-Vol, VIII. No. 190. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



253 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



AUCJUST. 



First rEiuoD. 



Seasonal Notes. 



P>3' this time, the sugar crop for the .season 1908-9 will 

 liave been brought to a clo.se, and chemical manures will, as 

 a rule, be applied to the land as soon as possible. Students 

 should make a plan and prepare a memorandum with the 

 object of placing on record, for their own use, the scheme 

 according to which the different artificial manures have been 

 -applied on different parts of an estate. This will enable 

 "them to make continuous notes on the visible effect of the 

 various manures, and on the (juantity required to produce the 

 maximum profitable returns in the various districts. Although 

 it is extremely important, it is not sutiicient merely to note 

 the effect of a manure just as the crop is about to be reaped. 

 Where different kinds of manure are Ijeing applied to one 

 kind of soil for the benefit of a particular plant, try, during 

 the growth of that plant to see if it gives any indications as 

 to the presence or absence of quickly acting manures. Xote 

 should be made of the methods employed for the application 

 of artificial manures to the soil. It is especially important, 

 during this stage, to make observations on the effects of the 

 ■different manurial constituents on the sugar-cane, more 

 particularly with a view to comparing the growth, where 

 potash has been applied in conjunction with nitrogen, with 

 that where canes have been treated with niti-ogen alone. 

 The effect, if any, of the application of the various forms of 

 phosphate should also be carefully observed, as experiments 

 which have extended now over many years, and which have 

 been performed in several colonies, show, when all the 

 ■circumstances are considered, that it is doubtful if the applica- 

 tion of this constituent is profftable. 



With favourable conditions as regards rainfall, the 

 planting of limes will have begun. Fcir this purpose, im 

 estates near the coast, holes .should be prepared .some time 

 before the plants are placed out. Holes made in stiff" soil in 

 wet districts hold water for some time after rain has fallen, 

 ;and the plants which are put in them become sickly and die, 

 •chiefly because tliey are deprived of oxygen through the 

 displacement of a great deal of the air, which v.'as in the 

 spaces in the soil, by the flowing in of water. A good way 

 to prevent this from happening is to fork within a circle 

 about 3 feet in diameter at the place where the tree is to 

 grow and, by throwing the soil toward the centre, to make 

 a mound on which the lime is planted. Tireat care should be 

 ■exercised in lifting young lime [slants from the nursery beds. 

 They should always be topped in order to remove tlie young 

 shoots and tender leaves, for this, in addition to lessening 

 the amount of transiiiration, dimini.she.s the chance of attack 

 by fungi. If these instructions are followed, together with 

 tho.se in The A Ji C of Lime Ciiltimition (Pamphlet No. 53 

 of this Department), there should be little loss. The distan- 

 ■ces apart at which to place the transplanted plants require to 

 be carefully considered ; district, position and elevation are 

 the chief factors to be taken account of in determining these. 



In planting fields of cacao, the lining and holing should 

 be done with due regard to the requirements, when they 

 «hall be full-grown, of each of the plants that are being put 

 in. Great care must be exercised in placing out young cacao 

 plants growing in bamboo pots, and the soil should be 



pressed firmly round the roots. Wind-breaks will already ba 

 in existence where they are required ; find out what trees 

 serve this purpose best. For .shade, such plants as tannias 

 and bananas should have lieen planted some time previously. 

 In this connexion, consider carefully why shelter from the 

 direct sun and wind is necessary to some plants when they 

 are young. 



Questions for Candidates. 



PKELIJIIXAEY QUESTIONS. 



(1) What is carbon assimilation, with regard to plants, 

 and how is it effected 'I 



(2) AVhy are artificial manures usually in the state of 

 powder ? What special significance has the fineness of this 

 powder in the case of basic slag ? 



(3) Give reasons why cotton seed germinates badly in 

 very wet weather, and also when the soil has been badly 

 pre[)ared. 



INTERMEDIATE QUESTIONS. 



( 1 ) What is meant by surface tension, in connexion 

 with soil-moisture ] 



(2) Name the principal fungoid disea.ses of the sugar- 

 cane, and give an account of the best methods of combating 

 them. 



(3) Compare the chief source of the energy of a growing 

 green plant with («) that of a germinating seed, {h) that of 

 a fungus. 



AGRICULTURE IN KATANGA, CENTRAL 



AFRICA. 



The following information regarding the commerce 

 and agriculture (apart from the mining industry, for 

 which it is best known) of the Katanga district, which 

 is situated north of Rhodesia, is taken from the Board 

 of Trade Journal for June 3, 1909 : — 



Although favoured with a larger and more regular rain- 

 fall than South Africa, the Ivatanga will not, probably, be 

 able to compete with that country in producing cereals. 

 Lying as it does almost entirely within the fiy belt, it does 

 not at present offer any facilities for cattle-breeding except 

 in the extreme south-west. Put it offers enormous oppor- 

 tunities for inteiLsive cultivation, for the produce of which 

 the mining centres will presumably afford a market. Owing 

 to its geographical position, the Ivatanga enjoys many of the 

 advantages of both South and West Africa. Its fertility is 

 astounding, and practically anything can be grown, as may 

 be instanced from native cultivation, which includes, in 

 addition to the staple foods, cassava, maize, etc., rice, ground 

 nuts, tobacco, coffee, sugar, cotton. Saltpans are numerou.^ 

 throughout the territory. In exportable produce the chief 

 items at present are rubber and ivory. The amoimt of 

 rubber exported cannot be regarded as an exact indication of 

 the quantity which the county contains or might be made to 

 jn-oduce, because of the lack of atlministrative control and the 

 poor price paid. This applies in an equal degree to other 

 products of the soil. 



The native races of the Ivatanga are very ame.'iablc. 

 Labour is cheap, and rubber, cotton and ground nuts might 

 be cultivated and made to jjay. In the neighbourhood of the 

 mines, market gardening, and fruit and poultry farming should 

 prove profitable undertaking.s. 



