Vol. XI. No 270. 



THE AQRICDLTDRAL NEWS. 



285 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



SEPTEMBEK. 



First Period. 



Seasonal Notes. 



Interesting observations may be made by taking seeds 

 at different stages of ripeness and testing their germinating 

 power. In cases where seedlings are obtained, those from 

 the partly mature and the mature sceils should be examined 

 in order to determine which kind of seed produces the 

 strongest plants. Seeds that will be found useful for the 

 purpose described include those of annuals snch as the pea 

 and the tomato, and those (if the commoner woody plants; in 

 the case of the former, ready germination is obtained before 

 the stage of ripeness is reached, whereas the seeds of many 

 perennial plants require a period of rest before they will 

 sprout. State the reason why partly matured seeds usually 

 give rise to plants that are lacking in vitality. It must be 

 remembered that this is not always the case, for the seeds of 

 some plants, when the latter are over vigorous, give plants 

 with increased fruitfulness when they are slightly immature; 

 those of the tomato form an example of this kind. Experi- 

 mentation with ripe seeds and those which have not quite 

 reached maturity may show that the latter often germinate 

 more quickly than the former. 



State what effect the continual selection of immature 

 seeds for planting may have in regard to changing some 

 of the characters of a plant. 



It is well known that all seeds, if they are kept long 

 enough, lose their power to germinate, though the time 

 required for this varies greatly in different cases. Examples 

 of the longevity of certain seeds, notably those of the 

 Leguminosae, have been given recently in the Ayrindtural 

 News. Other information concerning the duration of the 

 germinating power of some of the commoner seeds 

 may be found in The Vegetable Garden (issued by 

 Messrs. Vilmorin, Andrieux et Cie, Paris). Among such 

 seeds those of the cucumber, endive, artichoke, some 

 beans, beet, cabbage, carrot, egg-plant, ochroe, melon, 

 pumpkin, squash and turnip, with others, are given as 

 being capable of germinating even after as long a period 

 as ten years has elapsed; this is, however, the extreme period 

 for those seeds, and it must not be expected that any samples 

 of seed of the kinds will necessarily contain individuals that 

 will sprout after so long a time. As regards the percentage 

 of germination that should be expected from good seeds of 

 various sorts, a useful list is contained on page 20 of the 

 last edition of Nature Teaching. 



When it is intended to store most kinds of seeds, if they 

 are wet for any cause, they should be carefully dried after 

 being gathered, in order to prevent the growth of moulds that 

 may destroy their vitality. The storage of oily seeds in bulk, 

 in large quantities, requires care in order to prevent them 

 from becoming heated. 



Where seeds are stored, again, the moisture in the air 

 and the temperature should be kept as uniform as possible. 

 It is usually the case that seeds will remain useful for sowing 

 for a longer time if they are put away in their natural cover- 

 ing; this is true of many grasses, including maize, the seeds 



of which are considered to retain their vitality best when they 

 are allowed to remain on the cob, it is supposed, too, that the 

 husking of the ear decreases the period of the retention of the 

 germinating power of these seeds. 



It is the usual circumstance that the most vigorous 

 crops are obtained from seeds sown in the season in which 

 the new crop is grown or in the preceding season; though 

 in the case of crops raised for seed or for fruit the best 

 returns may sometimes be obtained by using seed that has 

 been kept for two or three years, examples of plants having 

 .seed with this characteristic being the cucumber and the 

 melon. 



Questions for Candidates. 



Preliminary Questions. 



(1) What are the chief uses of the bones in the bodies 

 of mammals? 



(2) Give a short account of the kinds of soil that you 

 have examined. 



(3) Supply information concerning the chief grasses 

 with which you are acquainted. 



Intermediate Questions. 



(1) Compare the structure of the leg of the horse and 

 of the ox. 



(2) Discuss the ways in which the characters of a soil 

 are influenced by the proportion of clay that it contains. 



(.3) State what plants that you know of; belonging to 

 the grass family, are employed in providing food directly 

 for man. 



Final Questions. 



(1) Show broadly how the structure of the animals used 

 directly on an estate to provide energy is correlated with the 

 purposes for which they are employed. 



(2) Provide a general account of the way in which the 

 kinds of crops grown in any particular area are influenced by 

 the character of the soil. 



(3) How would you proceed to convert to pasture 

 land an area of land that had been used in cultivation for 

 ordinary crops? 



Trade and Agriculture of St. Helena, 1911.— 



Kxi'ORTs. The total value of exports in 1911 amounted 

 to £9,9.59 as against £9,32-t in 1910. Specie shows a marked 

 increase, being £7,800 as compared with £.5,300 in the 

 previous year. 



agriculture. The year under review was, on the whole, 

 a bad one for stock owners. The drought which prevailed for 

 the first four months of the year resulted in cattle getting into 

 low condition, and the period of heavy rain which followed 

 found thera in a condition least able to stand it. Again, the 

 last four months of the year were exceptionally dry; this 

 caused heavy losses amongst cattle. Both cattle and sheep 

 were raised at large expense, chiefly by imported food, to 

 supply the Naval Establishment at Ascension. 



The potato crop was also adversely affected by the 

 unfavourable weather. In some parts of the island potatoes 

 remained in the ground for a long time, there not being 

 enough moisture to bring then on. Consequently they 

 suffered from rot, and potatoes became scarce and dear at 

 times. Green vegetables did badly and were scarce, for the 

 same reasons. Hay was also unsatisfactory, the crop being 

 very .short. In most lands grass was not worth cutting. 

 (From Colonial Be'porU — Annual, No. 714, June 1912 ) 



