Departmental Activities. ' 207 



of tlie leaves, and it is almost impossible for the layman to distinguisli 

 between them. However, Helmintliosporiuin turcinum may be recog- 

 nized by the presence of fiinyus tlireads in the tissues and typical 5-8 

 septate, olive-coloured sjiores on the surface of the g-rass, and the 

 bacterial disease by the presence of bacteria in the veins of the leaves. 



The injury caused by the bacterial disease is usually of a serious 

 nature, but that caused l)y //. fii rein/inn varies with the prevailing' 

 climatic conditions. Under conditions such as prevail in parts of 

 Natal, where there are heavy mists, etc., the disease may destroy the 

 entire crop, as in the case of the bacterial disease, but under drier 

 conditions the loss may be negligible. 



No remedy is known for these diseases. Spraying might be 

 effective in the case of the fungus trouble, but it is not practicable. 

 Control measures in both cases will probably consist in crop rotation, 

 selection, and breeding of immune varieties. 



The Mexican Poppy (Argemone mea-icana). — Some interesting 

 work has been done recently with the seeds of this plant, and its 

 properties as a possible drug-plant and oil-producer have been investi- 

 gated. Full details of the results of these tests will be published in 

 a later number of the Journal. 



SHEEP. 



Preparation of the Dip, — Farmers should note that where an 

 inspector has to prepare the dip from lime and sulphur supplied by 

 the owner, the following utensils must be supplied : One 25-gallon 

 pot for boiling lime and sulphur, receptacle for mixing ingredients, 

 a fine sieve, 2 buckets or paraffin tins, 2 dipping forks, scale for 

 weighing and a has- for straining of dij). 



An authorized dip is lime and sulphur, which should be prepared 

 as follows : Put 20 lb. of slaked lime or 15 lb. of unslaked lime in 

 a bath and mix thoroughly with 25 lb. finely ground sulphur. Add 

 enough water to make a thick paste. Throw the mixture into a pot 

 containing 10-25 gallons of boiliiig water, and let this boil for about 

 40 minutes until a deep orange or dark purple colour is obtained. 

 If the correct colour is not obtained, the lime is of an inferior quality 

 and more lime should be added and the boiling continued until the 

 requisite colour is obtained. If more than 30 lb. of unslaked lime 

 or 40 lb. of slaked lime is required to make a dip of full strength, 

 the dip must be discarded and other lime procured. When the dip 

 has been thoroughly boiled and the correct colour obtained, the liquid 

 should be strained through a hag. To every 10 or 25 gallons of dip 

 prepared in the above manner 90 or 75 gallons of clear water should 

 be added to bring the mixture up to 100 gallons for every 25 lb. of 

 sulphur used. By Government JSTotice No. 1034 of 1921 there was 

 added to the definition of "authorized dip" any manufactured 

 lime and sulphur dip, provided it is guaranteed as non-injurious to 

 sheep and wool and is sold under such guarantee of composition 

 that when diluted ready for use the tank fluid shall contain not less 

 than 1.5 per cent, of polysulphide sulphur. The following pro- 

 prietary dips comply with the above regulation: — Capex, Champion, 

 and McDougall's lime and sulphur dip. 



