JAMAICA. 



BULIjETINT 



OF THE 



DEPARTMENT OF AttRIOULTURE. 



Vol. III. JUNE, 1905. Part 6. 



REPORT ON THE DIPLOMA EXAMINATION 

 HELD AT THE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY 



DECEMBER, 1904. 



General Report from Professor J. P. de Albuquerque, M.A., F.I.C., F.C.S. 



Government Laboratory, Barbados, West Indies, 



February 13, 1905, 

 Sir, 



I have the honour to forward the results of the examination of 

 December last for the Diploma of Agriculture at Jamaica. 



Six candidates presented themselves for examination, the sub- 

 jects being Agriculture, Chemistry of Agriculture, Botany, Ele- 

 mentary Physics and Entomology. 



A syllabus of each of these subjects was forwarded to me, to- 

 gether with one giving the details of the practical work, the labo- 

 ratory records of which have been marked by the teachers and 

 form part of the examination for the diploma. This is evidently 

 a course to be commended, as the teachers are in the best position 

 to judge in such practical subjects the work and capabilities of 

 their pupils. 



The syllabus is, in my opinion, admirably adapted for the pur- 

 poses of a secondary school of agriculture, and on the whole, com- 

 bines a sound grounding in purely scientific subjects, together 

 with a well chosen selection of the most important and typical of 

 the West Indian crops, whereby to point the purely scientific 

 teaching and connect it with the practical agriculture of the West 

 Indies. 



The answers of the candidates throughout bear evidence of 

 sound and careful teaching. The reports of the examiners give 

 detailed criticism of the individual papers ; from them it will be 

 seen that the results in Chemistry of Agriculture, Botany, Elemen- 

 tary Physics and Entomology were very satisfactory. In Agri- 

 culture the percentage of marks was lower, but, in my experience, 

 this subject which is the connecting link between the purely theo- 

 retical and the purely practical, is much more difficult to teach 

 young pupils ; and here also, I regard the results of the examina- 

 tion, while indicating directions for improvement, as distinctly 



