Vol XIII. Xo. 32-2. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



2S5 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



Owing to lack of .s))iirf it was tipuml ])(issil)le i]i the last 

 issue to give only tour ((uestioiis for laiididates. The first 

 asked for an explanation in legard to the ditference lietween 

 physical and chemical analysis of the soil. The methods 

 employed for making tjiese determinations as well as the 

 water-holding capacity of tlie soil will lie found described in 

 a simple maimer in Watts' 'Nature Teaching'. The second 

 two ipiestioiis do not call for any special comment; the last 

 one, however, which asked for a description of the planting 

 of the three provision cri>ps with s])ecial reference to early 

 maturity may he specially noted. In the economic experi- 

 ments at many of the Agricultural Stations it has teen 

 found that the different strains of swcet potato vary very 

 considerably as regards yield, cooking i|ualities, and even in 

 connexion with the time of matuiity. These matters should 

 receive the careful consideration of the student who will find 

 a consideralile amount of information on the suhject in the 

 Annual Reports of the various Botanii- Stations in the Leeward 



Island: 



Questions for Candidates. 



I'KKLIM [NARY QV KSTIONS. 



(1) What are the three essential conditions for ger- 

 mination ; What methods have lieen tried fi>r accelerating 

 the rate of germijiation f 



(2) Of what use is <-arlion ilioxide, (a) in the soil 

 (b) in the air ? 



INTKKM KDI.VTK l)V KSTIONS. 



(1) l)escril)e any methods you are familiar with for 

 storing provision crops '. 



(2) How would you procee<l to olitain an approximate 

 idea of the feeding value of any foodstutf ( 



FINAL IJl'KsrioNS. 



(1) Prepare a statement showing the cost, in your dis- 

 trict of producing either (a) a ton of sugar or (h) a pound 

 of cotton. 



(2) Write a sliort essay (of al.nut 400 words) on the 

 compositinti and uses of insect sprays. 



Method of Hatching Eggs in China. ~ Certain 



of the ('liinrse in the intrrioi- districts a<ljacent to Amoy 

 employ an ingenious method for hatching both hens' and 

 ducks' eggs. The breeder first takes a quantity of unhusked 

 rice and roasts it, cooling it down by fanning or allowing the 

 wind to blow through until it is lukewaruL He then spreads 

 a ."Much layer of the rice in a wooden tub and places 

 about 100 eggs thereon; another layer of rice, this second 

 and sulisequeut layers being but 2 inches in thickness, 

 is spread over the eggs. Each tub will have six layers 

 of rice and five layers of eggs, so that there will be 

 .500 eggs in each tub. The rice is heated once every 

 twenty-four hours, the eggs being taken out at such times. 

 When the eggs are again put in the rice, the bottom layer is 

 placefl on top, and each of the othei- layers one row lower down, 

 while the eggs previously in the centre of the tuli are placed 

 at the edge. The entire tub is covered with a cotton mattress. 

 One of the great dithculties with this method is the inability 

 to tell just when the eggs will hatch, which, of course, renders 

 the smothering of the .young ones verj' possible. The measure 

 of success of the breeder depends largely upon his ability to 

 care for the chicks at this time. {Journal of tlie Royal 

 Society of Arts for .July 17, 1!)14.) 



AGRICULTURE IN QUEENSLAND. 



The agrii'ulturai industry has made very rapid progress 

 in (.Queensland cinring the past iew year.s, more particularly 

 in the Southei-n jjortion of the State. Thirty years ago the 

 greater pait of tlie now famous Darling Downs was entirely 

 devoted to the raising of sheep and cattle. To-day a large 

 area of the 1(5,249,000 acres is peopled by prosperous farmers 

 engaged in agriculture and dairying. Along the coastal 

 country, east of the great dividing ridge, sugar-growing is 

 flourishing, particularly in the Bundaberg, Mackay, Proser- 

 pine. Herbert, and Cairns districts. ' The total area under all 

 crops in 1912 was 6()8,4S.3 acres; under cultivation, S44,420 

 acres. The total value of the aijric-ultnral production in 1912 

 was £4,276,233. 



Along the coastal districts all classes of tropical products, 

 such as sTigar-cane, rubber, coilee, tea, cacao, ginger, cassava, 

 cardamoms, jiepper, vanilla, yams, etc., are grown success- 

 fully. Fruits, such as the lianana, orange, lime, lemon, pine- 

 apple, mango, persinmion, grauadilla, papaw, and passion fruit 

 grow to perfection: while one of the most delicious fruits, the 

 cape gooseberry, is indigenous. In the same district, maize, 

 potatoes, rice, cotton, millet, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and 

 all kinds of vegetables are raised. 



On the higher table lands west of the main range, in 

 addition to the crops grown on the coast, we find wheat, oats, 

 rye, barley, etc. The fruits of temperate climes, such as the 

 gi-ape-\ine, a])ples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, straw- 

 berries, etc., grow to |)erfection. 



I'AssAVA idi; i'ii;s IX (Queensland. 



In (.Queensland cassava is used as food for pigs with 

 sueces.s, and is found to be a good substitute for the potato. 

 The pig eats the cassava either raw or cooked, and digests it 

 equally well in both cases, and uses all the hydrocarbonic 

 matter, amounting to about 80 or 90 per 'cent, of the total 

 quantity consnined. All that is needed is to soak the tubers 

 for some hours in cold water, to obtain a food ready for 

 immediate consumption, a food, the nutritive value of which 

 is equal to barley or rice meal. At the same time, cassava 

 must not V>e considered as a complete ration, as it is neces- 

 sary to supplement it for young animals, at least, with food 

 containing the jihosphates and nitrates wanting in cassava. 

 Vw this purpose oil cake and ground green bones are usi'd, 

 or, better still, degelatinized bones powdered. 



South .Vfrican farmers are ajjpealed to through Leaflet 

 No. 13, 1914, of the Union Department of Agriculture in 

 regard to the importance of s sleeting their corn for planting 

 not from the crili or store house, as is usually done, but from 

 the plant itself in the field. Ears should be selected, it is 

 urged, from plants upright in growth, of normal size, with 

 ears correctly placed, and the plants should not show suscep- 

 tibility to rust, neither shoidd there lie any marked stool ing 

 habit. Ears should not be selected from near the sides or 

 edfes of the field as these will be more liable to be 

 crossed. The ears should be kept separate and should te 

 stored away from the other ears to undergo a further selec- 

 tion, as time will permit, being selected for the various 

 characters abeady enumerated. 



