Vol. X. No. 244, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS, 



285 



STUDENTS' CORNER. 



SEPTE.MBER. 



F1K8T Period. 



Seasonal Notes. 



Discuss the ways in which soils are foiiiied from rocks, 

 and make observations on the soils and the underlying rocks 

 in a district with which you are familiar. A useful manner 

 of obtaining knowledge of the subject, at first hand, is to 

 examine areas of soil in different situations, and to com- 

 pare the soil in each case with the rock on which it is 

 lying. If this is done in a district where the rock beneath 

 the soil shows distinct variations in character, or where the 

 ground is sloping or hilly it will often be made evident 

 that the soil is not always derived from the rock under- 

 lying it, but that it has been carried from the places where it 

 was formed originally, or that it has been made from material 

 that has been transported in a similar manner. Give an 

 account of the ways in which soils and soil-making materials 

 are carried from one place to another. It sometimes happens 

 that such removal of materials causes a soil to be formed 

 from rocks of more than one kind. Of what advantage may 

 this circumstance be to the plants growing in a soil having 

 an origin of this sort^ How do you account for the fact 

 that .soils may be found which contain stones of a fairly 

 large size? 



Make a review of the ways in which the pollination of 

 flowers takes place. Distinguish carefully between pollination 

 and fertilization, and mention any ways in which steps are 

 taken to increase the amount of natural fertilization, in 

 relation to a given crop, in order that a greater number of 

 fruits may be obtained eventually. State, in general terms, 

 what happens to a pollen grain when it reaches the stigma of 

 a flower of the same kind as that from which it originated, 

 under conditions favourable to the accomplishment of the 

 purpose for which it was intended. Describe carefully an 

 experiment by which it may be shown that pollination is 

 necessary for the formation of fruit, with seeds. Mention 

 any direct commercial uses to which flowers are put. 



The most obvious directing influence that has effect in 

 deciding what kinds of plants may grow in a district or coun- 

 try is that of climate. Illustrate, in a general way, the man- 

 ner in which climate decides what type of vegetation shall 

 flourish in the different regions of the earth. What is meant 

 by the acclimatization of plants, and in what ways is this 

 most usually effected ! Of what use is such acclimatization 

 to the agriculturist! A certain district, or country, is noted 

 on account of its ability to produce some special agricultural 

 product in a superior form. Discuss the economic effect of 

 the successful introduction on a large scale, into another 

 country, of the plant from which this product is obtained, 

 and state the nature of the observations and precautions that 

 ■will have to be made and taken, in the country of its adop- 

 tion. In dealing with questions of this kind, it must be 

 remembered that the increased production of a given article 

 leads to the lowering of its market price and to the finding 

 of a larger number of uses for it, and that the cultivation of 

 a plant on an increased scale, through its introduction into 

 new countries, often necessitates the greatest care for the pre- 

 vention of its destruction by pests and diseases, in those 

 countries. 



From year to year, to the agriculturist in any given 

 district, the changes of sea.son are a more important matter 

 than the circumstances of the general climate. In the tropics, 

 differences in the amount of rainfall at the various periods 

 of the year form the most powerful cause operating in regard 

 to the changes undergone by plant life during its course. 

 Under continental conditions— that is in the case of countries 

 surrounded l.>y, or situated on the borders of, large areas of 

 land— the changes in tlie course of the different years usually 

 take place with more or less regularity, and this is often true 

 of islands, particularly where there are high hills. In other 

 circumstances, however, the rainfall varies greatly in different 

 years and in different seasons ; that is to say, the agriculturist 

 faced by .such circumstances is never sure as to the adequacy 

 of the rainfall for the coming year, or of the way in which 

 this will be distributed throughout that period. Instances 

 of such conditions may be derived from experience in the 

 West Indies, and it will be useful to discuss the matter from 

 the point of view of the diversification of agriculture, of the 

 use of manures, and of the rotation of crops. 



Questions for Candidates. 



PRELIMINAUY QOESTIONS. 



(1) Give, with diagrams, an account of the structure of 

 any flower that is pollinated by insects. 



(2) How are plants enabled to make use of the water 

 which falls upon the .soil and passes into it ? 



(3) Distinguish between climate, season and weather. 



INTERMEDIATE QUESTIONS. 



(1) Write an account of the changes in the life-history 

 of any given plant throughout the year. 



(2) Compare the floral organs of roaize with those of 

 the cocoa-nut palm. 



(3) State in what ways a soil may derive its properties 

 from the rock from which it was formed. 



FINAL QUESTIONS. 



(1) Show how the agricultural operations throughout the 

 year, in your district, are related to the changes of season. 



(2) Give a method of classifying soils, and state the 

 name, in the case of each difl'erent kind, of one plant or group 

 of plants at least that is particularly suited to it. 



(3) What are the methods most commonly in use for 

 obtaining new markets for an agricultural product, and 

 increasing its consumption ? 



A New Fibre Pla.nt.—I)er Ptfanzer for April 1911 

 gives a note on a new fibre plant which has been found in 

 German East Africa. This bears a fruit composed of two 

 elongated follicles, like that of Funtumia, but shorter and 

 thicker, and containing seeds with fine, silky hairs. The plant 

 bearing the fruit is a liane, and is determined as Chlorocodon 

 Whiteu. Samples of the seed-hairs were sent for examination 

 to the Aktien-Spinnerei, at Chemnitz, and at the same time 

 seeds were .sown for the purpose of obtaining information as 

 to the rate of growth and yield of the plant. It has since 

 been reported from Chemnitz that the fibre is very valuable, 

 and that a larger sample of it was required. 



It remains to be ascertained if the plant can be 

 cultivated profitably. Seeds sown at Amani, German East 

 Africa, for trial, have germinated successfully, and it is 

 recommended that experiments with the plant should be 

 made in other places. 



