Vol 1. No. 2. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWH. 



27 



EDUCATIONAL. 



Cambridge Local Examination. 



[SECTION OF ACRICULTURAL SCIE>iC'E. 



It has been announced by the Secretary of the 

 Local Examinations and Lectnr(^s Syndicate of the 

 University of C'anibridge that for the Senior Local 

 Examination in December ]!)02, a new section has been 

 added for Agricultural Science, ' sj)ecially calculated to 

 meet the need of students in the West Indies.' 



The following is a detailed schedule of the require- 

 ments in Agrictdtui'al Science, and at the req\icst of 

 the Secretary there ai'e added a few suggestions for 

 adapting the schedule more nearly to meet the cii-cum- 

 •stances of the West Indies : — 



CAMBRIDGE LOCAL EXAMIN.\TI()N. 



Aiilllel'I.TUR.VL selESUK. (sKXIDKs). 



r.\PEK I. 



Candid.atcs will be 0.\i)ucted tn show, l>y their an.swer.s, 

 tliat they liave ac(]uived practical knowledge l)y their uwii 

 <jbsjrvation3 and l)y e.tiJjfimsnts i>f tlu following subjects. 



The uUimatj ompositio:! of plants— carbon, hydrogen, 

 oxygen, nitrogen, phosph rt-ir^, sulphur, chlorine, pot.issiuni, 

 sodium, calcium, niignysium, iron, silicon. The chemistry 

 <jf these elements and tluir simpler conip unid.^, their detection 

 in jilants, and in soil. Water and sand cultures. 



The .structure, arrangement, and functions of leaves. 

 The structure and functions of roots and stems with tlieir 

 chief moditications. 



The soil as a source of jilant food, its mechanical and 

 chemical composition, and its relations 1 1 tlie supjily of water 

 and heat to plants. The absorption of food from the soil : 

 osmosis, capillarit}-, transpiration. 



The structure and functions of the flower and its varicuis 

 parts. Pfdlination and fertilization. The develo]iment, 

 structure, and disi)er.sal of fruits and seeds. The germination 

 of seeds, and the utilization of their reserve stores. Translo- 

 cation of foodstuil's. Propagation by vegetative methods. 



Candidates will be exi)ected to have a general knowleilge 

 of the useful and harmful jilants in the following natural 

 orders; — Cruciferae, R isaceae, Leguminosae, t'henopodiaceae, 

 Polygonaceae, Solanaceae, Labiatae, Gramineae (n ). 



I'APER II. 



The form.ation and lu-operties of soil. The .Vgricultmal 

 characteristics of tyjiical soils. The amelioration and improve- 

 ment of soil. The pro])erties and uses of important manures. 

 The principles of rotations. The employment .-uid jmrjiose of 

 im])lements used in cultivation. Farm crops in their relation 

 to soil, manure, cultivation, harvesting, disease, and insect 

 injury (h). Peruuvnent grass-land, its formation and nuinage- 

 nient (r). The characteristics of couniion farm weeds. 



The distril)ution and characteristic features of the more 

 im]iortant bree<ls of farm stock (il). The feeding of farm 

 animals, and the compounding of tj'pical rations. 



The modilicati((ns suggested by the Ini]>erial 

 Dejiartmcnt of Agricult\u-e are as follows: — 



(((). The substitution of the follcjwing natural orders for 

 those given above : Gramineae, Palmaceae, Scitamineae, 

 Leguminosae, Solanaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rutaccae, 

 Malvaceae. 



(h). For • Farm crops' substitute ' West Indian or 1'i-opical 

 crojjs.' The scope of the latter to be limited, ]ireferal>ly, 

 to Nicholls' TiiipicdI. A<irii:iilhire (Macmillan). Sugar, 

 Cacao, Coffee, Tobacco, Cocoa-nut, Banana, Orange and 

 Lime, Pine-apple, .\rrowroot, Sweet Potato. 



(r). For ' Permanent Grass-land' substitute ' West Indian 



• irass cultivation' including the following :- Bahama 



• irass (CiiiiikIiiii i>iiitijhiii), (iuinea (irass (I'mticiiiii iitaxi- 

 miim), Para Grass ( I'aiiirinii, iiintimni). Sour fSiuss 

 ( Andropo'jun pc> fiisiix). 



((I). As in some Colonies little or no attention is devoted to 

 the breeding of farm stock, the following might be oti'ered 

 as an alternative study in such L'olonies:-- -' The Alimen- 

 tai'y Canal and its a]>])endages. t^omparison of tli(5 

 Alimentary Canal in the R^ibbit, Horse, Riuninant and 

 Fowl. Digestion in the mouth, stomach and intestine.' 



Educational Efforts in the West Indies. 



' The Jamaica Journal of Kdui'ation' gives an inter- 

 esting account of the oi-igiii and extensive use of 

 Blackie's Ti\>pir(ii Rcajlcfs and other agencies for 

 iiii])roving agricultural education in the West Indies: — 



It was in 1893 the Jamaica Board of Education sug- 

 gested the i)reparatioii of sucli books as we are now familiar 

 with under the de.signation of Blackie'.s Tropical liemhrs. 

 It was not till early in 1897 that the lirst of the two came 

 to the i.sland ready for general circulation. Now they are 

 .schoolbooks in u.sa throughout the whole of the British West 

 Indies, as we ventured to say to the publishers thoy would 

 bo when the plan only of them was being considered. When 

 they were in the printer's hands Dr. JEorris saw them and 

 wrote — ' 1 have luul the opjiortuuity of reading the proofs of 

 th3S3 interesting little Inioks, aiul 1 feel sure they will be of 

 invalualde ssrvice in familiarizing the children with the 

 proi)er mode of cultivating crop.s suitaldeto the island, and in 

 preparing them later on to take n]> the sy.stematic study of 

 agricailtiu-e as a science. Tliey will also l)e read by adults a.s 

 well as by children.' 'Such book.s,' lie went on to say, 

 ' cannot fail eventually to raise the character of practical 

 agriculture in the island and render the jieojile more capable 

 tlian at present in resijonding to the reijuirements of the 

 markets of the world.' ' The island' referred to by Dr. 

 •Morris was of course Jamaica. The Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture for the West Indies was not then in sight. Now, 

 as Commissioner at the head of it, he tells that these Readers 

 are in general use in class work throughout the area to 

 which his Commission extends'. 



Witli these Keaders in daily use the intelligent teaclier 

 hnds it comparatively easy to give a new interest to oVij'ec^t 

 lessons. He can lead his iiupils to go to and come from school 

 with eyes seeking knowledge where none was sought before. 

 The children are in this way made to feel that the school has 

 to do with all the life around them. It can no longer be said 

 that Nature is a foreign country to our school children. This 

 is a great change, and lia[)pily it now applies to the whole of 

 the British West Indies. It is at once a part of a gr»it 

 educational movement on lines a]iproved by the foremost 

 educ.itionists, and a laying broad and dee)), at the right 

 time, and in the projjer jdace, of the foiuidations of a true 

 material and social ujibuilding <4 the ma.ss of tlie West 

 Indian people. This great Iiegimiing was felt, here at least, 

 t ) be needed and was begun before the Roj-al Commission 

 and Mr. Chamberlain took us in hand. The four Barbados 

 (Jonferences, ilr. Watts' Nature Teaching, Mr. Freeman's 

 IJiiitu for School Gardens, the Lectures on Agricultural 

 Science, the West Indian Bulletin, the many pamphlets of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, and the lab(mrs of 

 the Commis.sioner, Dr. Moi-ris, are all harnuaniously working 

 together for the great end of making the I'ritish West Indian 

 estates prosperou.s, and of jdacing that prosperity on the solid 

 I»asi.s of the intelligence and energy of the people who culti- 

 vate them. 



