Vol. XII. No. 293. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



231 



FAkM MANAGKMEXT: Hy (i F. Warren, Ph.D. 

 Tlie Maciaillan Compani/, New York, 1913. Price 7s. Gd. 



Judging by its title, this bonl; would not seem _ to 

 concern au'rrculture in the tropics, nor does an e.xamination 

 of a page\ere and there tend to dispel thi.s impression, for 

 the information is applied almost entirely to conditions 

 obtaining in the temperate regions of the United States 



If, however, the motive of the book and the principles 

 involved be regarded broadly, much that is highly suggestive 

 and illuminating will be found even by those who manage 

 land in warmer latitudes. 



Farm management is the study of the business prin- 

 ciples in aiiriculture — the science of f.irm or estate organiza- 

 tion. It seeks to -show how, under various conditions, 

 a maximum continuo-a.s profit can be obtained. Its problems 

 concern types of farming in relation to clinnte, soil, distance 

 from markets, capital, labour, competilioji and numerous 

 other factors. It deals with questions of intensive and 

 extensive cultivation, with the financial side of maintaining 

 the fertility of land, with methods of renlinj?, farm equip- 

 ment and the arrangement of fields and buildings. The time 

 and ways to place produce on the markets and practicable 

 methods of .scientifically keeping accounts are also important 

 branches of this interesting study. To understand what 

 a great deal there is to be learnt concerning all these matters 

 the reader must refer to the 600 pages of concise and well- 

 classified information constituting the book under review. 



The movement in the direction of the distributive or 

 economic side of agriculture in contradistinction to the 

 productive is of quite recent origin. One of the pioneers 

 of the movement in America was Professor Card, whose 

 well known work on Farm Management has frequently been 

 referred to in the Agricultural A'eir^. 



The present treatise on the subject, equally powerful, in- 

 volves similar ideas, but deals with them in greater detail. 

 The book is practical and sound, and it therefore goes a long 

 way to prove a fallacy in the old adage 'Farming cannot be 

 taught.' 



INSECTICIDES, FUNGICIDES, AND WEED 

 KILLERS: by E Boutcart, D.Sc. Scott, Greenwood A- 

 Son.. London, 1913. Price 12s 6rf. 



This book, comprising some 400 page.->, is described on 

 the title page as 'a practical manual on the diseases of 

 plants and their remedies, for the use of manufacturing 

 chemists, agriculturists, arboriculturists and horticulturists', 

 and will'be welcomed as a valuable addition to the working 

 equipment of tho.se for whom it is intended. 



In the preface the author refers to the increasing 

 necessity for knowledge to enable those who have to do 

 with the raising of plants of all kinds, to combat pests and 

 di.seases. The great mass of records of experiments and 

 trials by workers in all countries has been reviewed, and 



from the aggregate of the nnults reported, the author has 

 endeavoured to frame certain scientific rules which appear 

 to determine the success of certain classical methods, nnd^to 

 exi'lrtin certain notorious failures. 



The translator's preface refers particularly to the- 

 enormous value fif the great number of tried recipes — 

 recipes which have passed the ordeal of a capable and wise 

 censorship— embodied in this treatise for the benefit of 

 every cla.ss of workers connected with agriculture. 



A perusal of the table of contents reveals an admirable 

 systematic arrangement of the subject matter. Each chapter 

 deals with a substance and the gioups of its derivations, 

 whilst under the headings thus provided are subheading* 

 including preparation, pri.perties, action on plants, action Oft 

 insect.', and use. 



The introduction devotes twenty-two [lages to a general 

 discussion of the nature of the causes and treatments 

 of diseases of plants, and this brings out the general 

 circumstances connected with the several points as they 

 recur in succeeding chapters of the book. 



As a concrete example of th" method of treatment, refer- 

 ence may be made to the chapter where Bordeaux mixture- 

 (Bouillie Bordelaise) is dealt with Here (p. 227) one finds 

 the heading: copper hydrate (Bouillie Bordelaise) — Prepara- 

 tion. Under it, an ,iccount is given of the method of prepar- 

 ing Bordeaux mixture, the formula recommended consisting 

 of 10 lb. blue vitriol (copper sulphate), 3.1-10 B>. lime and 

 50 gallons of water, which is given as a 1-per cent, solution. 

 Under the heading Properties of Bouillie Bordelai-e, it is 

 stated that this fungicide should be neutral or slightly- 

 alkaline, it must never contain an excess of blue vitriol. The 

 tests given for determining the neutrality of the mixture 

 are the usual ones, namely, the red colouration produced by 

 adding a few drops of yellow prussiate to a small quantity of 

 the mixture, and the knife-blade test. 



To ensure the proper adhesion of Bordeaux mixture, it is- 

 necessary (1) that the solution of blue vitriol should be added 

 cold to the milk of lime, (2) the better the quality of lime 

 the better the adhesion, and (3) the fresher the mixture the 

 better the adhesion. The chapter includes a historical 

 account of the use of Bordeaux mixture, of practical spray- 

 ing, and of its use against mosses and lichens, bacteria 

 and fungi. The treatment of tubers and stems is discussed, 

 and then follows an account of the use of the compound 

 against each one of a long list of parasitic diseases of plants^ 

 together with a short account of the effect of Bordeaux 

 mixture against insects. 



In the glossary, of twenty-four pages, will be found, 

 arranged in alphabetical order, brief accounts of the pests 

 and diseases mentioned in the body of the work, which will 

 help the reader to identify many of those mentioned under 

 the heading of the remedial treatment previously discussed. 

 It is not of course to be expected that a work of this sort 

 should be entirely free from error; but one is inclined to regret 

 that such a statement should appear as that on page 363,. 

 to the effect that the fiipsy Moth {(hneria dupar) has beei» 

 exterminated in America by the use of creosote applied to 

 the egg-masses, followed by spraying the young caterpillars 

 with arsenate of lead. 'I'his treatment was etlicient, but 

 with its cessation for a few years, there came a general 

 distiibiuion of tbe Gipsy Moth, and now, in addition, large 

 sums of money are being spent yearly for importing parasites- 

 with the object of preventing any further spread of the 

 insect. The above misstatement, however, does not in any 

 way detract from tbe general usefulness and reliability of 

 the work. 



