Vol. XIV. No. 346 



Till-: AOKK H'f/ITKAL XKWs 



247 



UNION or SOUTH AFRICA: REPORT ON 

 Till-; DEPARTMENT or AGRICULTURE FOR 

 1913 II. Government Printers, Capetown. Price 7s. 6c?. 



From an agricultural point of view, South Africa i- 

 essentially a stock-raising country, as can be seen by an 

 examination of the values ind quantities of the chief exports. 

 I ■ nit, taking the 1913 figures, ii will be found that 



• il of ihe principal agricultural exports a unted in 



value to 612,245,580, of which £5,719,288 represented wool, 

 £2,953,5S7 ostrich feal hers, £2,01 7,stl."> hides and -kins, and 

 £876,255 Angora hair. The balance is made up principally 

 nt bark, maize, tobacco, wine and -ngar; bul it will be 

 realized that these products have nol ypt assumed positions 



of importai :om parable with those occupied by the 



pi . lucts "i live stock. 



In such circumstances it i- to be expected that the 

 Union Department of Agriculture would accord to the 

 betterment of live stuck- and to veterinary research a premier 

 position in its operations. Perusal pf the report under 

 review will make it clear that it is so. Of the £467,018 

 expended on the agricultural department during 1913 1 I. no 

 less than £290,000 was allotted to the veterinary and other 



ti ii k divisions. 



Turning to the Secretary for Agriculture's remarks on 

 the work of this veterinary division, it is stated that while 

 maladii - like glanders, epizootic lymphangitis, mange and 

 swine fever have in years gone by pecasioned very large 



losses, they have now ' n reduced ta very .small dimensions, 



so the result of the work has been satisfactory. As in other 

 pountties, difficulties continue in regard to the eradication 



erculosis, but it is hoped in the near future to conduct 

 a campaign against tins at a moderate cost, and with reason 

 able hope of success. As regards the relations existing 



■ i, the veterinary division and the farmers, it is stated 

 by tin- Secretarj that there is a growing demand for veterinary 

 officers, which is a pleasing testimonial to the value of 

 the services rendered by the officers of the Division, and it 



oi the illustrations that could be given of the 



hange that is taking place in the ideas and circum- 

 stances "i the farmers, many of whom t a short time ago, 

 :d veterinary surgeons with disdain if nol with 

 aversion. 



A special section is devoted in the report to 

 sheep, but owing to the unimportance of this class 

 of stuck in the West Indies reference in any detail 

 is unnecessary in this review. It may be noted, however, 

 iM the following section dealing with the division of 



nary research, that in connexion with inocul 

 against a certain disease, the high mortality observed 

 alter inoculation was probably the result of the mice 



ti i the animals by a second disease transmitted in 



the serum. This idea of accidental infection is worth bearing 

 in mind in connexion with inoculation in general. 



In the Smith African depa braent, plant industry is 

 represented by five divisions, namely, I otany, tobacco, cotton, 

 h i ulture. and viticulture. ( »n accounl oi the importance 



of live stock, ei onomii bol . i coi ed I irgehj « ith tin 

 production oi foddet i md othei feeding stuffs [I i 



noticed in the section dealing with the Divisi f Botany, 



that Mr. J. Bui k ■ Division and author of 



the well known work i m maize ba ;ned i order to 



engage in thi I planl on his own account. 



Follow ing thi- resigna on the i >h ision i BotaDj P 

 Patholog} and Mycologj were united and placed uiv i 

 Mr. Pole Evans. In on with the work on tobai 



and cotton, the sell tioi ind sale of reliable -< ed to 

 has been continued and h is done much to prevent di 

 1 1 it*ii t in germination, and to promote uniformity of crop and 

 trueness to type. With special reference to cotton the view 

 is held that the establishment of this industry will 

 constitute a safeguard against the collapse or partial 

 collapse ut the tobacco industry which, from the report under 

 review, appears to be in some danger. Whether this be so or 

 not, it is certain that the .seed derived from cotton would 



afford valuable nitrogenous f 1 for cattle, which is greatly 



needed in a county where livestock constitutes the 

 principal industry. 



The information relating to horticulture concerns citrus 

 cultivation, especially oranges and pine-apple growing, and 

 the production of apples. The oranges exported from the 

 Union in 1913 were valued at £11,530 compared with 

 £6,345 in 1912; and the export of pine-apples in 1 '.) 1 ."> was 

 valued at £1,687 compared with £1,244 in 1912. 



The remainder of the report of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture reviews the work of the Division "I Entomology, 

 Chemistry, Publications, Dry farming, Division of Fencing, 

 etc. In connexion with the last named division, a new 

 Fencing Act render- it obligatory for adjoining owners to 

 share the cost of boundary fence- In certain districts. It 

 also gives power to the Minister of Agriculture to compel the 

 erection of fences for the prevention of the spread of 

 disease. The law at present gives the Department the right, 



to fence on behalf of Owners, but this right is exercised with 

 reluctance, since it is found that the construction can be 

 (■allied out more cheaply by the farmers themselves, who 



have their own labour and means of transport, than by the 



Department, which has to make special arrangements. 



Readers of this review who require more detailed 

 information On the matter- here dealt with merely in 

 outline, should refer to the publication itself in which 

 will be found, following that of the Secretary, detailed 

 reports by the heads of the different divisions. Some of 

 these, for instance, entomology and mycology, have nut been 

 mentioned in thi.- review, but may receive attention in this 

 journal in a future issue. 



An interesting case ol early maturity, or rather, early 

 flowering, is referred to in the Journal of ll<>-<<liti/ for July 

 1915. The Florida velvet bean ha- long been grown in 

 Georgia usually from Florida seed, since it often tail- to ripen 

 seed farther north. Several fanners in Georgia, however, have 

 found an earlier strain in their fields, and this Strain is QO« ex- 

 tensively grown there. These Georgia 'mutation- ripen two 

 months earlier than the Florida and are as earl\ as the Yoko- 

 hama beans. From crosses between the Yokohama and the 

 Florida, it i- concluded that the Florida has a factor for late 



flowering, II, which the Yokohama do.- not possess. Hence 

 it may be supposed that the Georgia. velvet arose from the 

 Florida velvet by the spontaneous loss of the factor II. 



