VIII. Xo. 199. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



307 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



DECEMBER. 



First Period. 

 Seasonal Notes. 



The sugar-cane Avill now have reached such a stage in 

 its growtli as to give useful indications in relation to the 

 effect of the manurial treatment which has been given to the 

 .soil on which it is growing. Reference should therefore be 

 made to the notes that were taken earlier in the season, when 

 manure was being applied, and they should be completed by 

 an account of the different conditions of the cane which 

 apparently arise from the employment of the different 

 manures. In the case of pen manure, where this has been 

 applied in diflerent ways (such as by broadcasting, burying it 

 in the cane holes, covering it with mould from the banks), 

 • ascertain as far as possible what effect the various methods 

 of application have had on the growth of the cane. Similar 

 observations should be made, where this is feasible, as to the 

 effect of the state of the pen manure, when it was applied 

 (whether well-rotted or undergoing fermentation), as well 

 ■as of the quantities used on the subsequent growth. 

 A careful account of the tillage operations that have 

 been completed in different parts of the estate, or 

 estates, should have been written with a view to its giving 

 -assistance in future observations on the effects of the 

 several kinds of tillage employed, on those of deep and 

 ■shallow ploughing, and on those of ploughing early ancl late. 

 In what ways may deep ploughing do harm and good, 

 respectively? Speaking broadly, what has happened in well- 

 rotted farmyard manure? In relation tn what kind of soils 

 must care be taken in the matter of using ammonium 

 sulphate as a manure? Gain what information you can in 

 regard to the manures ' nitrate of lime ' (calcium nitrate) 

 and ' lime-nitrogen ' (calcium cyanamide). What important 

 circumstance in their manufacture do these two manures 

 possess in common? 



Xow is the time to make observations in the field, which 

 have for their object the selection of cotton plants which are 

 to provide seed for future crops. The first stage in the process 

 is to look out for plants which are of such a shape that lines 

 roughly draw^n to touch the ends of the branches, beginning 

 at the lowest ones, would tend to meet above the plant; in 

 other words, the plants are pyramidal. The lateral branches 

 should be numerous, and with .short internodes. Of the 

 plants which fulfil these conditions, a further choice should 

 be made, in which preference is given to those which produce 

 the largest number of bolls. At the same time, any of those 

 still remaining among the chosen lot, which appear to show 

 a susceptibility to the attacks of insect pests, diseases caused 

 by fungi, or the dropping of bolls, should be rejected. The 

 position in the field of the finally selected plants may be 

 marked by means of a long pole firndy stuck into the ground 

 near them, and a coloured band of cloth or ribbon should be 

 wrapped round the stem of each, in order that they may be 

 distinguished from the other surrounding plants near the 

 pole. The cotton from these plants should be picked sepa- 

 rately from that in the rest of the field, and the yield from 

 each must be kept by itself, and distinguished from the 

 rest by a definite mark, letter, or number. It is evident that 

 this process of selection is sufficiently important to deserve 

 careful personal supervi.sion at the time at which the cotton 

 is picked; any carelessness or lack of attention at this stage 

 will render useless all the work that has already been done, 

 and will cause time to be wasted in raising plants from seed 

 which is no better than that which might as well have been 

 selected at random in the first instance. 



Questions for Candidates. 



. PEEHMIXARY QUESTIONS. 



(1) A crop removes soil water into the air. State how 

 this process takes place, and describe; those parts of the 

 jilant which are directly concerned in it. 



(2) Distingui.sh between the pollination and the 

 fertilization of flowers. What changes ienerally result from 

 fertilization? ;. 



(.3) Write an account of the way Jn which seed-cotton 

 should be prepared to be sent to the ginnery. 



INTERMEDIATE QUESTIONS. 



(1) Give a description of a cotton fibre. What is 

 meant by ' twist' and ' nep' ? 



(2) Describe suitable methods for improving a pasture 

 by manuring, and state which method you consider the best 

 and most economical. 



(3) Write an account of a means by which the citric 

 acid content of a sample of lime juice may be roughly deter- 

 mined. 



ARROWROOT IN ST. VINCENT. 



The low prices that have been obtained in the market 

 for St. Vincent arrowroot have recently led growers to 

 endeavour to find a means of making its production more 

 remunerative, especially as the state of the market has teen 

 such as to threaten the extinction of the industry. With 

 the object of gaining information as to the best and most 

 appropriate means to this end, a meeting has been held at the 

 Court House, Kingstown, to consider (1) the question of the 

 more extensive advertisement of St. Vincent arrowroot, 

 (2) that of finding additional markets for the product. 



His Honour the Administrator, who presided, opened 

 the meeting with an address in which he gave a brief 

 historical review of the arrowroot industry. His Honour 

 drew attention to statistics which showed that, even w^hen 

 sugar was the main product of the colony, arrowroot was 

 grown, and that, as sugar declined, the area in arrowroot 

 increased. At different period.s, since 1880, the position of 

 this product, among the exports, had fluctuated until 1908, 

 when its value had been £27,713; in 1900 with an abnormal 

 crop, this had reached £74,000. In 1900 and 1901, prices 

 had been so low that planters had met together and had 

 resolved not to sell arrowroot at less tlian 2d. jjer lb., and to 

 limit the output, so that this was not the first occasion when 

 the necessity for concerted action had been recognized. Now, 

 however, a diflerent remedy was proposed — not that of the 

 limitation of production, but the expan.sion of markets, so 

 that the area in the crop should be utilized to its fullest 

 extent. For this purpose, his Honour gave an outline of 

 a scheme under which an Association called the St. Vincent 

 Arrowroot Growing Association would be formed, with 

 a Board of Directors who would control the business of 

 advertising, correspondence, etc. The funds necessary for 

 the work of the Association would be raised by a small 

 charge (about id. to GcZ.) on each barrel of arrowroot 

 exported. 



After the details of the scheme had been given, and 

 a discussion had taken place, it was resolved unanimously 

 that the meeting was in agreement that a small tax of id. to 

 Qd. per barrel should be imposed at the time of shipment, to 

 be applicable to all arrowroot exported, to wherever exported. 

 The provisional committee that had already been formed 

 agreed to continue to act until , such time as other arrange- 

 ments had been made. 



