Vol. VIII. No. 191. 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEWS. 



265 



Rate at which Weathering Takes Place. 



From the point of view of soil formation, the rate 

 at which the roclvS of the earth are broken down by 

 atmospheric agencies into particles small enough to be 

 classed as soil, that is by weathering, is an important 

 consideration. Observations recently , made on the 

 continent of Europe go towards giving an answer to 

 this question. In Austria it was found that in certain 

 ruins, during 500 to 600 years, there had formed from 

 limestone a layer of soil i inches thick and containing 

 i'-i per cent, of humus, while the surrounding natural 

 soil, also resting on limestone, was about IG inches 

 thick and contained 77 per cent, of humus. If this w^as 

 formed at the same rate as that on the ruins, 2,400 years 

 must have been required for the purpose. Similarly 

 on a fortress wall built of limestone, in the Crimea, the 

 soil accumulation in GOO years was found to be i inches 

 thick, while the depth of that on the adjoining land 

 measured 2G inches, so that on the same basis, it should 

 have required 3,900 years for its formation. 

 -^^^»-«-^ 



Increased Yields by Additional Cultivation. 



The Agi'icultural Journal of the Cape of Good 

 Hope gives interesting particulars of experiments which 

 were conducted during 1907 and 1908, for the purpose 

 of finding the effect of an increased number of ploughings 

 or cultivations on the fertility of the soil. In the former 

 year, four plots were all manured in the same way, ar.d 

 then ploughed in such a manner that each received one 

 more ploughing than the previous one : that is, the first 

 received one, the second two, and so on ; they were then 

 sown with oats, for hay. In every case, the yield in- 

 creased with the number of ploughings, culminating in 

 the fourth plot, which gave a profit (allowing for e.\tra 

 expense of ploughing) of £2 18s. 3(/. per acre. In the 

 latter year, the four plots were manured as before, and 

 all were ploughed, cultivated and harrowed. This time, 

 however, a difference was made in the number of cuUi- 

 vations, the second plot receiving one additional 

 cultivation, the third two, and the fourth throe. The 

 crops raised were barley and wheat, and the net profits 

 per acre were successively 2.S., l?.**., and £1 l.s. for 

 barley, and 9d., ■is. Sd., and ll.s'. 9(/. for wheat. 



In all cases the yields were far below normal owing 

 to the attacks of ladybirds, but this did not interfere 

 ■with the experiment, as each crop was affected in like 

 degree throughout. Additional cultivations were found 

 superior to additional ploughings, both in point of time 

 and expense. 



School Gardens in the Philippines. 



A report on this subject appears in the Phtlijipliic 

 Agricidtural Review. It states that the work was 

 chiefiy done on Saturdays and holidays, and that will- 

 ingness for this was shown on the part of all the pupils. 

 Each owns his own plot as well as the products 

 raised from it ; seeds and man\ire were provided by the 

 pupils, the former being purchased by means of con- 

 tributions from the schools. The only restrictions were 

 that each pupil should prepare the soil, cultivate the 

 plants and save seeds according to instructions. The 

 teaching chiefly included the giving of information on 



the use of manures, cultivation of plants, use of 

 products and saving of seeds, and it was found that for 

 such teaching to be effective, hard work and close 

 supervision on the part of the teacher were the chief 

 requirements. 



It is believed that the gardens have been a success, 

 especially in the matter of the inculcation of indus- 

 trious habits and that of the introduction of new food 

 plants. In the latter connexion, the interesting state- 

 ment is made that such vegetables as radishes, lettuce, 

 beets, endive, carrots, rutabaga, kohlrabi, and turnips, 

 which were unknown as food plants in some districts 

 before the establishment of school gardens, are now 

 planted at the homes of the pupils. 



Absorption of Mineral Salts by Soils. 



The Botdnieal (jazette contains an account of 

 experiments that were made for the purpose of 

 investigating the power of the soil to absorb phos- 

 phates, chlorides and nitrates, the salts used being 

 ordinary sodium phosphate, potassium chloride and 

 sodium nitrate. The fact that absorption of the phos- 

 phate and chloride took place was indicated in four ways: 

 (1) by chemical analysis of soil which had been placed 

 in solutions of the salts; (2) by growing wheat seed- 

 lings in solutions of the salts of different strengths, 

 and showing that they would thrive in a solution' that 

 was too strong for this under ordinary conditions if 

 soil was added to the solution ; (3) that this tolerance 

 was not shown in the case of nitrates, which, it is well 

 known, are not observed to any extent by soils ; (4) that 

 the effect of the addition on the tolerance of the seed- 

 lings for the phosphate or chloride in the solution was 

 least in the case of quartz, greater in that of 

 unmanured soil, and greatest when manured soil was 

 used. 



Agriculture in Primary Schools, St. Lucia. 



The Annual Report of the St. Lucia Education 

 Department contains a report on this subject by the 

 Agricultural Superintendent in that island. According 

 to this, the Governor in Council has approved of the 

 suggestion, in connexion with the new scheme of 

 a Grant-in-aid to primary schools for the teaching of 

 Agricidture, that the inspection of the school gardens 

 shall be undertaken by the Agricultural Instructor, and 

 arrangements have been made accordingly for that 

 officer to make such inspection, and to report the results 

 to the Agricultural Superintendent. As a result, the 

 need for the adoption of a more uniform scheme of work 

 in the different schools, and the advisability of the 

 introduction of box and pot culture into the curriculum 

 of those schools which do not possess school gardens, 

 have been manifested. In the first inspection under 

 this scheme, out of the twenty schools examined, two 

 gained over 90 per cent, (excellent) of the marks 

 aw^arded for agricultural teaching and school gardens, 

 two 75 to 90 per cent, (good), seven 50 to 75 per cent, 

 (fair), six 25 to 50 per cent, (insufficient), and two under 

 25 per cent, (weak and insufficient), while at one school 

 no agriculture was taught. 



