Vol. XIII. No. 300, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



EXAMINATIONS IN PRACTICAL 

 AGRICULIURE. 



RESULTS AND QUESTIONS SET 

 FOR 1913. 



11. Give details as to the cost of either (a) the plough- 

 ing of an acre of land on any estate you are connected with, 

 or (b) draining an acre of land under similar circumstances. 



12. Write an account of any manurial experiment that 

 you have seen carried out locally. Explain concisely the 

 object of the experiment, the methods employed, and the 

 results obtained. 



The following are the results of the examinations con- 

 ducted by the Imperial Department of Agriculture in the 

 Windward and Leeward Islands during November 1913: — 



Centre. 

 Grenada 



Centre. 

 Dominica 



Centre. 

 Antigua 

 St. Kilts 



PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION. 



(One candidate.) 



Name. 

 Cherubim, E. L. 



IXTEEMEDIATE EXAMINATION. 



(Three candidates.) 



Name. 

 De Lachevotier, G. 



FINAL EXAMINATION. 



(Three candidates.) 

 Name. 

 Lake, E. H. 

 Owen, A. E. 



Result. 



2nd. class. 



llesult. 

 2nd. class. 



Result. 

 3rd. class. 

 1st. class. 



The questions set for the preliminary examination were 

 published in the last issue of the Agricultural News. 

 Inteumkdi.ate Examination. 



The following questions were set in the General Agri- 

 cultural Science paper in the Intermediate Examination: — 



Of the twelve questsons .set, not more than eight were 

 to be attempted, in which questions 1 or 3 and 2 or 4 were to 

 be included. 



1. Give an account of any root borers you have found 

 attacking cultivated plants. Describe briefly the life-history 

 of any one of these, and say what order it belongs to. 



2. Write a short essay on the utilization of entom- 

 ogenous fungi in ordinary estate practice. 



3. Compare the structure of (a) a mite and a beetle 

 and (b) a worm and a caterpillar. 



4. Describe carefully the damage done by, also the 

 cause of and the mode of infection of, any one of the 

 following diseases: (a) red rot (rind disease) of the sugar- 

 cane, (b) die back of cacao, (c) back root disease of limes, 

 and (d) anthracnose of cotton. 



5. Give an account of the legislation in any island 

 with which you are acquainted for the prevention of plant 

 diseases and pests. 



6. Give an account of the composition of farmyard 

 manure. What effects has it on the soil? How should it be 

 stored in order to reduce loss to a minimum? 



7. Describe, indetail.in regard to either cotton or corn: 

 (a) how you would select seed for planting after picking, (b) 

 how you would disinfect the seed, (c) how you would test its 

 germination capacity. 



8. What factors in your experience mainly determine 

 the fertility of the soil of the estate with which you are 

 connected.' What methods are adopted for improving 



the soil; 



9. Describe, in detail, any vegetative propagation 

 operations you have carried out personally. 



10. What is osmosis? What experiment would you per- 

 form to demonstrate more fully the meaning of your definition.' 



The questions set in the special crop subjects were as 

 follows:— 



suuar industry. 



Part I. — General.* 



1 . Describe, in detail, how you would select and prepare 

 cane tops for planting. 



2. What varieties of sugar-cane do you regard most 

 suitable for the district in which you reside! Describe their 

 characteristics, stating the particular advantages derived 

 from their employment. 



3. Give an account of the nature of 'root disease' of 

 sugar-cane. What measures should be adopted for keeping 

 it under control? 



4. Describe the cultural operations employed for the 

 soil in your own district in connexion with plant and ratoon 

 canes. Indicate the period at which each operation is 

 carried out. 



5. Describe briefly any insect pest of sugar-cane. Give 

 a full account of the damage done and make what sugges- 

 tions you can as regards keeping the pest under control. 



6. Discuss the value of cane tops for fodder. Give 

 details in connexion with their storage and employment. 



7. How many cane plants would be required to plant 

 a field of 10 acres? What number of labourers would be 

 ordinarily needed to carry out this work? Give an estimate 

 of the cost of the planting operations. 



8. Describe a system of manuring followed in your 

 districts for (a) plant canes, (b) ratoon canes. Give the 

 reasons for the employment of the .system. 



CACAO. t 



1. Describe methods employed in the collecting, fer- 

 mentation and curing of cacao. 



2. WTiat do you regard as the best method of manuring 

 cacao under the conditions obtaining in your locality? State 

 how the manures you apply may be procured. 



3. Write an account of the principles of pruning cacao, 

 and the necessary precautions that must be taken in carry- 

 ing out this operation. 



4. Give a list of the principal fungus diseases of cacao 

 and the remedial and preventive measures that should be 

 adopted in order to keep them in check. 



'). Describe, in a practical manner, the grafting of cacao. 

 What advantage would you expect to derive from the 

 process? 



(). Write a practical account of how you should proceed 

 to plant 20 acres of prepared land in cacao, giving details as 

 regards distances, number of plants required, protection, 

 labour, etc. 



7. Describe, in detail, the nursery work involved in the 

 raising of cacao seedlings. 



8. Describe carefully the preparation of Bordeaux 

 mixture. Discuss to what extent it should be employed in 

 connexion with the cultivation of cacao. 



* In each section oiglit question.s only were to be 

 attempted. 



tQuestions set in tlie remaining sections will appear in 

 the next issue. 



