208 ' AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



vided that they obtain a certain standard of marks in all subjects 

 in the two years' course, and that their standard of ordinary 

 education is such as will be accepted by the University. Such a 

 college has all the necessary equipment for turning out a two- 

 year man. and also the necessary stafif. A comparatively small 

 number of men carry on to the four years" course, and the same 

 lecturers, laboratories, etc., are used for training those men that 

 specialise in certain subjects as in the general course prescribed 

 for the two-year students. The increased cost, if any, is incurred 

 only if the country calls for it by desiring advanced agricultural 

 education ; if the advanced education is not required, then the 

 State incurs no additional expenditure. It therefore seems ab- 

 solutely clear to me that the only way to train our future 

 teachers is to train them through the medium of colleges as 

 described above. These men would receive the full benefit of 

 the research work being carried out by the staff, and also would 

 receive a thorough practical training to start with, wdiich would 

 give them the connecting-link between science and practice, so 

 absolutely necessary in a comitry like ours, which is starting 

 from bed-rock. One or two of our present schools, if established 

 on the lines indicated, will give us all the trained lecturers and 

 men to be em])loyed on research work that are required, and 

 these men will have obtained their information by studying 

 South African ])roblems under South African conditions. If 

 such a plan were followed, the time would not be far distant 

 when South Africa \v<uild. witliout burdening itself with un- 

 necessary expenditure, be in a position equal to that of other 

 countries, and, if South African agriculture is to be established 

 on a lasting foundation, then it must be established, in my 

 opinion, on the basis described. 



Mars by Colour-Photography. — M. Tikhoff 



ha^; photographed Mars ihrough coloured screens, and describes, 

 in No. 42 of the MittciliiiKjcii dcr Xlkolai-Hanptstenra'artc cu 

 Pulkoiva some of the results obtained. The " continents '" ap- 

 pear verv bright on the " red "" ])hotogra])hs ; much more so, in 

 fact, than the south polar cap ; while on the " green " photo- 

 graphs the latter is most intense. The " seas " are dark on the 

 " red " plates, and greyish on the " green " photographs, the 

 " canals " resembling the " seas," and being best seen by means 

 of the " red " plates. It is concluded that the polar cap is not 

 •white, but greenish, and exhibits the optical properties of ice 

 rather than snow. 



Grape Seed Oil. — The oil obtained from the seeds of 

 the grape. >nnilar in type to that of the olive, has recently begun 

 to acquire commercial importance in Italy. The seeds contain 

 from 15 to 20 jier cent, of oil, and the latter is now being utilised 

 not onlv for lul)ricating and lighting ])ur])oses, but also for the 

 manufacture of soa]). iM-ance alone, it is estimated, could pro- 

 duce annually from 6h to 10 million gallons of grape seed oil. 



