Vol. XI. Xo. 269. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



269 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



AUGUST. 



Second Period. 



Seasonal Notes. 



Where green dres-sings are emploj-ed in lime and cacao 

 cultivations, they should be sown during the present quarter, 

 as soon as sufficient rain has fallen to bring about the 

 germination of the seed; this early planting will ensure their 

 quick growth, so that they will be able to 'smother' the 

 ■weeds that would come up otherwise in their place. 



Mention the advantages, and any disadvantages, in 

 connexion with the employment of green dressings, under 

 conditions with which you are familiar. State what plants 

 you have found most useful under those conditions, giving 

 reasons why they have proved themselves the most useful. 



In lime plantations, scale infects are generally seen to 

 be plentiful at the end of the dry season. They tend, 

 however, to disappear with the advent of the rains. What 

 is the reason for this disappearance? Give an account of 

 any observations that you may have conducted for the 

 purpose of observing the cause. How may what you des- 

 cribe be employed in practical agriculture as a means for 

 controlling scale insects'? Do you know of any animal 

 parasites that are effective in reducing the numbers of these 

 insects, as well as of insects related to them? 



Where it is intended to extend cacao or lime cultiva- 

 tion, the new plants should be put in at an early date in 

 order that they may become properly established before the 

 dry season sets in. Describe what happens in the case of 

 a plant which has commenced the renewal of root growth 

 under favourable conditions of rainfall, when there follows 

 a cessation of these conditions for some time. 



At the present time, lime plantations in which the trees 

 have reached maturity should be free from weeds and should 

 have commenced to bear ripe fruits. Preparation will have 

 been made for crushing, where lime juice and citrate of 

 lime are produced. In the manufacture of these, it may 

 be possible to obtain interesting results in connexion 

 with the relation between the yield of lime oil and of raw 

 juice, and the state of maturity of the fruit that was 

 employed. Where trees in different areas show great varia- 

 tion in vigour of growth and freedom from disease, an 

 opportunity may be given for finding any connexion that 

 exists between the state of the trees and the yield of the 

 products that are obtained finally from them. In such work, 

 a knowledge of the way to determine the percentage of citric 

 acid in the juice is of the greate.st assistance toward obtaining 

 useful results. 



In cacao cultivations, a constant watch should be kept 

 as regards the state of health of the trees, and the observa- 

 tions will be employed chiefly in regard to the possible spread 

 of canker and new outbreaks of root disease. 



Questions for Candidates. 



Preliminary Questions. 



( 1 ) Why is it necessary to drain the soil? 



(2) Why is the soil turned over from time to time? 



(3) Give a list of the ways in which plants may be 

 reproduced vegetatively. 



Intermediate Questions. 



(1) State shortly the results of draining a soil, dealing 

 with the effects in the soil alone. 



(2) What benefits arise from forking the soil.' What is 

 the best time of the year for forking, under the conditions in 

 which you are gaining your experience? 



(3) What is likely to be the effect when a plant is 

 propagated vegetatively for a long period of timef 



Final Questions. 



(1) Give a description of a system of drainage to be 

 employed on a hillside, under stated conditions 



(2) What circumstances, other than the time of removal 

 of crops, decide when the land should be forked or ploughed? 



(3) It is often stated that uniform plants are always 

 obtained by continued vegetative reproduction. Criticise this 

 statement. 



AGRICULTURE AND THE BRITISH 



ASSOCIATION, 1912. 



The first meeting of the new section of the British 

 Association — Section M (Agriculture) — promises to be of 

 very special interest and importance to the great industry 

 which it is designed to help by the promotion of science in 

 this direction. The district round Dundee is famous for 

 more than one branch of farming, which has been carried 

 to a high degree of perfection, and the following programme 

 shows that the local interests have been made a special 

 feature. On Thursday, September 5, the presidential address 

 will be given by Mr. T H. .\liddleton. The remainder of the 

 day will be devoted to papers dealing with milk. On Friday, 

 September 6, Mr. R. H. Rew of the Board of Agricultare will 

 read a paper on the sources of the nation's food supply, and 

 Major P. G. Craigie, C.B., will contribute a paper on Scottish 

 agricultural production — half a century's changes. A paper 

 will also be contributed by Professor J. Wilson, on a considera- 

 tion of the profits realized from the usual field crops, more 

 especially from temporary pasture. The remainder of the day 

 will be devoted to two special papers on the agriculture 

 of the district. On Monday, September 9, a joint meet- 

 ing will be held with the Jleteorological Department 

 of Section A, the subject being the connexion between 

 meteorology and agriculture. Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S., 

 will read a paper on the practice of cultivation in rela- 

 tion to our knowledge of climate and weather, and 

 Mr. A. Watt, Secretary of the Scottish Meteorological 

 Society, will open the discussion. Other general papers on 

 this day will deal with the action of quicklime on soil, 

 studies on nitrogen fixation, the rate of evolution of hydro- 

 cyanic acid from linseed, the influence of origin and topo- 

 graphy on grass lands, and the problem of disease resistence. 

 On Tuesday, September 10, will be held a joint meeting 

 with Section 1 (Physiology) on the important subject of 

 nutrition. The discussion will be opened by Professor 

 F. G. Hopkins, F.R.S., and continued by Professor Leon 

 Asher (Berne), Dr. E P. Cathcart, Dr. C. Crowther, 

 Dr. Leonard Hill, and Dr. Martin Flack, Professor J. J. R. 

 Macleod (United States of America), and Professor T. B. 

 Wood. This is the first time within recent years— if not 

 the first time at all — when the practical feeder and the 

 physiologist have met, and when the stores of knowledge 

 and experience of the practical man have been drawn upon 

 by the man of science. (Xature, .July 11, 1912.) 



