310 JOUENAL OF THE DkI'AKTMKNT OF AtiRICULTrRE. OcT., 1922. 



It is very advisable to attend the Short Course in wine-making 

 at Elsenbnrg^ which is hekl dnring the summer months every year. 

 The course generally hegins on the first Monday after Xew Year's 

 day, and lasts for a Aveek. 



CHEMISTRY. 



Organization of the Division. — Tlie Division of Chemistry as 

 organized at present is composed of seven laboratories, one each at 

 Ca'^petowii, Pretoria, and the five Schools of Agriculture. The Chief 

 is stationed at Capetown, and the next two senior officers are at Pre- 

 toria and the Grootfontein School of Agriculture, Middelburg, Cape. 

 These three officers are thus situated most conveniently to the 

 populous agricultural areas of the Union, while in addition the five 

 school laboratories are so distributed as to bring most parts of the 

 country within easy reach of one or other of the agricultural chemists. 

 The control and guidance of agricultural chemical research is vested 

 ill the Chief of the Division, to assist whom the services of the chemists 

 at the schools are utilized to the fullest extent possible. Thus, with 

 the greatest benefit to those teaching agricultural chemistry at the 

 schools of agriculture, that research is exj)ected to be inspired and 

 co-ordinated by the Chief of the Division. At the same time the 

 chemists at the schools have every opportunity for initiating and 

 wide freedom in carrying out research so as to afford full scope for 

 individuality. 



Each of the seven laboratories is sunplied periodically by the 

 Chief of the Division with a list of all agricultural chemical research 

 work at the other laboratories, and is also advised of their progress. 

 Throughout the course of the work it is the function of the Chief of 

 the Division to act in a directive capacity in consultation with the 

 inincipal of the school concerned as to the lines of chemical research 

 lo be carried out. When a definite stage of i)rogress is reached, or 

 when any special phase of investigation is completed, the chemist 

 who has conducted it furnishes a report to the Chief of the Division. 

 It may be stated that as many as twenty-six items of chemical in- 

 vestigation have been more or less completely studied and reported 

 upon, while fifty-three items are still receiving attention, a heavy 

 volume of work, and if even the bare majority leads to definite conclu- 

 sions, it will be a very notable advance. In addition to this work, 

 which may be termed the indoor side of the Department's agi'icul- 

 hiral chemical research, there is also the fieldwork in the form of 

 field and other experiments in which the chemist plays an imixtrtant 

 part and Avhich covers a wide range. 



One branch of Avork mav be specially referred to, and that is the 

 .igric-ultural soil sui'vey. It is under the direction of the senior 

 (diemist of the division stationed at Grootfontein Avho. in consultation 

 with the Chief, will develop the scheme of operations. In S(mth 

 Africa there hav(> been large niimbers of soil analyses, both chemical 

 and mechanical, but for the most part these have been isolated units 

 without any of the ctdierence that a systematically conducted survey 

 affoi'ds. Necessarily vsome time must, under the most favourable 

 circumstances, elapse m getting a systematic soil survey into swing, 

 and while the initiation of the work is at present somewhat hampered, 

 a commencement has already been made. 



