Departmental Activities. SOT 



Leaf-curl {Tnphrina deformans, Fold. Tul.) is befi'iiining- to sliow 

 on peacli trees in some districts. Tliis disease can be detected as soon 

 as the leaf buds have pai'tly unfolded; the colour of the diseased 

 leaves is darker iliaii normal or they are distinctly reddisli and 

 become conspicuously arched and curled. As the leaves approach 

 maturity, the swollen distorted leaf surface becomes pale and finally 

 fi'reyish or mealy in appearance. Since infection only occurs in 

 the early spring', jireventive measures must be applied in the winter, 

 so that the fungfous spores may be killed before they germinate. 

 It is therefore too late to treat trees which are now showing- leaf-curl, 

 but such trees should be noted, and should be sprayed next winter, 

 or in the early spring- just before the opening- of the buds, with the 

 copper-sulphate solution recommended for the apple-cracking- disease. 

 From 90 to 95 per cent, of tlie infections can be pievented in this way. 



National Herbarium. — South-West Africa is a territory of special 

 interest to the botanist, but is poorly represented in the Herbarium, 

 partly owing- to the comparative inaccessibility of some of its districts. 

 A valuable set of specimens has recently been purchased from Dinter, 

 a well-known plant collector, who has been travelling- in South-West 

 Africa, and these will be a welcome addition to tlie National 

 Herbarium. 



It is important that the identity of our forest trees should be 

 established before any exact record can be ke])t of their growth and 

 economic value. The indig'enous forests of the [Jiiion have still many 

 trees which are unknown to science, and recently tAvo specimens sub- 

 mitted by the Forest Department proved to be an undescribed species 

 of T'JomaTnn)! . 



DAIRYING. 



Proposed New Milk Record Scheme. — A new general scheme for 

 testing- cows in the Union, embracing both pure-bred and grade 

 animals, is under the consideration of the Department and is also being- 

 discussed by the various Pure Breed Societies, as well as Dairyman's 

 Associations. The adoption of this scheme should prove of immense 

 value to the dairy industry of the Union, as the farmer who owns 

 grade cattle will be in a position to have his herd regularly tested at 

 a reasonable figure, and will thus be able to eliminate the " robber " 

 cows from his herd, and only breed from those which show a fairly 

 decent return for the labour expended on them during their lactation 

 period. This weeding out process is highly essential, as farmers 

 continue to breed year in and year out from " ]obl)er " cows which 

 do not pay for their keep, and the progeny of such cows instead of 

 sliowing- improvement, do just the reverse. It is considered that by 

 widening the scope of the existing Milk Recording scheme and en- 

 couraging a far larger number of breeders to enter more animals for 

 the test, eventually a scheme of this nature will, from a financial 

 point of view, be carried out more economically, than is the case at 

 tlic ]»rcsent time. 



