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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 20, 1909. 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



AGRICULTURAL EXAMINATIONS. 



The fii«t Preliminary examination in connexion 

 with the scheme of Reading Courses lately established 

 by the Imperial Department of Agriculture was held 

 at Antigua on February 15 and St. Kitt's on February 

 IH, 1909. 



Eleven candidates presented themselves for exam- 

 ination at Antigua and three at St. Kitt's. Of a total 

 of fourteen, five failed to satisfy the examiners. 



Of the St. Kitt's candidates two passed in the first 

 class and one in the se.-nn(i, while at Antigua there 

 were three second and three thiid class candidates. 



The names of the successful candidates are as 

 follows : — • 



AT .4NTIGUA. 



First Class : 



AT ST. KITT a. 



First Class : 

 W. .J. Howell 

 H. H. Walwyri 



Second Class : 

 C. G. Goodall. 



Second Class : 



L. W. D. H.a Court 



.J. Hamilton 



W. A. Hewlett 

 Third Class: 



W. F. Gore 



C. J. A. Hallpike 



C. O. A. Slipppard 



QUESTIONS. 



For the written portion of the examination fifteen 

 questions were set, and of these not more than ten 

 were to be attempted by any candidate. 



The questions were as follows: — 



1. WliJit is the .■itiiiiispheie iiiid of whut is it cuiiipd.sed ? 

 Give ;i brief accmint of its relatiims to aniimil and vegetable 

 life. 



2. What do yuu iindei-staiid liy tin- fnlldwiii^ terms in 

 relation to .soils : — Sand, Sandy Loam. Loam, Heavj- Loam, 

 Clay. 



:{. What is plant food f N.ame the prineipal plant foods 

 ;ind explain carefully how they are at).soil)ed V)y the plant. 



4. Is it necessary to drain all soils ! If not, why not I On 

 what iloes the necessity or otherwise for drain.age depend '! 



"). What is the ul)ject of (k) Pluughinj;, {b) Harrowing ? 

 De.scril)e the construction of .some simple form of plough. 



(i. What i.s farmyard manure '! What are its uianurial 

 constituents ! In wliat lespects does it (litter from a complete 

 artificial manure ! 



7. Explain with short notes the following terms : 



W'gclable compost, green dressing, bare fallow, suli.soiling, 

 mulrh. cambial layer, deiiitritication, balanced ration. 



5. What is Carluin ! What do you understand by ' Carbon 

 a.s.sinulation ' in relation to plants and how is it ett'ected '! 



!). Describe (u) the tio^ver, (b) the root, of any common 

 plant. 



10. What do you understand liy fertilization of a flower ; 

 AVhat is the ditl'erence l)el\veen self-fertilization and cro.s.s-fertili- 

 /.ation ? Describe the manner in which fertilization is eti'ected in 

 the case of .some conniii>u pl;int. 



11. In what esseiuial particuhirs does propagation by 

 «:uttings differ from prop.igation by seed ! 



12. What ;ire leginiiMious crops and wh.-it is tlieir spet'ial 

 significance in jiractical agriculture ! 



V.i. Wliat is a ruminant animal ! Describe carefully the 

 ^structine of the stomach of .sonie ruminant aniiuul with which 

 ^■oU are acipiainteil. 



14. Write /I short accmuit of tlie circulation tif tlie Ijlood 

 of an animal. 



15. Give a .short account of the general principles under- 

 lying the ])roper feeding of .stock. 



In addition to the writing of papers in answer to 

 the set questions, the candidates were examined orally 

 by the exatiiiners, who, taking each candidate in turn,, 

 examined all on the same topics. The examinations at 

 Antigua, both Vv-ritten and oral, were conducted by 

 Mr. H A. Tempany, B.Sc, F.I.C., F.C.S., and 

 Mr. A. H. Kirby, B.A. 



At St. Kitt's, Mr. G. G. Atichinleok, B.Sc, Science 

 Master at the Grammar School, Mr. B A. Hardtman, 

 and Mr. F. R Shepherd, Agricultural Superintendent, 

 condticted the oral or viva voce examination, the 

 written examination being supervised bj- Mr. W. H. 

 Mitchell, M. A., Head-master of the Grammar School. 



Thi.s first examination is naturally of great intere.st. It 

 reveels some of the difficulties which candidates laboiu- under, 

 as shown by tlieir written papers and the an.swers given to 

 the viva voi-e questions. The excellent arrangement of the 

 subject matter for both parts of the examination in Antigua 

 and St. Kitt's will serve as a useful basis for future 

 examinations. 



Selections from the questions on which the viva voce 

 examinati<ai was based will be published in the .'Students' 

 Corner from time to time, with the references for reading, 

 in order to assist candidates in becoming familiar with the , 

 topics which are considered to come within the .scope of the 

 Preliminary Examinations. 



In order that the duties of the examiners who conducted 

 the oral part of the examination should be thoroughly 

 and carefully performed, they were at pains to prepare 

 beforehand a systematic plan upon which the work of 

 examination was based. It is interesting to quote from the 

 report from St. Kitt's some details of the line of action which 

 was adopted there. 



Some time previous to the examination, a series of 

 questions was drawn up by the examiners, similar in form 

 and subject to those wliich candidates would later be required 

 to answer. These questions (for this first examination) related 

 to four topics, viz. (1) Capillarity, (2) Plant foods, (."5) The 

 roots of plants, (4) The stems of plants. The manner in 

 which these topics were treated in certain passages of the 

 books that have been recommended to the students was fully 

 considered by the examiner.s, so that they would be able to- 

 judge how far candidates liad benefited from their reading. 



This plan of grouping the questions under general topics 

 was for the convenience of the e.xaminers, and it was found to be- 

 of considerable advantage, since it enabled them consistently 

 to approach the several subjects in the same way with every 

 candidate, and to lead from one point to another without any 

 breaks in the continuitj'. 



It was not thought desirable to ask specific (juestions 

 demanding lengthy answers, but rather to use each question 

 as a nucleus around which to introduce discussion, tlie 

 examiners endeavouring to draw out the candidates" knowledge 

 step by step. 



The examiners were at liberty to ask pertinent (piestions 

 and obtain explanations of any points not clearly stated by the 

 candidates. In this way much of the natural nervousness of 

 the candidates was overcome and a good estimate of their 

 knowledge arrived at. 



