Vol. XI. No. 254. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



29 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



AGRICULTURAL EXAMINATIONS. 



The questions set in the recent Examinations, held in 

 connexion with the Courses of Iteading of the Department, 

 are published below for the information and guidance of 

 students taking up these Courses. 



Preliminary Examination. 



(1) Give, with sketches, an account of any dicotyledonous 

 seed that you have examined, stating the uses to the plant of 

 the different parts. (2) How do plants absorb water, and 

 what purposes are fulfilled by the water thus absorbed ! 

 (3) Write an account of the different types of soil with which 

 you are acquainted. (4) Describe the structure of any common 

 leaf. How would you show that changes take place in living 

 leaves, in the presence of light ? (5) State the advantages 

 that are to be found in a well-drained soil. (6) Give a descrip- 

 tion, with sketches, of any Hower that you have examined, 

 and show how it is pollinated. (7) What are the different 

 stages in the germination of (1) any dicotyledonous seed, 

 (2) any monocotyledonous seed, that you have observed i 



(8) Explain, giving examples where it is possible, five of the 

 following terms: (a) parasite, (b) medullary ray.s, (c) rumin- 

 ating animal, (d) albuminous seed, (e) composite flower, 

 (f) stomata, (g) drupe, (h) coulter, (k) tap-root, (1) tilth. 



(9) State e.xactly why leguminous plants are usually preferred 

 as green dressings. (10) Write an account, illustrated by 

 diagrams, of any form of cultivator that you have examined. 

 (11) Enumerate the different processes that take place in the 

 digestion of food by the cow. (12) Depcribe the action of the 

 heart, in warm blooded animals. (1.3) Give a description, 

 with sketches, of any method of budding with which you are 

 acquainted, stating why it is possible to propagate plants by 

 this means. 



Intermediatb Examination, 

 cenerai, agricultural .science. 

 (1) Give a brief account of the ways in which nitrogen 

 is (a) artificially supplied, (b) naturally supplied, to plants. 

 (2) How would you conduct an experiment, with a cro[i with 

 which you are familiar, to demonstrate the good effects of 

 proper tillage! (3) Using any crop with which you have 

 had practical experience, state how yoa would raise seedlings 

 of the plant, in a nursery: and give such particulars as you 

 can of the changes that are known to take place during the 

 germination of the seed. (4) Write a description of any 

 scheme of drainage with which you are familiar. What are 

 the general objects of draining the soil! (5) Describe the 

 structure of a leaf as it is seen in a preparation under the 

 microscope, stating how the different i)art3 take their share 

 in the wurk that has to be done by the leaf. (G) Give an 

 ^account of the different kinds of soil that are found in your 

 district, and show how they derive their i)rcperties from the 

 kinds of material of which they are composed. (6) What 

 are the properties and uses of any one of the artificial 

 manures that you have seen employed in practice? State for 

 what purposes the manure is specially utilized. (8) How is 

 water enabled to travel through plants, and by what means 

 does it move upwards through the soil? (9) Describe care- 

 fully the way in which any plant that you may choose as an 

 illustration is- (a) grafted, or (b) budded, or (c) raised from 

 cuttings. (10) Give an account of the skeleton of the horse, 

 or of the ox, and state in what way it differs from that of 

 the pig. (11) Give a description of (a) the life-history, (b) 

 the means cf control, of any insect pest with which you are 

 familiar. (12) How do fungi obtain their food, and how 



are they propagated? Give an account of the preparation 

 and use of some fungicide. 



Intermediate Examination. 



special crop .subjects. 



Sugar Industry, 



I' art I.— ceneral. (1) Give a careful description of 

 any fungus disease of sugar-cane of which you have had 

 experience, stating the means by which it may be controlled. 

 (2) How is the land prepared for the sugarcane crop and 

 cultivated during its growth, in your district. If possible, 

 suggest any improvements in the methods employed, giving 

 reasons for your suggestions. (3) Write an account of the 

 special characters of three varieties of cane on which you 

 have made observations, stating which of them is best suited 

 to the conditions with which you are familiar, and why. 

 (4) Describe a method of manuring, for sugar-cane, and if 

 possible give an account of the general results of any experi- 

 ments that form a guide as to the best manurial treatment 

 for this crop, in your district. (.5) Sapply particulars of the 

 life history of the weevil borer of the sugar-cane. State the 

 kind of damage done by this pest, and the measures for its 

 control. (6) Write a short account of the underground sys- 

 tem of the sugar-cane. (7) Give jaarticulars concerning some 

 rotations of crops that are suitable for employment with 

 sugar cane, where you have had experience in the growing of 

 the latter. (8) How is sugar-cane planted, and what prelimi- 

 nary treatment should the planting material receive ? 



PART ii.^MuscovADo SUGAR. (1) Describe the pro- 

 cess of clarification of cane juice, pointing out what is essen- 

 tial for securing good clarificaiion. (2) What advantages are de- 

 rived from the use of steam-heated pans as compared with the 

 employment of fire-heated pans, for finishing the concentration 

 of syrup ? (3) How is it ascertained when the boiling of the 

 syrup, in making muscovado sugar, has been carried to 

 a sufficient degree. (4) Hydrometers, or saccharomelers, are 

 commonly emplo}-ed in muscovado factories. Discuss their use. 

 PART III.— VAcuu.M PAN SUGAR. (1) Describe, in brief 

 outline, the structure and mode of working of a triple effect 

 evaporator. (2) Give an account of a satisfactory method of 

 treating the juice from the time it leaves the mill until it is 

 ready to be taken into the triple effect. (3) Write a descrip- 

 tion of a method of producing ' .second sugar ' from molasses. 

 (4) What matters are essential to goad extraction of juice by 

 mills? How can vou ascertain if the work is satisfactory? 



Graft-hybrids. — A resume of recent researches into 

 the nature of 'graft-hybrids', culminating in the periclinal 

 and sectorial chimieras obtained by Professor H. Winkler 

 and E. Heuer, is contributed by Dr. H Fischer to Xatur- 

 wixsrnsc/iafllic/ie Woclienschrift (September 24). A descrip- 

 tion is given of the five composite types produced from grafts 

 of the tomato and common nightshade by making an incision 

 and so developing a new shoot from the point of union of 

 scion and stock; and an illustration is supplied of the most 

 complex combination, where the different branches represent 

 the species iii^/rum, Li/copersirum, Koelreuteritunim, Gaert- 

 ii< lianiini, and tuhingense. It is also explained how the solu- 

 tion was evolved by Dr. E. Baur from a study of the arrange- 

 ment of coloured and colourless areas in the leaves of zonal 

 pelargoniums. In both phenomena there is a mere juxtaposi- 

 tion of tissues derived from two original types, .so that the 

 term 'graft-hybrid' proves to be a misnomer, and chima^ra is 

 accurately applied. {Nature, November 30, 1911, p. 154.) 



