•Vol. VII. No. 172. 



THE AGrJCULTUR.\L NEWS 



383 



PROPOSED AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 

 FOR BRITISH GUIANA. 



At a iiiectinr; (if the Briti.s!i (juiaii.i Court of 

 Policy on November 2, tlie Hon. C. P. Gaskin, member 

 ■for New Amsterdam, broiicrht forward the following 

 motion which was carried without a division: — 



Whireas the need ha.s arisen lor the estalilishnioiit of an 

 Agricultural School in this colony on the same lines and 

 •principles as tlie schools established by the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in several of the West Indian Islands, 

 ■be it resolved that his Excellency the Governor be pleased 

 to ai>point a commission to enquire into the feasiltility 

 of establi.shing a similar school in tbis colony. 



In .sniiporting his resolution Mr. Gaskin referred 

 to the hii-ge and increasing amounts of money that 

 were being spent on agricidtural education in different 

 countries, ami also (>ointed out the great value of 

 such H, training to the youth of a colony whose interests 

 were almost eniirely agricultural. Some particulars 

 were given of the work done at the Domiin'ca and 

 St. Vincent Agricultural Schools, and of the cost of these 

 institutions. 



POLLINATION OF TOMATOS. 



The question of the pollin.ation of tomatos has 

 been undergoing investigation at a number of E.^neri- 

 ment Stations in the United States, and the results 

 obtained are distinctly interesting. The report on the 

 work done is summarized as follows in Fa rmevft' Bulle- 

 tin ■117 of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture : — 



As far back as 1890-1 it was found at the Cornell 

 Station that the amount of pollen used in fertilization of the 

 tomato flower had an important iiffnence on the form and size 

 of the frnit produced. .More recently these results have lieen 

 confirmed at the ilichigan Station, where it has also been 

 shovv-n that no decided advantage was gaiued liy the cross- 

 pollination of varieties as compared with self pollination. 

 Four plants of each of six varieties were employed to determine 

 the effect of using varying amounts of pollen. All the flowers 

 •on one plant of each variety were ema.sculated and pollinated 

 on one side of the stigma only. 'I'liese invariably produced lop- 

 sided and small fruits. All the ilowers on one plant of each 

 varisty were pollinated with fnmi one to five pollen grains. 

 These jiroduced very small solid fruits, w-ith an average 

 weight of about 1 oz., and having no seeds, or but one or two. 

 All the flowers on one plant of each variety were pollinated 

 with a large amount of pollen, .spread all over the stigma. 

 Tlie.se produced fruits that were smoother and heavier tiian 

 those produced from flowers that received but a small amount 

 of pollen. The conclusions deduced from these experiments 

 are that when })ollen falls on oiw side of the stigma only, 

 a one-sided tomato always results, and the larger the stigma 

 the greater the irregularity. The amount of pollen applied 

 determines to a great extent the .size and smoothness of the 

 tomato, but after applying a certain amount no further 

 increase can be obtained. The^ small, irregular tomatos 

 grown under glass are caused largely by insutti(nent pollina- 

 tion. 



With a view to throwing some light on the relative value 

 of cross and .self-pollination, the blossoms of four plants of 

 each variety were self-pollinated, and the blossoms of eight 

 plants of each variety were cross-pollinated with two other 

 varieties. All set fruit cipially well. The 265 fiuits 



produced from self-pollination had an average weight of 77'3 

 grauiuies. The 53-t fruits produced from cross-pollination on 

 all six varieties had an average weight of 79T grammes. There 

 was, therefore, |)ractiealiy no gain in the total number of 

 cross-jiollinated fruits, but a slight gain in weight. Although 

 it does not appear necessary to raise .several varieties for the 

 purpose of cross-jiollination, there is no harm in alternating 

 such varieties as are grown, and in some ca.ses a possible 

 fjenetit, such as a slight increase in w'eight, may be obtained. 

 All the exjieriments, however, .show that the setting of a good 

 crop of smooth, heavy fi-uit depends largely on the care taken 

 in distril luting the pollen. 



LIVE STOCK INSURANCE. 

 The question of the insurance of live stock by agri- 

 culturists, a practice which has been increasingly 

 adopted in many European countries of late years, was 

 discussed in the Ayrlcaltural Neivfi of September 19 

 last (j)age o02), when full details were given as to the 

 .system of mutual insurance in vogue in Holland. Steps 

 have been taken to introduce a similar system among 

 live stock propiietors in South Africa. 



The insurance of cattle, horses and sheep is a I'ecognized 

 economic principle among agriculturists in Denmai^k and 

 Xorway, and an article in the Journal of the Bonnl of A<jri- 

 riiltiirc. (Great Britain) for October last, contains particulars 

 • if the system that has been adopted in those countries. 



Ill Denmark, it appears, there are at present about 1,400 

 mutual live stock insurance societie.'', in which the los.ses- 

 suffered by individuals are distributed among all the members 

 in proportion to the amoiuits for which they are insured. 

 One of the oldest as.soeiations was formed in 1859, and the 

 value of the animals (horse.s, cattle, sheep, goats and swine) 

 insured in this company was £19-i,000. The premium for 

 cattle is ?> per cent. The full value of the animal is p:iid iix 

 case of death, and compen.sation is also given in case of severe 

 injtuy. 



There is another Danish' mutual association chiefly 

 patronised by owners and large farmers, and in 1906 the 

 amount insured in this company was £1,346,000, together 

 with sfiecial insurances to the amount of £526,000. The 

 expenses of adnunistration of this company are stated to be at 

 the rate of about b/. for every £5 insured. The premiums 

 are low, and if only one aniiual on a farm dies, 40 per 

 cent, of its value is paid to the owner. If more than one 

 animal dies 40 per cent, of the value of the first is paid, and 

 80 per cent, of the value of those that died later. .A,b0ut 

 half of the horses, and one-.sixth the total cattle iu 

 Deiniiark are insured. 



In Xorway the principle of insurance of live stock i.s 

 generally accejited among farmer.s, and large numbers of 

 nuitnal .-wcieties exist for this purpose. Some of the,se 

 assoc;iatio]is insure horses only, others both horses and cattle ; 

 .some compen.sate for the whole loss that has been sustanied, 

 others for only part of it. 



The Norwegian Department of .Vgriciilture has jirejiarcd 

 a set of model rules which are recommended for the guidance 

 of nmtual .societies, but the.se receive no State aid. The Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture', considers it inadvisable to start 

 a uuitual insurance society for less than 100 horses and 200 to 

 300 cattle. It is recommended that the ma.vimum sums for 

 which horses and cattle can be insured should be £55 and £14 

 respectively. In order to en.sure the careful treatment of 

 insured animal.s, it is further recommended that compen.sation 

 be not paid in full for losses, but that the insurer take 

 \ small part of the risk. 



