Vol. XI. No 27!. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



301 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



SEPTEMBER. 

 Second Period. 



Seasonal Notes. 



Ill view jf the approaching examinations in practical 

 "grioiilture, it m»y prove suggestive to Final Students, and 

 jthers, to present in these columns a brief survey, from the 

 •riconoraic aspect, of the more important matters relating to 

 DCstate Management, and to give references to articles and 

 ;apers that have appeared from time to time in the publica- 

 ■j'ths of the Imperial Department of Agriculture. 



It is not always recognized by the student that there 

 ire really two great divisions of science applied to agricul- 

 ture—natural science which aims at the elucidation of 

 ^physical, chemical, and biological problems connected with the 

 ^oil, crjps and estate animals, and economic science which 

 ■ «oncerns questions ot capital and labour markets, methods of 

 keeping accounts, agricultural law and similar matters. 

 3<roadly speaking, economics deal with the administrative 

 .<nd distributive activities in estate management; and 

 iithouL;h work of this nature constitutes mainly the duties 

 •ni the attorney and manager, and a knowledge of it accumu- 

 lates naturally in the course of business experience, it is 

 levertheless desirable for the overseer to obtain a grasp of 

 ■lie economic forces and principles underlying and surround- 

 ing the management of an estate in order that he may 

 better appreciate the significance of its internal working. 



It is not intended in these notes to adhere strictly to 

 Ihe syllabus of the Reading Courses for Overseers, though at 

 the same time most of the points dealt with are clo.sely con- 

 aiected with the reipiirements of the final examination In 

 .gricultural economics, land is the first consideration. The 

 'allowing are some of the factors which determine the value 

 of an estate: natural fertility, weather conditions, contour, 

 aneansof communication (both internal and external), proxim- 

 ity to shipping port, and labour conditions. Compare, in these 

 respects, different estates with which you are accpiainted. 

 <?onsider carefully what is meant by the term 'fertility.' 

 As regards land tenure, examine the (juestion of renting 

 iis against ownership; what are the relative economic 

 -Jidvantages and disadvantages? This leads to the sub- 

 ject of capital. Capital invested in an estate can be 

 •classed as (a) fixed (land, buildings, roads, drainage, 

 irrigation, etc ), and (b) circulating (machinery, implements, 

 ■working animals, seeds, etc.). How would you proceed to 

 -Jetermine, under your conditions of working, the average 

 amount of capital invested per acre! In making inventories, 

 it knowledge of cost prices and depreciation is required. It 

 should be borne in mind that the value of stock to the owner 

 is generally greater than the selling price. Consider any 

 instance of over- and under capitalization of which you have 

 Icnowledge. Capital invested in a Imsiness is charged with 

 interest, and the balance of the profit and loss account goes 

 to the capital account and the resulting balance is then 

 carried to the balance sheet as an a.sset. Cash receipts can- 

 not be regarded as capital until the total cash receipts and 

 "iotal cash expenditures have been balanced. Many more 

 ooints like these will occur to the student: for a full treat- 

 ment of capital in relation to agriculture, see Estate Manage- 

 nient, by (,'ard, and text books on book keeping (agricultural). 



Labour problems are frequently of a local nature, i'ho 

 modern tendency to employ labour-saving devices should be 

 noted. The modern production of agricultural machinery 

 and implements is partly the outcome of rural depopulation. 

 l-]xplain this. The following references will be found of 

 interest in connexion with labour: supply of labour, A/jri- 

 cultural Nefi^ Vol. IX, yp. 177 and 178; bonuses to 

 labourers, Vol IX, p. 1(58; conditions of labour, Vol VII, 

 pp. i-j and .376. The law of supply and demand is funda- 

 mental in agricultural economics, and in this connexion 

 a knowledge of markets is of the first importance. It would 

 not be in accordance with the purpose of these note.s 

 to discuss here the various market problems, but a perusal 

 of the following literature will provide much interesting and 

 useful information on the demand abroad for West Indiaa 

 agricultural produce. Sales of West Indian Cotton, )Yeit 

 Indian BuUdin, \o\. IV, p. 319; West Indian Food Supplies, 

 West Indian Bulletin. Vol. I, p. 270: Agririillitinl News, 

 Vol. VIII, p. 120; P.ritish West Indian Limes on the New York 

 Market, West Indian fliill- tin. Vol. XI, p. 1-53; the Cotton Mar- 

 ket and Cotton Planting, A'jricultiital News, Vol. X, p. 134; 

 Cotton Spinning Statistics, Agricultural News, \o\. X, p. 390; 

 Manchester Fruit Market, A'p-irultural JVeivs, Vol. X, p. 68; 

 Sugar Trade of the United Kingdom, 191 \, Agricultural News, 

 Vol. XT, p. 115; Annual Keport of the British Cotton Crowing 

 Association (1911), A'/ricultural News, Vol. X[, p. 214; 

 .Selling of West Indian Cotton, Ai/ricultural News, 

 Vol. XI, p. 246; Wcuste in Cotton-spinning, A;/ricullural 

 News, Vol. XI, p. 247; Review of the Sugar Indus- 

 try in the Leeward Islands, West Indian Bulletin, 

 Vols. VI, p. 373; XIF, p. 394 (and in other Issues of this 

 .journal). Keference is made to papers on similar subjects, 

 read at the last Agricultural Conference, that have appeared 

 so far. 



These notes on agricultural economics will be continued 

 in future issues of the Ajncultural News and some of the 

 questions set will be based upon the notes given in the pre- 

 vious number, thus enabling the student to test his progress 

 systematically. 



Questions for Candidates. 

 Pkeliminary Questions. 



(1) How would you conduct a test of seed germination? 



(2) Describe the parts of which a leaf may be seen to 

 be composed. 



(3) State briefly how water moves in pknts. 



Intermediate Questions. 



(1) Give an account of the uses of the leaf to the plant, 



(2) State, as far as you can, what takes place inside 

 a germinating seed. 



(3) Define (a) capital, (b) cash, (c) petty cash, (d) depre- 

 ciation, (e) compound interest, (f) discount, (g) per.;onal 

 account, (h) liability. 



Final Questions. 



(1) Give an account of the ways in which compounds 

 useful to them may enter plants. 



(2) Supply information concerning the markets for 

 any two of the following products from the West Indies: 

 (a) sugar, (b) cotton, (c) cacao, (d) limes. 



(3) Write an essay (of about -500 words) on: 'The Value 

 of Road, Railway and Telephonic Communication in We>t 

 Indian Estate Management.' 



