Vol. X. No. 231. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



75 



care being taken that the cut is low enough, so that the 

 larva is not left behind in the base of the plant. 



The question has recently been raised in Barbados as to 

 whether the cutting out of dead hearts is a beneficial practice. 

 It is argued that the cut surface afibrds an additional area for 

 infection by fungi, and that the injury from this source is 

 greater than from the action of the borers, and their increase 

 in numbers for the ne.xt generation. This is a point that 

 should be carefully experimented upon by planters themselves. 



The egg-laying season is now at hand. Either the eggs 

 deposited on the mature canes, or the larvae hatching 

 from them, will be disposed of in the process of reaping; those 

 on the young canes are in a position to be collected, and if 

 this is not done the larvae will cause the death of many plants 

 during the next few months. 



HALF-YEARLY EXAMINATION OF 



AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. 



The following are the general reports of the 

 examiner (Mr. F. W. South, B.A.) on the recent half- 

 yearly examination of the pupils at the Agricultural 

 Schools in Dominica, St. Vincent and St. Lucia: — 



DOMINICA AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 



Ten boys sat for this examination, all of whom were in 

 the junior class. The average percentage of marks olstained 

 was 523. This shows considerable falling off, as compared 

 with that obtained by the juniors in the last examination. 

 Poponne was the best, but G. T. Cuffy and Antoine also did 

 satisfactorily. 



The handwriting throughout was poor, and the diagrams 

 very weak. English Grammar and Spelling still show great 

 weakness, and ha\e always been some of the chief difficulties 

 with which the pupils have had to contend. The Chemistry 

 was fairly satisfactory, but the other subjects were only 

 moderate, and the Arithmetic and Geography were especially 

 poor. 



ST. VINCENT AGRICULTURAL SIHOOL. 



Eighteen boys sat for this examination. Three were 

 .seniors, twelve juniors, and three new boys. The average 

 percentages of marks obtained were as follows: seniors 748, 

 juniors 57'5, new boys 736. In the case of the seniors, this 

 average is almost identical with that obtained at the last 

 examination. There is a slight decrease in the average 

 .)!tiained by the juniors, and a marked increase in that 

 obtained by the new boys, as compared with the correspond- 

 i.g results given by last year's examination. The work of 

 the seniors was again good, Eloris Simmons being the best. 

 Of the juniors. Otto and James Haynes were best, but were 

 closely followed by Doddridge Davis and .Joseph Bradshaw; 

 the marks obtained by these boys were much the same as 

 those recorded for the previous examinatiDn. On the other 

 hand, Bertram Derrick and Claude Hazell, two of the three 

 boys promoted at the commencement of the half-year, together 

 with Joseph Robinson, obtained marks which were distinctly 

 below the average. These boys require careful attention. 

 Of the new boys, Julian McConnie was the best, but the work 

 of all three was distinctly promising. 



J, The Botany, Arithmetic and Composition of the seniois 

 were good. Spelling and English Grammar were not so good 

 as has usually been the case in recent examinations. The 

 answers in Chemistry and Agriculture in this class were 

 somewhat disappointing. The Arithmetic of the juniors 

 requires some attention; the answers in this subject were not 

 as good as on former occasions. Botany and Agriculture 



were also somewhat disappointing in this class. The three 

 new boys sent in papers in Qjctation and Geography which 

 showed a very marked improveAi>*nt on those submitted when 

 they were probationers. The other subjects in this class were 

 also satisfactory. The handwriting, general neatness, and 

 tidy appearance of the papers were highly commendable 

 throughout. 



On the whole, the results of this examination are satis- 

 factory, and it is clear that the pupils continue to receive 

 very careful attention. 



.ST. LUCIA AGRICULTURAL .•<CHO0L. 



Eight boys sat f6t"t'liis examination. Of these seven 

 were seniors, and there was one junior. The average per- 

 centages of marks obtained were as follows: seniors 65' 8, 

 junior 53'8. These results are fairly satisfactory on the 

 whole, though the junior boy was rather weak. Auguste did 

 very well throughout, and Moise also sent in some good 

 papers. 



Dictation requires careful attention, as it appears to be 

 much weaker than it has been previously. Attention should 

 still be paid to Arithmetic, as there is no marked improve- 

 ment in the papers on this subject, as compared with those 

 of the previous examination. English Grammar is also open 

 to improvement. The general appearance of the papers was 

 neat and tidy, and the handwriting good throughout. 



On the whole, the results obtained were fairly satis- 

 factory, though somewhat variable. The pupils appear to 

 have received careful instruction 



TEPHROSIA PURPUREA AS 

 A GREEN MANURE. 



Seeds of Tephrosia pv,rpurea have been obtained by the 

 Department, through the courtesy of the Director of the 

 Botanic Gardens, Buitenzorg, .Java, and have been distribut- 

 ed for trial at the different Botanic and Experiment 

 Stations. 



Articles on this plant, describing its use for keeping 

 down weeds, appeared in the Agricultural News, Vols. ^'I1I, 

 p, 405; IX, p. 281. Recently, information concerning its use 

 as a green manure has been given in Progress Report No. L, 

 of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, together with details (if 

 the analysis of the plant, by the Government Agricultural 

 Chemist, some of which are reproduced here for the purpose 

 of comparison with the similar facts for other green manures. 



The percentage loss on drying in the sun was found to be 

 64-61 for the twigs, leaves and pods, and 44-89 for the roots. 

 Further details for the sun-dried samples were found to be 

 as follows, in percentages : — 



Twigs, leaves Roots, 



and pods. 

 Moisture 17 50 12 50 



Organic matter 78-85 84*75 



Nitrogen in organic matter 2"24 0-84 



Ash 365 275 



The analysis of the ash of the whole plant gave the 

 following figures, expressed as percentages: lime, 28 00; 

 magnesia 14-40; potash, 11-96; phosphoric acid, 16-00. 



Finally, details in regard to the analysis of the leaves 

 and twigs are as follows, in percentages as before: — 



Leaves. Twigs. Leaves 



and twigs. 

 Moisture 7-00 600 657 



Nitrogen 3-47 1-76 2-75 



Nitrogen on \ „_„ , „_ 



dried sample/ ^ '"^ ^ "' 



2-94 



