132 



address of the President was delivered by J. A. Craig-. Papers were 

 presented on the following topics : The Mineral Exhaustion of Soils, 

 by A. E. Shuttleworth; Barns for Ontario, by J. B. Bowes ; The Scien- 

 tific Principles Underlying the Making and Feeding of Corn Silage, by 

 C. C. James ; Chemistry of Dairy Products, by A. E. Kennie ; Corn 

 and Hogs as Source of Profit in Farming, by B. Robinson ; The Far- 

 mer's Son before and after a Course at College, by J. B. Muir ; The 

 Need and Uses of Experimental Work in Dairying, by J. W. Robertson ; 

 Barley Growing in Ontario, by T. G. Raynor. 



Determination of fat in milk, C. C. James {Ontario Agr, College 

 Expt. Sta. Bui. }\o. 01, April 15, 1891, pp. (J) — This is a description of 

 the Babcock centrifugal method of determining the percentage of fat 

 in milk, together with a report on the accuracy of the results obtained 

 from this method. In four comparisons with gravimetric methods, the 

 widest variation was 0.11 i)er cent. A test of milk while fresh and 

 after standing until very sour gave the same results (3.6 per cent) of 

 fat. "If the bottles are accurately graduated and the instructions fol- 

 lowed, I consider the method exceedingly satisfactory.*' Illustrative 

 of the use which may be made of the method, the average composition 

 for one week of the milk of each of six cows used in a feeding exj)eri- 

 ment, is appended. 



The author suggests a modification of the method by adding 3 c. c. of 

 a mixture of amyl alcohol and hydrochloric acid at the time the sul- 

 phuric acid is added, and whirling the bottles at ordinary temperature, 

 instead of tilling the water jacket with hot water. This change makes 

 the method practically the same as the Verniont Station method, as he 

 uses in some cases the Beimling centrifugal. 



Bark louse and pear tree slug, J. H. Panton [Ontario Agr. Col- 

 lege Expt. Sta. liul. No. (JJ, April L'3, LSIH, pp. 7, Jigs. U). — Brief notes on 

 the oyster-shell bark louse {Mgtilaspis jwmorum) and pear tree slug 

 {Selandria cerasi), with suggestions as to remedies. 



Pitting the sugar beet, C. C. James (Ontario Agr. College Expt. iSta. 

 Bui. Xo. »>3, Mai/ \'>. \S[i\, pp. S). — l^ils includes brief general statements 

 regarding the preservation of sugar beets in winter, a description of 

 the earth pits or silos used in Europe for the storage of beets, and short 

 records of ex|)erinients at the station in storing beets in a similar pit. 

 The sugar beets grown at the station in 1890 were stored in a pit from 

 harvest until March IJ, 1891. " Shortly afterwards the beets were fed 

 to the stock. In general appearance the beets seemed about the same 

 as when first intted, except that sprouting had taken place in some." 

 The analyses of 12 sauiples from the pit gave an average of 12.54 })er 

 cent of sugar in the juice with a purity coefficient of 82.20, as compared 

 with an average of 14.77 per cent of sugar and a purity coefficient of 

 81.97 for 53 sajni)les analyzed soon after harvesting. 



Allowinjj for any errors in sampling, we can safely conclnde that the beets lost 

 about "2 per cent of sugar in the silo ; that the coefficient of purity, btowever, 



