ToL. III. No. 5.3. 



THE AGEICULTURAL NEWS. 



141 



EDUCATIONAL 



SECOXD REPORT ON EC 0X0 MIC ZOOLOGY. 

 By F. V. Tlieobald. Loinhin : Fiinfi'd />!/ order nf the 

 Trustees of the Rritish J/iiseuii>, 1904- 



This is next in series to the First Report, a notice of 

 which will be found in tlie Agricultural Xiw>; Vol. II, p. .3.31, 

 and deals with animals grouiied and classified according to 

 the place they hold, considered from the point of view of 

 Economic Zoology. 



Reports to the Board of Agriculture on Agricultural 

 7(jology and answers to correspondents make up Part II. 

 There is also a list of insect jiests of Egypt, adilitional insect 

 pests of the West Inilics and CocciJae of Egyjit, altogetlier 

 making a valuable and interesting collection nf infurmation. 



FARMERS' IWLLETIXS OF THE FHILIFFIXE 

 BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE. 



We have received a number nf Farmers' Bulletins issued 

 by the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture. These publications 

 are of the same character as the Farmers' Bulletins of tlie 

 United States Department of Agriculture and are likely to 

 be of the greatest value to planters in the Phili[iiiines. 



Among the Bulletins already published may be 

 mentioned: No. 1, 'A Primer on the cultivation of sugar- 

 cane ' ; No. 2, ' Cacao culture in the Philippines ' ; No. 3, 

 'Modern rice culture ' ; No. 7, ' Ileport on the introduction 

 and distribution of seeds and plants by the liureau of 

 Agriculture'; and No. 8, 'The cocoa-nut.' 



In No. 1 it is stated: 'The present practices plaijily 

 indicate a laak of knowledge of certain fundamental 

 princiiiles in cane cultivation, and the iiurjiose of this paper 

 is to place before the cane grower, in compact form, the 

 elementary information essential to the success which lies 

 within his i-each.' This quotation serves to indicate the 

 general purpose and nature of the series. 



COTTON CULTURE: By 11. .1. Ptedding. Bulletin 

 No. G-> of thi Geori/ia State E.qieriuient Station, lUO-J. 



This bulletin, which is written by the Director of the 

 Georgia Experiment Station, is chiefly devoted to the field 

 <ixperiments that have been carried on in that Station. The 

 following experiments are reported upon : (1) variety test, 

 (2) 'composite' seed test (where an early and a late variety 

 are planted together), (3) nianurial experiments, (4) planting 

 *jn bed or level. 



In an appendix are given suggestions and manurial 

 formulae based on carefully conducted experiments. The 

 results of fourteen years' experiments appear to justify the 

 drawing of certain conclusions as to the requirements of the 

 •cotton plant. Thus, the following rotation is recommended : 

 1st year, corn and peas; 2nd year, wheat and oats followed 

 hy cow peas for hay ; 3rd year, cotton. 



It must, of course, be understood that this bulletin 

 ■deals entirely with Upland cotton and not with Sea Island 

 •cotton — the variety l.ieing grown in the West Indies. 



School Gardens and Arbor Day. 



The following is taken from Aiwrixtii Garden! mj 

 uf .^larch IS), 1!J()4:— 



SCHOOL I GARDENS. 



School gardens continue to receive a constantly increasing 

 share of public attention. From very many parts of the 

 country reports reach us bearing witness to this widespread 

 interest. There can bo no cjuestion but that the movement 

 should be encouraged by all who are in any way concerned 

 in iiractical horticulture. If the younger generation has 

 implanted in it an intelligent interest in garden routine work, 

 together with an intelligent acquaintance with growing 

 plants, there will not be the need of so much missionary work 

 in garden art in the future as there has been in the past. 



The school garden movetnent was started some eighty 

 years ago, but its most rapid development has been within 

 the last decade. Work in this country is not by any means 

 sufficiently widespread. With a round 100,000 school 

 gardens in Europe, is it any wonder that garden art lias 

 reached a wider distribution across the ocean than it has 

 with us ? 



It is not at all necessary or desirable that all the school 

 children should be made into gardeners, but tjie early teaching 

 wiiuld raise the standard of those who adopt the calling and 

 create a better apjireciation of the craftnian's skill in those 

 who would dejiend upon the labour of others. From the 

 standpoint of the trade, too, the increased interest in garden 

 embellishment would stimulate a widespread and healthy 

 demand for plants and seeds of high (piality. 



ARBOR DAY. 



Yerj' closely associated with the school garden movement 

 is the Arbor Day celebration. Nearly every State now sets 

 apart one day wliich is devoted to the planting ot trees with 

 more or less ceremony. True it is that a very large amount 

 of the work involved is entirely spent and wasted energy. 

 Too often, the planting is done in a perfunctory and 

 haphazard manner, and the trees set out are left to care for 

 themselves. 



Planted and neglected, and allowed to die, whatever 

 possible good may have been started in the minds of children 

 is entirely counteracted. Some of the most interesting trej- 

 lilanting exercises take place in connexion with the schools 

 of densely poi)ulated cities. Usually, under such conditions, 

 the jiark department (co-operating with the school sj'stem) 

 sui>plies the trees to be planted, selects the locations, and 

 attends to their subsequent needs. Where such planting has 

 lieen done in small jiarks and city squares near schools, the 

 children have begun to feel a personal interest in the growth 

 of 'their ' trees, and from this beginning a recognition of the 

 purpose and value of parks can easily be traced. 



.Wl these movements which draw attention to the living 

 plant and better citizenship should receive the heartiest 

 support of the horticulturist. 



In the West Indies the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture has devoted considerable attention to these 

 matters. Every effort has been made to encourage the 

 establishment of school gardens: at all the Agricultural 

 Shows held under the auspices of the Department, 

 special prizes have been offered for exhibits by the 

 children attending elementary schools. Officers of the 

 Department have also given every encouragement to 

 the Arbor Day movement. 



