Departmental Activities. 209 



rather contradictory. It will therefore be useful to record here the 

 results of some experiments on sheep by G. Giintyer and 0. von 

 Czadek carried out some three years ago at the Veterinary College and 

 Agricultural-chemical Experiment Station, Vienna.* 



Poisoning had occurred in Carinthia amongst a flock of sheep 

 grazing on a meadow which had shortly before been manured with 

 basic slag, kainit, and nitrate of soda, and it was in consequence of 

 this that the experiments were undertaken. Each sheep was given 

 100 grammes (3| oz.) of a certain fertilizer in its rations daily with 

 the following results : — 



In the case of basic slag, two experiments out of three resulted 

 fatally. When superphosphate was given, death occurred in one 

 experiment after eight, and in another after eleven, days. It was 

 concluded, therefore, that precautions should be taken in regard to 

 land manured with superphosphate, and that basic slag cannot be 

 considered harmless, although in practice it may be found less 

 poisonous than the experiment showed, as it is not spread thickly 

 enough to enable animals to take up such a large amount as was fed 

 to them. 



Kainit was found poisonous if fed in the proportion of 3 to 4 

 grammes per 1000 grammes of live weight. It caused intestinal 

 inflammation and diarrhoea, a relatively small amount sometimes 

 producing fatal results, while a much larger quantity failed to bring 

 about serious disturbances, being evacuated before absorption can take 

 place. Sulphate of ammonia caused death in a few hours if taken in 

 the proportion of about 4 grammes per 1000 of live weight, and in 

 several days when taken in smaller proportion. Sodium nitrate was 

 followed by fatal results when given in the ratio of 1^ to 2 grammes 

 par 1000 grammes of live weight, subject to the conditions mentioned 

 in connection with kainit. Potassium nitrate was even more poisonous, 

 causing death when taken by a sheep in the proportion of from 

 f gramme to 1| gramme per 1000 grammes of live weight, and in 

 nearly every case brought about death within twenty-four hours. 



THE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND EXPERIMENT 



STATIONS. 



GROOTFONTEIN, MIDDELBURG (CAPE). 



Irrigation Experiments. — The construction and laying out of the 

 block of 260 plots to be used for irrigation experiments was completed 

 towards the end of May. These are the only plots of their kind in 

 the country, and it is felt that the money expended will be more than 

 justified by the results to be obtained. 



A main furrow (Plate I) supplies thirteen laterals (Plate II), each 

 of the latter in turn irrigating a series of twenty beds, with a 7-foot 

 space between the series. A 4-inch pipe through the wall of the lateral 

 is the means by which water is led on to each bed (Plate III). The 

 plots have each an area of l-80th acre, their dimensions being 33 ft. 

 X 16| ft. 



* Cnramunicatei bv them to the ZeHsohrift fur da^ LandiolHschartliche Versuchmesen 

 ill Dmtschdsterreich (Vol. 22, pts. 3 and 4, pp. 69-82), abstracted in the Montkly BulMm of 

 Agr^ruUv.rp. IntMir/fncc and Plant. Dis^axe.i (December, 1919, p. 1167). 



