Vol. IX. Xo. 208. 



THE AGRICULTDKAL NEWS. 



12.5 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



APRIL. 

 Seasonal Notes. 



A careful examination of old cotton should be made for 

 the purpose of finding out what pests are attacking it, and 

 the extent of the attack in the case of each. One of the most 

 easily seen among these is the black scale, which is often 

 present to a large degree. Careful observations on the cover- 

 ing of these scales will reveal the presence of a small hole in 

 it, and on separating the scale from the branch, it will be 

 seen that, instead of the soft tissue of an insect, a small 

 quantity of dried remains is present. This means that the 

 scale insect has been attacked by a parasite which, after feed- 

 ing upon it and causing its death, escaped through the 

 hole that is seen in the covering. Further observations in 

 connexion with this matter may be made in the following 

 way. A freshly-plucked branch on which living scale insects 

 are present is placed in a bottle or jar which has been cleaned 

 and dried carefully: the bottle or jar is then closed by means 

 of a piece of thin calico, which is placed over its mouth 

 and tied by a string passing round the neck. After a day 

 or two, at least two diftere.it kinds of small flying insects 

 will probably be seen on the inner surface of the vessel. 

 Although these are very small as comjiared with the most 

 commonly observed in.sects, they are plainly difterent in size. 

 The larger one is the male of the scale insect, while the 

 smaller one is the adult stage (imago) of the parasite. What 

 is the importance of this, and similar parasites, to the agri- 

 culturist? What would you expect to be the result, in 

 relation to scale insect attack, if conditions arose which 

 caused a large reduction in the numbers of the parasite '. 

 AVhat facts, in relation to the advi.sability of destroying scale 

 in.sects in a wholesale manner, does the consideration of the 

 work of svich parasites suggest? 



Scale insects do not only find enemies in certain other 

 insects; they are preyed upon to a useful extent by fungi 

 which grow into their soft ti.ssues, under the covering .scale, 

 and cause their death. From their importance in providing 

 a means for controlling such insects, these fungi have become 

 of great interest, and all who are concerned with agricultural 

 subjects should make careful observations on them and send 

 the results of these to the Department of Agriculture in the 

 island in which they live, being very careful to forward, at 

 the same time, the material on which their observations have 

 been made. Such work will be of the greatest value to 

 agriculturists, and of assistance to their advisers. For infor- 

 mation in connexion with this subject, see Ai/ricitltuml 

 News, Vol. II, pp. 216 and 2:i2; Vol. V, p. 42; Vol. VIII, 

 pp. 186, 202, 299 and -ill. 



Provide yourself with information concerning other 

 methods of control of scale insects, paying special attention 

 to Bengal beans in this connexion. While these matters, in 

 relation to scale insects and fungi, are under discussion, 

 a u.seful opportunity will be given for considering the relation 

 between such insects and black blight. (See At/ricultural 

 J:^ews, Vol. VII, p. 161.) 



As the Easter crop of cacao is now being gathered, it will 

 be expedient to make an examination, where different varieties 

 are grown, for the purpose of determining the chief useful 

 characteristics of these. In doing this, the following points 

 will be mainly considered: vigour of growth; yield of pods; 

 number of beans in each pod; resistance to disease; power to 

 recover from disease after having been treated for it. What 

 measures are employed in cacao plantations against wood ants 

 and rats, respectively l 



Questions for Candidates. 



PEELIMIXAEY QUESTIONS. 



(1) Give, shortly, as many uses of the soil to plants as 

 you can. 



(2) State definitely what is meant by plant food. What 

 are the chief kinds of plant food ? 



(.3) AVliy is it that, although soils contain enough plant 

 food to grow many crops, it is necessary to apply manure if 

 a reasonable yield is to be obtained ? 



INTERMEDI.\TE QUESTIONS. 



(1) Describe the root borer of the sugar-cane, and its 

 method of attacking that plant. 



(2) What changes are likely to occur in farmyard 

 manure, on storage t How are these changes affected by the 

 conditions under which the storage takes place ? 



(3) Give an account of the chief methods that are 

 employed in the breeding of corn (maize) for improvement 

 in yield. 



Rice in British Guiana. 



The last fortnightly report of Messrs. Sandbach, 

 Parker & Co., of Georgetown, on the rice industry of 

 British Guiana, dated April 1, 1910, gives informa- 

 tion as follows : — 



The weather during the fortnight has been fairly dry, 

 and reaping of short crop has been progressing favourably. 



Deliveries of rice to town have been steady, and prices 

 have remained firm. 



Shipments to the West Indian islands during the fort- 

 night amounted to 5,079 bags. 



We cjuote to-day, f.o.b. Demerara, for good export 

 quality : — 



Nominally 16s. 9d. to 17s. 9d. per bag of 180 lb. gross. 

 15s. 9d. to 16s. 9(Z. „ „ „ 164 ft. „ 



Kafir Bread. — In far-oft" South Africa, in the land(jf 

 the Kafir and the Zulu, is found a group of plants, belonging 

 to the Cycas family, known to the botanLst as Encephalarto.'i — 

 a name derived from the CJreek and meaning 'bread within 

 the head', alluding to the farinaceous pith within the stem of 

 these plants, which is used as a food by the natives of that 

 region. They are said to bury the stems in the ground and 

 allow them to remain there for several months; the mucila- 

 ginous centre is then taken out and dried, and made into 

 cakes like bread. On account of this use of it for food the 

 name of 'Kafir-bread' has been bestowed upon the plants, and 

 especially upon that species known as Encephalartos mftr. 

 The name 'Kafir', meaning an unbeliever, was applied by the 

 ]\Iohammedans of Eastern Africa to the negroes of that region 

 because of their refusal to accept the faith of Mohammed. 

 Besides the living specie.s, one fossil species is known. 



The Kafir bread plants, of which there are about twelve 

 species, are found only in Africa, mainly in the southern 

 parts, with one or two species extending into the tropical 

 portions. They finally develop a long, stout cylindrical stem 

 sometimes 6 to 10 feet tall, though in a young state this is 

 in the form of a hemispherical body — a condition in which 

 they are usually found in cultivation, for they are of very 

 slow growth and require years to attain any size. From the 

 apex of the stem arises a crown of pinnate leaves, in some 

 species forming objects of great beauty and decorative value. 

 {Journal of the New York Botanic Garden, Vol. X, 

 No. 120.) 



