Vol. IX. No. 210. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



157 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



MAY. 



Sf/oni> PjsRiDn. 

 Seasonal Notes. 



At the end of tlie time during wliich the careme crop of 

 cacao i.s being gathered, and before the trees begin to flower 

 for the Christmas crop, the orchards should receive the sani- 

 tation which will have become a matter of yearly routine: 

 that is to say, they should obtain the treatment for lessen- 

 ing the likelihood of the attack of the trees by disease, and 

 by which such parts of the plants as show signs of fungus 

 infection are removed and destroyed. This treatment will 

 include the removal of dead branches, the excision of decayed 

 wood from old wounds, and the subsecjuent dressing of all cut 

 surfaces with Bordeau.x mixture, followed a few days later by 

 a covering of tar. What useful purposes are served by the 

 JJourdeaux mixture and the tar? How are the wounds made 

 in a cacao plant healed/ The use of the knife will not be 

 found necessary, in the case of the work Just mentioned, only: 

 a careful watch for canker will have to be maintained, and 

 the diseased areas cut out and dressed in the way that has 

 been described. 



In the treatment of the soil under cacao, mulches and 

 special manures should be api)lied before the commencement 

 of the heavy rains. Why, in each case is this important? 

 Remember that a ' mulch ' in cacao cultivation does not derive 

 its usefulness mainly from the fact that it assists in the 

 conservation of the water in the soil, as is generally the case 

 with such material. It is more than a mere mulch, in the 

 significance of the term that is accepted usually. It has the 

 function of keeping the soil in good condition, as well as that 

 of providing a useful quantity of plant food. This is why it 

 is often applied in amounts which are much greater than 

 those which would be required for the first-mentioned 

 purpose. (See Annual Reports on the Botanic Station, etc., 

 Dominica: also the West Indian Bulletin, Vols. II, p. 9G; 

 V, p. l'87; VI, pp. 2.58-62; VII, pp. 201-6; VIII, pp. 131 6; 

 IX, pp. 138-4.3 and X, pp. 170-9.) 



Careful attention should be paid, during the dry season, 

 to cacao seedlings in nurseries, in order that the plants may 

 be in a vigorous condition when they are planted out at the 

 commencement of the rains. If a plant has had to struggle 

 against adver.se conditions when it was very young, the likeli- 

 hood that it will grow to the best advantage when it is 

 established is lessened. .Special care should, therefore, always 

 be taken in the raising of young plants of all kind.s. One of 

 the chief diseases to which young seedlings are subject is that 

 known as ' damping-off'. What is the chief predisposing 

 cause of this, and how would you proceed, where seedlings 

 were affected by it, to attempt to preserve as many of them 

 as possible? 



The pn'paration of land on which it is intended to 

 establish new cacao cultivation should be taken in hand. 

 After manuring, in cases where this has been done, the 

 fields should be lined, and holes prepared for the reception of 

 the young plants. Cive as many reasons as you can why 

 cacao, as well as other crops, should be planted in such 

 a way that the stand which is obtained may be as regular and 

 orderly as possible. 



At this time, the wind-breaks and .<liade for the trees 

 .should be put in, so that they will have reached a stage at 

 which they may protect the cacao efficiently at the time when 

 this work will be required of them. Note that cacao is not 



always grown under shade. What precautions must be 

 observed in choo.sing the kind of tree that may be employed 

 for the protection of a given cultivation? The matter of 

 drainage requires careful attention, especially in the case of the 

 heavier soils. Describe the kind of drainage that is generally 

 employed on cacao lands in the West Indies. Why is 

 drainage a more difficult affair in some places than in others? 

 What usually ha[)pens, when land is not properly drained, 

 (1) to the p!ant.s, (2) to the soil? How may the soil itself 

 be treated so that the drainage from it is improved ! 



Questions for Candidates. 



PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS. 



(1) How can you tell if a soil requires to be drained? 



(2) Describe the way in which cotton seed is tested, and 

 prepared for planting. 



(3) What is the number of sets that should be made 

 from 1 lb. of yams? 



INTERMEDI.\TE QUESTIONS. 



(1) State the chief circumstances that would influence 

 you in choosing an estate for cotton-planting. 



(2) Give a description of the best fodder grasses that 

 grow in the district in which you live. 



(3) What are the chief objects sought in raising new 

 seedling varieties of sugar cane! 



FREEING PASTURES FROM TICKS. 



FarniefS Jiidlttin No. 378, of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, deals with methods of exterminating 

 the Texas fever tick {Ma)yar<>j>u.t anHidatus). It points out 

 that, in taking measures for eradicating ticks, it is evident 

 that, the pest may be attacked in two places, namely, on the 

 pasture and on the cattle. The method followed in freeing 

 pastures may be either direct, in which all cattle, horses and 

 mules are excluded from pastures until the ticks have died of 

 starvation; or indirect, in which the animals are allowed to 

 continue on the infested [lasture, and are treated at regular 

 intervals with oils or other agents destructive to ticks, so 

 that the engo'-ged females may be prevented from dropping 

 and reinfesting the pasture. Two methods may be employed 

 for the purpo.se of freeing animals of ticks: they may be 

 treated with a substance that will destroy the ticks that are 

 on tliem, or they may be pastured at iiro))er intervals in fields 

 which are free from ticks, until all those on them have 

 dropped. 



The time which it will take for the ticks in a pasture to 

 die out, after the infested animals have been removed from 

 it, varies considerably in different places, chiefly according to 

 the conditions of climate and weather. Investigations con- 

 ducted in .\labama .show that it varies from five to ten months, 

 in different parts of the year: farther south, the period is 

 shorter. As a general rule, the time of infestation is length- 

 ened by cold and moisture, and shortened by heat and dryness; 

 other things being equal, high, unshaded land, which is dry, 

 becomes free of ticks more quickly than laud which is low, 

 shaded and damp. 



In the instance under consideration, seed ticks will take 

 at least twenty days to appear, after engorged females have 

 been dropped. The chief condition which regulates the time 

 that is required for all the ticks to drop, after cattle has 

 been placed on clean land, is the temperature. In Texas, it 

 was found that the time varies from six weeks in the warmer 

 months to ten weeks in tho-se which are cooler. 



