Vol. IX. Xo. 214. 



THE AGRICULTUrvAL NEWS. 



221 











STUDENTS' CORNER. 



JULY. 

 Se(M)kd Period. •'- 



Seasonal Notes. 



At the present time, the cane grower will have his 

 attention directed more particularly to the subject of ratoons, 

 as the canes of last .season's crop will have been taken off, in 

 most places. Read what is said in the first paragraph of the 

 Seasonal Notes for the first period of June {A(jriciilfnral 

 News, Vol. IX, p. 173), and either commence or continue the 

 ob.servations that are indicated there. Katoon canes do not 

 usually grow as large as plant canes. Can you sugg"st any 

 reason, or reasons, for this I Where it is possible, an inter- 

 esting investigation may be made, in the following way. 

 Compare the average amounts of sugar obtained per acre, on 

 the estate, from plants and first ratoons, and see what rela- 

 tion the smaller expense, in labour and cultivation, for 

 ratoons than for canes, bears to the monetary value of the 

 additional amount of sugar that has been obtained, per acre, 

 from plant canes. How do the advantages, or disadvantages 

 of several years of ratooning compare between a large owner, 

 with plenty of capital, and a small proprietor, with little or 

 no capital I Discuss the importance ot considerations in 

 regard to loss by disease, in this connexion. 



Examine the ground vegetation in lime plantations, 

 and try to find out if the different kinds of weeds give any 

 indication as to the kind or state of the soil beneath them. 

 Useful indications as to the necessity for better drainage may 

 be often obtained by making observations of this kind. 

 Where green dressings have been grown between lime 

 trees and then buried in the soil, it will most prob- 

 ably be noticed that the leaves of these plants are 

 greener, and that the latter look healthier, altogether, than 

 where this has not been done. How may this improvement 

 be exolained? Examine several lime trees, in order to find 

 out on what part of them the fruit is chiefly borne. It will 

 generally be found that the healthy trees produce fruit not 

 only on and near the outside of the tree, that is at and near 

 the ends of the main branches, but also near the middle of it. 



The experience that has been gained, and the obser- 

 vations made in the past, .should have enabled a deci.sion to 

 have been formed as to the green dressings that are most 

 suitable for growing in the neighbourhood where the student 

 lives. Give an account of as many of the following plants 

 as you can: alfalfa, I'arbuda bean, Bengal bean, cow pea, horse 

 bean, pigeon pea and woolly pyrol, with especial reference to: 

 (1) time required to grow and form seed: (2) liability to be 

 attacked by in,sects: (3) ability to cover the ground; (4) amount 

 of seed formed; and (.")) suitability for being cut and buried. 

 Which of these are not liable to be attacked by caterpillers, 

 and what property do those possess, which protects them from 

 these pests? It is often found that, when attempts are made 

 to raise a leguminous crop on a soil where that plant has not 

 been sown before, it makes very poor growth for the first 



few crops, but that by sowing it there several times, it can be 

 made to flourish, after a time, and produce good harvests. 

 What explanation is there, of this fact? What indications does 

 such a consideration give in relation to the usefulness, or other- 

 wise, of soil inoculation: (1) wliere a given leguminous plant 

 has been grown; (2) where this is not the^ase, and where it is 

 intended to introduce the plant; 



What do you know about the concfitions under which 

 the characters of definite varieties of cotton plants may 

 change! Di.scuss the importance of the considerations men- 

 tioned by you, in relation to the policy of endeavouring to 

 select, for each island, a strain of cotton which is best 

 suited to the conditions in that Island. Should this principle 

 be applied in a narrower way, so as to enable strains to be 

 obtained which are suited particularly to definite districts! 

 How is selection of this kind performed? What is the 

 difference between selection and breeding? Why are the 

 methods used in breeding cotton quite different from those 

 that are employed for a plant such as corn (maize)? 



In planting yams, eddos and sweet potatos, the varieties 

 put in should naturally be those which are most suitable to 

 the district in which they are being grown. Useful informa- 

 tion, in connexion with this, will be found in many of the 

 Botanic and Experiment Station Reports that are issued 

 annually by the Department. When the tubers of yams and 

 eddos are examined carefully, they are often seen to be 

 attacked by scale insects, and it is evident that these pests are 

 causing a certain amount of injury to them. How is this 

 injury effected? State what treatment should be given to 

 such infested tubers before they are planted. .Mention 

 other plants that are attacked by scale insects on the parts 

 that are below the surface of the soil. Give an account of 

 methods for the control of scale insects that live on the parts 

 of plants in the ground. 



Questions for Candidates. 



PRELIMINAKY QUESTIONS. 



(1) What is meant by a hybrid plant? Describe a simple 

 way of obtaining hybrid plants, and state how they arise as 

 the result of such an operation. 



(2) What are (a) nitrate of soda, (b) sulphate of ammo- 

 nia ? What percentage of nitrogen should a commercial 

 sample of each of these manures contain ? 



(3) Give an account of the structure of the cotton seed, 

 and state the ways in which it diflers from the seed of the 

 ground nut, and from a grain of corn. 



INTERMEDIATE QUESTIONS. 



(1) Describe what you consider to be the best condition.s 

 for the cultivation of limes, giving reasons for your con- 

 clusions. 



(2) What grasses, or mixtures of gra.sses, are best suited 

 for each of the following: (a) pastures, (b) the production 

 of hay ? 



(3) What is meant by '.soil sickness'? How can this 

 condition be rectified? 



DEPARTMENT NE"WS. 

 The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture left) 

 Barbados on Tuesday, July 5, by the R.M.S. ' Berbice', 

 on an official visit to the Leeward Islands. 



