Farm Management

Poultry is the class of domesticated fowl (birds) used for food or for their eggs. They typically include chicken and ducks, and sometimes turkey and geese. The word poultry is often used to refer to the meat of only these birds, but in a more general sense it may refer to the meat of other birds too. As in dairy farming, selection of disease free and suitable breeds, proper and safe farm conditions, proper feed and water, and hygiene and health care are important components of poultry farm management.

Try to recollect the homozygous purelines developed by Mendel as discussed in Chapter 5. A similar strategy is used for developing purelines in cattle as was used in case of peas. Inbreeding increases homozygosity. Thus inbreeding is necessary if we want to evolve a pureline in any animal. Inbreeding exposes harmful recessive genes that are eliminated by selection. It also helps in accumulation of superior genes and elimination of less desirable genes. Therefore, this approach, where there is selection at each step, increases the productivity of inbred population. However, continued inbreeding, especially close inbreeding, usually reduces fertility and even productivity. This is called inbreeding depression.  Whenever this becomes a problem, selected animals of the breeding population should be mated

9.1.4 Fisheries

Fishery is an industry devoted to the catching, processing or selling of fish, shellfish or other aquatic animals. A large number of our population is dependent on fish, fish products and other aquatic animals such as prawn, crab, lobster, edible oyster, etc., for food. Some of the freshwater fishes which are very common include Catla, Rohu and common carp. Some of the marine fishes that are eaten include – Hilsa, Sardines, Mackerel and Pomfrets. Find out what fishes are commonly eaten in your area.

9.2.1 What is Plant Breeding?

Plant breeding is the purposeful manipulation of plant species in order to create desired plant types that are better suited for cultivation, give better yields and are disease resistant. Conventional plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since the beginning of human civilisation; recorded evidence of plant breeding dates back to 9,000-11,000 years ago. Many present-day crops are the result of domestication in ancient times. Today, all our major food crops are derived from domesticated varieties. Classical plant breeding involves crossing or hybridisation of pure lines, followed by artificial selection to produce plants with desirable traits of higher yield, nutrition and resistance to diseases. With advancements in genetics, molecular biology and tissue culture, plant breeding is now increasingly being carried out by using molecular genetic tools.

If we were to list the traits or characters that the breeders have tried to incorporate into crop plants, the first we would list would be increased crop yield and improved quality. Increased tolerance to environmental stresses (salinity, extreme temperatures, drought), resistance to pathogens (viruses, fungi and bacteria) and increased tolerance to insect pests would be on our list too.

Plant breeding programmes are carried out in a systematic way worldwide–in government institutions and commercial companies. The main steps in breeding a new genetic variety of a crop are –

(i)  Collection of  variability: Genetic variability is the root of any breeding programme. In many crops pre-existing genetic variability is available from wild relatives of the crop. Collection and preservation of all the different wild varieties, species and relatives of the cultivated species (followed by their evaluation for their characteristics) is a pre-requisite for effective exploitation of natural genes available in the populations. The entire collection (of plants/seeds) having all the diverse alleles for all genes in a given crop is called germplasm collection.

(ii)  Evaluation and selection of parents: The germplasm is evaluated so as to identify plants with desirable combination of characters. The selected plants are multiplied and used in the process of hybridisation. Purelines are created wherever desirable and possible.

(iii)  Cross hybridisation among  the selected  parents: The desired characters have very often to be combined from two different plants (parents), for example high protein quality of one parent may need to be combined with disease resistance from another parent. This is possible by cross hybridising the two parents to produce hybrids that genetically combine the desired characters in one plant. This is a very time-consuming and tedious process since the pollen grains from the desirable plant chosen as male parent have to be collected and placed on the stigma of the flowers selected as female parent (In chapter 2 details on how to make crosses have been described). Also, it is not necessary that the hybrids do combine the desirable characters; usually only one in few hundred to a thousand crosses shows the desirable combination.

(iv)  Selection and  testing of  superior recombinants : This step consists of selecting, among the progeny of the hybrids, those plants that have the desired character combination. The selection process is crucial to the success of the breeding objective and requires careful scientific evaluation of the progeny. This step yields plants that are superior to both of the parents (very often more than one superior progeny plant may become available). These are self-pollinated for several generations till they reach a state of uniformity (homozygosity?), so that the characters will not segregate in the progeny.

(v)  Testing, release  and commercialisation of new cultivars: The newly selected lines are evaluated for their yield and other agronomic traits of quality, disease resistance, etc. This evaluation is done by growing these in the research fields and recording their performance under ideal fertiliser application irrigation, and other crop management practices. The evaluation in research fields is followed

by testing the materials in farmers’ fields, for at least three growing seasons at several locations in the country, representing all the agroclimatic zones where the crop is usually grown. The material is evaluated in comparison to the best available local crop cultivar – a check or reference cultivar.

India is mainly an agricultural country. Agriculture accounts for approximately 33 per cent of India’s GDP and employs nearly 62 per cent of the population. After India’s independence, one of the main challenges facing the country was that of producing enough food for the increasing population. As only limited land is fit for cultivation, India has to strive to increase yields per unit area from existing farm land. The development of several high yielding varieties of wheat and rice in the mid-1960s, as a result of various plant breeding techniques led to dramatic increase in food production in our country. This phase is often referred to as the Green Revolution. Figure 9.3 represents some Indian hybrid

crops of high yeilding varieties.

(a)

(c)

9.2.2 Plant Breeding for Disease Resistance

A wide range of fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens, affect the yield of cultivated crop species, especially in tropical climates. Crop losses can often be significant, up to 20-30 per cent, or sometimes even total. In this situation, breeding and development of cultivars resistant to disease enhances food production. This also helps reduce the dependence on use of fungicides and bacteriocides. Resistance of the host plant is the ability to prevent the pathogen from causing disease and is determined by the genetic constitution of the host plant. Before breeding is undertaken, it is important to know about the causative organism and the mode of transmission. Some of the diseases caused by fungi are rusts, e.g., brown rust of wheat, red rot of sugarcane and late blight of potato; by  bacteria – black rot of crucifers; and by viruses – tobacco mosaic, turnip mosaic, etc.

Methods  of breeding  for disease  resistance:  Breeding is carried out by the conventional breeding techniques (described earlier) or by mutation breeding. The conventional method of breeding for disease resistance is that of hybridisation and selection. It’s steps are essentially identical to those for breeding for any other agronomic characters such as high yield. The various sequential steps are : screening germplasm for resistance sources, hybridisation of selected parents, selection and evaluation of the hybrids and testing and release of new varieties. Some crop varieties bred by hybridisation and selection, for disease resistance to fungi, bacteria and viral diseases are released

(Table 9.1).

Conventional breeding is often constrained by the availability of limited number of disease resistance genes that are present and identified in various crop varieties or wild relatives.  Inducing mutations in plants through diverse means and then screening the plant materials for resistance sometimes leads to desirable genes being identified.  Plants having these desirable characters can then be either multiplied directly or can be used in breeding. Other breeding methods that are used are selection amongst somaclonal variants and genetic engineering.

Mutation  is the process by which genetic variations are created through changes in the base sequence within genes (see Chapter 5) resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type. It is possible to induce mutations artificially through use of chemicals or radiations (like gamma radiations), and selecting and using the plants that have the desirable character as a source in breeding – this process is called mutation  breeding. In mung bean, resistance to yellow mosaic virus and powdery mildew were induced by mutations.

Several wild relatives of different cultivated species of plants have been shown to have certain resistant characters but have very low yield. Hence, there is a need to introduce the resistant genes into the high-yielding cultivated varieties. Resistance to yellow mosaic virus in bhindi (Abelmoschus esculentus) was transferred from a wild species and resulted in a new variety of A. esculentus called Parbhani kranti.

More than 840 million people in the world do not have adequate food to meet their daily food and nutritional requirements. A far greater number – three billion people – suffer from micronutrient, protein and vitamin deficiencies or ‘hidden hunger’ because they cannot afford to buy enough fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and meat. Diets lacking essential micronutrients – particularly iron, vitamin A, iodine and zinc – increase the risk for disease, reduce lifespan and reduce mental abilities.

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Besides macroscopic plants and animals, microbes are the major components of biological systems on this earth. You have studied about the diversity of living organisms in Class XI. Do you remember which Kingdoms among the living organisms contain micro-organisms? Which are the ones that are only microscopic? Microbes are present everywhere – in soil, water, air, inside our bodies and that of other animals and plants. They are present even at sites where no other life-form could possibly exist – sites such as deep inside the geysers (thermal vents) where the temperature may be as high as 1000C, deep in the soil, under the layers of snow several metres thick, and in highly acidic environments. Microbes are diverse – protozoa, bacteria, fungi and microscopic plants viruses, viroids and also prions that are proteinacious infectious agents. Some of the microbes are shown in Figures 10.1 and 10.2.
Microbes like bacteria and many fungi can be grown on nutritive media to form colonies (Figure 10.3), that can be seen with the naked eyes. Such cultures are useful in studies on micro-organisms.

In chapter 8, you have read that microbes cause a large number of diseases in human beings. They also cause diseases in animals and plants. But this should not make you think that all microbes are harmful; several microbes are useful to man in diverse ways. Some of the most important contributions of microbes to human welfare are discussed in this chapter.

10.1 MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

You would be surprised to know that we use microbes or products derived from them everyday. A common example is the production of curd from milk. Micro-organisms such as Lactobacillus and others commonly called lactic acid bacteria (LAB) grow in milk and convert it to curd. During growth, the LAB produce acids that coagulate and partially digest the milk proteins. A small amount of curd added to the fresh milk as inoculum or starter contain millions of LAB, which at suitable temperatures multiply, thus converting milk to curd, which also improves its nutritional quality by increasing vitamin B12. In our stomach too, the LAB play very beneficial role in checking disease- causing microbes.

The dough, which is used for making foods such as dosa and idli is also fermented by bacteria. The puffed-up appearance of dough is due to the production of CO gas. Can you tell which metabolic pathway is

taking place resulting in the formation of CO ? Where do you think the bacteria for these fermentations came from? Similarly the dough, which is used for making bread, is fermented using baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). A number of traditional drinks and foods are also made by fermentation by the microbes. ‘Toddy’, a traditional drink of some parts of southern India is made by fermenting sap from palms. Microbes are also used to ferment fish, soyabean and bamboo- shoots to make foods. Cheese, is one of the oldest food items in which microbes were used. Different varieties of cheese are known by their characteristic texture, flavour and taste, the specificity coming from the microbes used. For example, the large holes in ‘Swiss cheese’ are due to production of a large amount of CO by a bacterium named

Propionibacterium sharmanii. The ‘Roquefort cheese’ are ripened by growing a specific fungi on them, which gives them a particular flavour.

10.2 MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

Even in industry, microbes are used to synthesise a number of products valuable to human beings. Beverages and antibiotics are some examples. Production on an industrial scale, requires growing microbes in very large vessels called fermentors (Figure 10.4).

10.2.1 Fermented Beverages

Microbes especially yeasts have been used from time immemorial for the production of beverages like wine, beer, whisky, brandy or rum. For this purpose the same yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae used for bread-making and commonly called brewer’s yeast, is used for fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices, to produce ethanol. Do you recollect the metabolic reactions, which result in the production of ethanol by yeast? Depending on the type of the raw material used for fermentation and the type of processing (with or without distillation) different types of alcoholic drinks are obtained. Wine and beer are produced without distillation whereas whisky, brandy and rum are produced by distillation of the fermented broth. The photograph of a fermentation plant is shown in Figure 10.5.

10.2.2 Antibiotics

Antibiotics produced by microbes are regarded as one of the most significant discoveries of the twentieth century and have greatly contributed towards the welfare of the human society. Anti is a Greek word that means ‘against’, and bio means
‘life’, together they mean ‘against life’ (in the context of disease causing organisms); whereas with reference to human beings, they are ‘pro life’ and not against. Antibiotics are chemical substances, which are produced by some microbes and can kill or retard the growth of other (disease-causing) microbes.

You are familiar with the commonly used antibiotic Penicillin. Do you know that Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered, and it was a chance discovery? Alexander Fleming while working on Staphylococci bacteria, once observed a mould growing in one of his unwashed culture plates around which Staphylococci could not grow. He found out that it was due to a chemical produced by the mould and he named it Penicillin after the mould Penicillium notatum. However, its full potential as an effective antibiotic was established much later by Ernest Chain and Howard Florey. This antibiotic was extensively used to treat American soldiers wounded in World War II. Fleming, Chain and Florey were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945, for this discovery.

After Penicillin, other antibiotics were also purified from other microbes. Can you name some other antibiotics and find out their sources? Antibiotics have greatly improved our capacity to treat deadly diseases such as plague, whooping cough (kali khansi ), diphtheria (gal ghotu) and leprosy (kusht rog), which used to kill millions all over the globe. Today, we cannot imagine a world without antibiotics.

10.2.3 Chemicals, Enzymes and other Bioactive Molecules

Microbes are also used for commercial and industrial production of certain chemicals like organic acids, alcohols and enzymes. Examples of acid producers are Aspergillus niger (a fungus) of citric acid, Acetobacter aceti (a bacterium) of acetic acid; Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) of butyric acid and Lactobacillus (a bacterium) of lactic acid.
Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is used for commercial production of ethanol. Microbes are also used for production of enzymes. Lipases are used in detergent formulations and are helpful in removing oily stains from the laundry. You must have noticed that bottled fruit juices bought from the market are clearer as compared to those made at home. This is because the bottled juices are clarified by the use of pectinases and proteases. Streptokinase produced by the bacterium Streptococcus and modified by genetic engineering is used as a ‘clot buster’ for removing clots from the blood vessels of patients who have undergone myocardial infraction leading to heart attack.

Another bioactive molecule, cyclosporin A, that is used as an immunosuppressive agent in organ-transplant patients, is produced by the fungus Trichoderma polysporum. Statins produced by the yeast Monascus purpureus have been commercialised as blood-cholesterol lowering agents. It acts by competitively inhibiting the enzyme responsible
for synthesis of cholesterol.

10.3 MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT

We know that large quantities of waste water are generated everyday in cities and towns. A major component of this waste water is human excreta. This municipal waste-water is also called sewage. It contains large amounts of organic matter and microbes. Many of which are pathogenic. Have you ever wondered where this huge quantity of sewage or urban waste water is disposed off daily? This cannot be discharged into natural water bodies like rivers and streams directly – you can understand why. Before disposal, hence, sewage is treated in sewage treatment plants (STPs) to make it less polluting. Treatment of waste water is done by the heterotrophic microbes naturally present in the sewage. This treatment is carried out in two stages:

Figure 10.6 Secondary treatment

Primary treatment : These treatment steps basically involve physical removal of particles – large and small – from the sewage through filtration and sedimentation. These are removed in stages; initially, floating debris is removed by sequential filtration. Then the grit (soil and small pebbles) are removed by sedimentation. All solids that settle form the primary sludge, and the supernatant forms the effluent. The effluent from the primary settling tank is taken for secondary treatment.Secondary treatment or Biological treatment : The primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks (Figure 10.6) where it is constantly agitated mechanically and air is pumped into it. This allows vigorous growth of useful aerobic microbes into flocs (masses of bacteria associated with fungal filaments to form mesh like structures). While growing, these microbes consume the major part of the organic matter in the effluent. This significantly reduces the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) of the effluent. BOD refers to the amount of the oxygen that would be consumed if all the organic matter in one liter of water were oxidised by bacteria. The sewage water is treated till the BOD is reduced. The BOD test measures the rate of uptake of oxygen by micro-organisms in a sample of water and thus, indirectly, BOD is a measure of the organic matter present in the water. The greater the BOD of waste water, more is its polluting potential.

Figure 10.7 An aerial view of a sewage plant

Once the BOD of sewage or waste water is reduced significantly, the effluent is then passed into a settling tank where the bacterial ‘flocs’ are allowed to sediment. This sediment is called activated sludge. A small part of the activated sludge is pumped back into the aeration tank to serve as the inoculum. The remaining major part of the sludge is pumped into large tanks called anaerobic sludge digesters. Here, other kinds of bacteria, which grow anaerobically, digest the bacteria and the fungi in the sludge. During this digestion, bacteria produce a mixture of gases such as methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. These gases form biogas and can be used as source of energy as it is inflammable.

The effluent from the secondary treatment plant is generally released into natural water bodies like rivers and streams. An aerial view of such You can appreciate how microbes play a major role in treating millions of gallons of waste water everyday across the globe. This methodology has been practiced for more than a century now, in almost all parts of the world. Till date, no man- made technology has been able to rival the microbial treatment of sewage.

You are aware that due to increasing urbanisation, sewage is being produced in much larger quantities than ever before. However the number of sewage treatment plants has not increased enough to treat such large quantities. So the untreated sewage is often discharged directly into rivers leading to their pollution and increase in water-borne diseases.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has initiated Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna Action Plan to save these major rivers of our country from pollution. Under these plans, it is proposed to build a large number of sewage treatment plants so that only treated sewage may be discharged in the rivers. A visit to a sewage treatment plant situated in any place near you would be a very interesting and educating experience.

10.4 MICROBES IN PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS

Biogas is a mixture of gases (containing predominantly methane) produced by the microbial activity and which may be used as fuel. You have learnt that microbes produce different types of gaseous end-products during growth and metabolism. The type of the gas produced depends upon the microbes and the organic substrates they utilise. In the examples cited in relation to fermentation of dough, cheese making and production of beverages, the main gas produced was CO2 . However, certain bacteria, which grow anaerobically on cellulosic material, produce large amount of methane along with CO2 and H2. These bacteria are collectively called methanogens, and one such common bacterium is Methanobacterium. These bacteria are commonly found in the anaerobic sludge during sewage treatment. These bacteria are also present in the rumen (a part of stomach) of cattle. A lot of cellulosic material present in the food of cattle is also present in the rumen. In rumen, these bacteria help in the breakdown of cellulose and play an important role in the nutrition of cattle. Do you think we, human beings, are able to digest the celluose present in our foods? Thus, the excreta (dung) of cattle, commonly called gobar, is rich in these bacteria. Dung can be used for generation of biogas, commonly called gobar gas.

The biogas plant consists of a concrete tank (10-15 feet deep) in which bio-wastes are collected and a slurry of dung is fed. A floating cover is placed over the slurry, which keeps on rising as the gas is produced in the tank due to the microbial activity. The biogas plant has an outlet, which is connected to a pipe to supply biogas to nearby houses. The spent slurry is removed through another outlet and may be used as fertiliser. Cattle dung is available in large quantities in rural areas where cattle are used for a variety of purposes. So biogas plants are more after build in rural areas. The biogas thus produced is used for cooking and lighting. The picture of a biogas plant is shown in Figure 10.8. The technology of biogas production was developed in India mainly due to the efforts of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). If your school is situated in a village or near a village, it would be very interesting to enquire if there are any biogas plants nearby. Visit the biogas plant and learn more about it from the people who are actually managing it.

10.5 MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS

Biocontrol refers to the use of biological methods for controlling plant diseases and pests. In modern society, these problems have been tackled increasingly by the use of chemicals – by use of insecticides and pesticides. These chemicals are toxic and extremely harmful, to human beings and animals alike, and have been polluting our environment (soil, ground water), fruits, vegetables and crop plants. Our soil is also polluted through our use of weedicides to remove weeds.

Biological control of pests and diseases: In agriculture, there is a method of controlling pests that relies on natural predation rather than introduced chemicals. A key belief of the organic farmer is that biodiversity furthers health. The more variety a landscape has, the more sustainable it is. The organic farmer, therefore, works to create a system where the insects that are sometimes called pests are not eradicated, but instead are kept at manageable levels by a complex system of checks and balances within a living and vibrant ecosystem. Contrary to the ‘conventional’ farming practices which often use chemical methods to kill both useful

and harmful life forms indiscriminately, this is a holistic approach that seeks to develop an understanding of the webs of interaction between the myriad of organisms that constitute the field fauna and flora. The organic farmer holds the view that the eradication of the creatures that are often described as pests is not only possible, but also undesirable, for without them the beneficial predatory and parasitic insects which depend upon them as food or hosts would not be able to survive. Thus, the use of biocontrol measures will greatly reduce our dependence on toxic chemicals and pesticides. An important part of the biological farming approach is to become familiar with the various life forms that inhabit the field, predators as well as pests, and also their life cycles, patterns of feeding and the habitats that they prefer. This will help develop appropriate means of biocontrol. The very familiar beetle with red and black markings – the Ladybird, and Dragonflies are useful to get rid of aphids and mosquitoes, respectively. An example of microbial biocontrol agents that can be introduced in order to control butterfly caterpillars is the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (often written as Bt ). These are available in sachets as dried spores which are mixed with water and sprayed onto vulnerable plants such as brassicas and fruit trees, where these are eaten by the insect larvae. In the gut of the larvae, the toxin is released and the larvae get killed. The bacterial disease will kill the caterpillars, but leave other insects unharmed. Because of the development of methods of genetic engineering in the last decade or so, the scientists have introduced B. thuringiensis toxin genes into plants. Such plants are resistant to attack by insect pests. Bt-cotton is one such example, which is being cultivated in some states of our country. You will learn more about this in chapter 12.

A biological control being developed for use in the treatment of plant disease is the fungus Trichoderma. Trichoderma species are free-living fungi that are very common in the root ecosystems. They are effective biocontrol agents of several plant pathogens.

Baculoviruses are pathogens that attack insects and other arthropods. The majority of baculoviruses used as biological control agents are in the genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus. These viruses are excellent candidates for species-specific, narrow spectrum insecticidal applications. They have been shown to have no negative impacts on plants, mammals, birds, fish or even on non-target insects. This is especially desirable when beneficial insects are being conserved to aid in an overall integrated pest management (IPM) programme, or when an ecologically sensitive area is being treated.

10.6 MICROBES AS BIOFERTILISERS

With our present day life styles environmental pollution is a major cause of concern. The use of the chemical fertilisers to meet the ever-increasing demand of agricultural produce has contributed significantly to this pollution. Of course, we have now realised that there are problems associated with the overuse of chemical fertilisers and there is a large pressure to switch to organic farming – to use of biofertilisers. Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil. The main sources of biofertilisers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. You have studied about the nodules on the roots of leguminous plants formed by the symbiotic association of Rhizobium. These bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms, which is used by the plant as nutrient. Other bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen while free-living in the soil (examples Azospirillum and Azotobacter), thus enriching the nitrogen content of the soil.

Fungi are also known to form symbiotic associations with plants (mycorrhiza). Many members of the genus Glomus form mycorrhiza. The fungal symbiont in these associations absorbs phosphorus from soil and passes it to the plant. Plants having such associations show other benefits also, such as resistance to root-borne pathogens, tolerance to salinity and drought, and an overall increase in plant growth and development. Can you tell what advantage the fungus derives from this association?

Cyanobacteria are autotrophic microbes widely distributed in aquatic and terrestrial environments many of which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, e.g. Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria, etc. In paddy fields, cyanobacteria serve as an important biofertiliser. Blue green algae also add organic matter to the soil and increase its fertility. Currently, in our country, a number of biofertilisers are available commercially in the market and farmers use these regularly in their fields to replenish soil nutrients and to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers.

SUMMARY

Microbes are a very important component of life on earth. Not all microbes are pathogenic. Many microbes are very useful to human beings. We use microbes and microbially derived products almost every day. Bacteria called lactic acid bacteria (LAB) grow in milk to convert it into curd. The dough, which is used to make bread, is fermented by yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Certain dishes such as idli and dosa, are made from dough fermented by microbes. Bacteria and fungi are used to impart particular texture, taste and flavor to cheese. Microbes are used to produce industrial products like lactic acid, acetic acid and alcohol, which are used in a variety of processes in the industry. Antibiotics like penicillins produced by useful microbes are used to kill disease-causing harmful microbes. Antibiotics have played a major role in controlling infectious diseases like diphtheria, whooping cough and

pneumonia. For more than a hundred years, microbes are being used to treat sewage (waste water) by the process of activated sludge formation and this helps in recycling of water in nature. Methanogens produce methane (biogas) while degrading plant waste. Biogas produced by microbes is used as a source of energy in rural areas. Microbes can also be used to kill harmful pests, a process called as biocontrol. The biocontrol measures help us to avoid heavy use of toxic pesticides for controlling pests. There is a head need these days to push for use of biofertilisers in place of chemical fertilisers. It is clear from the diverse uses human beings have put microbes to that they play an important
role in the welfare of human society.

EXERCISES

1. Bacteria cannot be seen with the naked eyes, but these can be seen with the help of a microscope. If you have to carry a sample from your home to your biology laboratory to demonstrate the presence of microbes under a microscope, which sample would you carry and why?
2. Give examples to prove that microbes release gases during metabolism.
3. In which food would you find lactic acid bacteria? Mention some of their useful applications.
4. Name some traditional Indian foods made of wheat, rice and Bengal gram (or their products) which involve use of microbes.
5. In which way have microbes played a major role in controlling diseases caused by harmful bacteria?
6. Name any two species of fungus, which are used in the production of the antibiotics.
7. What is sewage? In which way can sewage be harmful to us?
8. What is the key difference between primary and secondary sewage treatment?
9. Do you think microbes can also be used as source of energy? If yes, how?
10. Microbes can be used to decrease the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Explain how this can be accomplished.
11. Three water samples namely river water, untreated sewage water and secondary effluent discharged from a sewage treatment plant were subjected to BOD test. The samples were labelled A, B and C; but the laboratory attendant did not note which was which. The BOD values of the three samples A, B and C were recorded as 20mg/L, 8mg/L and
400mg/L, respectively. Which sample of the water is most polluted? Can you assign the correct label to each assuming the river water is relatively clean?
12. Find out the name of the microbes from which Cyclosporin A (an immunosuppressive drug) and Statins (blood cholesterol lowering agents) are obtained.
13. Find out the role of microbes in the following and discuss it with your teacher. (a) Single cell protein (SCP)
(b) Soil
14. Arrange the following in the decreasing order (most important first) of their importance, for the welfare of human society. Give reasons for your answer.
Biogas, Citric acid, Penicillin and Curd
15. How do biofertilisers enrich the fertility of the soil?

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There are some spelling mistakes as the scanned copy is not very clear.

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Electronic structure of Alcohols:- (i) In alcohols both oxygen and the carbon attached to it are sp³ hybridized (ii) Two of the four sp3 hybridized orbitals of oxygen overlaps separately with l₀ orbital of H and an sp₃ orbital of carbon of alkyl group to form OH and C – O bond

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Physical state:-

1.  At room temp, lower alcohols are colourless liquids
2. The higher members are colourless odourless oxy solids

Boiling points:-

Boiling points of alcohols use much higher than aliphatic hydrocarbons and halo alkanes

Reason of forms hydrogen bonding and exists as associate molecules

The boiling points decreases with branching due to a corresponding decrease surface area. In the order primary > secondary > tertiary

Solubility: -

The lower alcohols are highly soluble in water with increase in molecular mass the solubility gets decrease.

→ Solubility extent depends upon capability of its molecule to form Hydrogen bond with water

→ Molecule mass increases, hydrocarbon part becomes large, it resist the formation of (—H) bond and solubility decreases.

Ex.            Alcohol                        Solubility

N-Butyl alcohol                 7.9

N-Pentyl alcohols             2.3

Physiological action :-

Methanol is poisonous and not good for drinking purpose

On the other hand ethanol has intoxicating effect and is used for drinking purposes.

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ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Age: Scholarship will be given to upcoming players between the ages of 14 to 19 years.

Category: There will be two categories of scholarship: ’Elite Scholar’ and ’Scholar’

Elite Scholar: Team Games – Representing the country. Individual Games – National ranking between 1 to 5 in Juniors or Sub-Juniors category or semi-finalist / Finalists of national championships.

Scholar: Team Games – Representing the state team.

Individual Games: National ranking between 6 to 15 in Juniors or Sub-Juniors category or quarter-finalist of national championships.

NO. OF GAMES :

The sports scholarships to be awarded will be for the following games :

In ‘Other Games’ category includes the games Basketball, Volleyball, Archery, Boxing, Carrom, Gymnastics, Kabaddi, Shooting, Swimming, Wrestling and any other game (with international medal prospects).

DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP 

The duration of sports scholarship shall be for a period of 3 years. After the completion of the 1^st year of the sports scholarship, the performance of the player shall be reviewed. Based on this performance, the sports scholarship will be renewed for the 2^nd year. The renewal for the 3^rd year will be based on the performance in the 2^nd year of sports scholarship.

The Management may discontinue the scholarship granted to the sports scholar keeping in mind the eligibility criteria.

CONDITIONS FOR AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP

The sports scholarship player will not be entitled to draw any other scholarship / financial aid / stipend from any other source whatsoever for sporting activity.

There is no obligation on the part of IOC to give employment to the IndianOil Sports Scholars.

The application will be routed through and recommended by Appropriate Authority / Institution (such as Head / Principal of Institution / School) along with certified copy of standing of sports scholar in appropriate National / State level issued by concerned Sports Authority.

All sports scholarships will be for a period of three years and will be discontinued during the tenure, in case the performance of the player is not found satisfactory.

The sports scholars will have to submit their performance report immediately after the completion of a tournament with necessary press clipping through the Head of Institution / Principal or from their National / State Association.

The Management has the right to decide awarding the scholarships as mentioned above depending on the vacancies available in the games so advertised.

APPLICATIONS

The sportsperson should submit the application necessarily in the formats given on the website with all columns duly filled alongwith passport size photograph. It is mandatory to send a copy of the birth certificate. Photo copies of relevant press cuttings and the certificates, duly authenticated by their respective State Association or the Principal of their school/college may be submitted. Incomplete applications shall not be entertained.

The last date for receipt of applications will be 30^th Sept., 2012 and no applications will be entertained after the due date. The applicant necessarily should be above the age of 14 yrs. & below the age of 19 yrs as on 30^th Sept., 2012.

Application Form

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Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide and Decomposition of Nitrogen Pent oxide

Decomposition of Nitrogen Pent oxide:

The compound, nitrogen pent oxide, is a volatile solid which decomposes in the gaseous state as well as in the form of its solution in an inert solvent like carbon tetrachloride, chloroform etc. according to the equation

When the reaction is carried out in the solution, N₂O₄ and NO₂ remain in the solution and the volume of oxygen gas collected is noted at different intervals of time. It is obvious that

Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide:

The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution (catalyzed by the presence of finely divided platinum) takes place according to the equation :

The kinetics of this reaction may be studied by (by collecting the oxygen gas produced and noting its volume at different intervals of time)

It can also be done making use of the fact that H2O2 solution can be titrated against KMnO4 solution thus by withdrawing equal amounts of the solution (usually 5 cc) at regular intervals of time and titrating against the same KMnO4 solution, the amount of H2O2 present can be found every time. It is obvious that for the same volume of the reaction solution withdrawn,

Substituting these values in the first order equation, we get

The decomposition of hydrogen peroxides as, tested by this equation, and is found to be of the first order.

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NOTE: The One-Day Seminar should preferably be organised one day before the organisation of State Level Science and Environment Exhibition for Children (SLSEEC).

The importance of Mathematics has been realized since ancient periods. It is often seen that the students who obtain good marks in mathematics also get good marks in other subjects too. Mathematics does not only help in dayto- day situations but also develops logical reasoning, abstract thinking and imagination. It enriches life and provides new dimensions to thinking. The struggle to learn abstract principles develops the power to formulate and understand arguments and the capacity to see inter-relations among concepts. It also helps us understand and make better patterns, maps, appreciate area and volume and see similarities between shapes and sizes. Mathematics students do well not only in conventional areas of engineering but also in computers, corporate world, management, finance, administration and in teaching too. One can be an expert in mathematics only by understanding and enjoying it and not by rote learning.

Mathematics is not less even for mental exercises. Increasing popularity of number puzzles and sudokus in news papers and magazines is an evidence of it. Progress in science, engineering and technology is difficult without an expertise in mathematics. Having realized this fact and to attract youth towards mathematics, Government of India has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of great Indian mathematician Late Shriniwas Ramanujam – 22 December as National Mathematics Day. Famous mathematician Ramunujam was born on 22 December 1887 in Erode, Tamilnadu. In his life span of just 32 years and without any formal training in pure mathematics, Ramanujam miraculously contributed in the complex fields of mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, continued fraction etc. In order to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi is celebrating year 2012 as Year of Mathematics.

During the Year of Mathematics activities are planned to (i) increase the public appreciation and understanding of Mathematics; (ii) making people aware of and appreciate the contribution of Indian mathematicians (Arya Bhatta, Bhaskaracharya, Pingala, Sridharacharya et al.); (iii) increase the interest of young people in Mathematics; (iv) generate interaction among people in mathematics through electronic media (or social networkingwebsites etc.) and thus generate enthusiasm for mathematics; (v) generate awareness among people as to how mathematics could be useful in facing challenges of 21st century; and (vi) make people aware of the aesthetic sense and beauty of mathematics.

During this One-Day Seminar on Year of Mathematics, children, teachers, parents and all concerned are invited to generate ideas. The activities in this seminar may include:

• Organising hands-on activities and Games in mathematics
• Encouraging the designing of projects in mathematics to generate enthusiasm in the recent trends of development and research in mathematics
• Appreciating the contribution of Indian mathematicians in society
• Making people aware of contributions of mathematics in the development of other subject areas
• Publicising the usefulness of mathematics in the development of mankind in bringing it to the present stage
• Organising poster exhibition-cumcompetitions highlighting usefulness and wonders of mathematics
• Organising invited talks by experts in mathematics in the schools
• Display of low-cost exhibits and models conveying curricular topics
• Screening of slide shows, demonstrations experiments etc.

Objectives
Call for entries
Screening, evaluation and monitoring of entries for SLSEEC
Criteria for evaluation of exhibits in SLSEEC
Criteria for evaluation of exhibits for JNNSEEC
Expenditure norms
State Level Science and Environment Exhibitions for Children 2012 – 2013 Complete Information

• State Level Science and Environment Exhibitions for Children 2012 – 2013 Notification
• Guidelines For The Preparation Of Exhibits And Models and Themes
• Guidelines For Organising The State Level Science And Environment Exhibitions For Children–2012-13
  • Objectives
  • Call For Entries
  • Screening, Evaluation And Monitoring Of Entries For SLSEEC
  • Criteria For Evaluation Of Exhibits In SLSEEC
  • Criteria For Evaluation Of Exhibits For JNNSEEC
  • Expenditure Norms
• Proformas
  • Maintenance Of Accounts
  • Information About Participating Schools
  • Information About Nature And Number Of Exhibits Displayed
  • Panel Of Judges Sub-Theme-Wise
  • Information About The Exhibit/Model
• An Exemplary Write-Up Of An Exhibit “Solar Ac –– Solar Chimney” 30 Displayed In The 38th Jawaharlal Nehru National Exhibition For Science And Environental Education For Children–2011 (Patna, Bihar)

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An Examination will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 19th August, 2012 for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 130th Course, and for the 92nd Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from July, 2013. The candidates Joining Indian Naval Academy would undergo 4 years B.Tech Course and would be given an opportunity to join Executive and Technical Branches of the Navy subject to availability of vacancies.

The approximate number of vacancies to be filled on the results of this examination will be 355 [(195 for the Army, 39 for Navy, 66 for the Air Force and 55 for Indian Naval Academy (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme)]. Vacancies are provisional and may be changed depending on the availability of training capacity of National Defence Academy.

N.b.
(i) a candidate is required to specify Clearly in the online application form the Services for which he wishes to be Considered in the order of his preference [1 to 4]. He is also advised to indicate as Many preferences as he wishes to opt so That having regard to his rank in the order Of merit due consideration can be given to His preferences when making Appointments.

(ii) candidates should note that they will Be considered for appointment to those Services only for which they express their Preferences and for no other service(s). No Request for addition/alteration in the Preferences already indicated by a Candidate in his application will be Entertained by the commission.

(iii) admission to the above courses will be Made on the results of the written Examination to be conducted by the Commission followed by intelligence and Personality test by the services selection Board, of candidates who qualify in the written examination.

NDA II 2012 Exam Important Links

• NDA II 2012: National Defence Academy, Naval Academy Examination 2012
• NDA II 2012: Important Information [Must Read]
• NDA II 2012: Centres of Examination of NDA 2012
• NDA II 2012: Eligibility Criteria
• NDA II 2012: Fee Structure
• NDA II 2012: How to Apply
• NDA II 2012: Last Date for Receipt of Application Form
• NDA II 2012: TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE
• NDA II 2012: Correspondence with the Commission/Army/Naval/Air Headquarters for NDA 2012
• NDA II 2012: Disqualification for Admission
• NDA II 2012: Request For Withdrawal
• NDA II 2012: Scheme Of The Examination
• NDA II 2012: Mathematics Syllabus
• NDA II 2012: General Ability Test Syllabus
• NDA II 2012: Instructions to the Candidates for Filling Online Application
• NDA II 2012: Special Instructions to Candidates
• NDA II 2012: How to fill in the Answer Sheet of objective type tests in the Examination Hall
• NDA II 2012: Training

• NDA II 2012: Admit Card
• NDA II 2012: Results

• NDA Previous Year Question Papers

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