Departmental Activities. 405 



Five courses have been arranged of wliicli three have already 

 been held. During each course from 100 to 150 sheep were shorn 

 each day by the regular students at the School, who also received 

 instruction on the same lines as the farmers attending the special 

 course. 



It is the intention that these special courses should be confined 

 to farmers who have had considerable experience in sheep fanning, 

 and who can therefore readily assimilate the technical instruction, 

 and it is useless for those who have had little or no experience to 

 think ot attending them. hlach year a special course is held at 

 Grootfontein extending over a period of seven months, which _ is 

 devoted entirely to instruction in sheep and wool, and even this period 

 is barely long enough for equipping the prospective sheep farmer with 

 the necessary knowledge and experience, notwithstanding that each 

 student receives individual attention, and that it is a condition of 

 acceptance for this course that an applicant should have some know- 

 ledge and experience or sheep or wool. Furthermore, until a student 

 has assisted in the " get up " of some three or four clips, he cannot 

 be regaided as thoroughly proficient. 



Farmers who have attended the course now being held include 

 most of the leading sheep farmers in the two di.stricts concerned. 

 These courses have been of very material assistance to the membei's 

 of the two associations. The main achievement has been the 

 uniformity of classification of the wool, which should result from the 

 many association members who attended these courses^ while 

 the regulations framed by the associations should now be uniformly 

 interpreted by all members. 



The thanks of the school are due to Mr. J. van Eyneveld, of 

 Tafelberg Hall, who readily agreed to the whole of his flock and stud 

 sheep being shorn at the School for the benefit of the students, as the 

 school flock was not large euough \o maintain the full supply of 

 fleeces. 



POTCHEFSTROOM, TRANSVAAL. 



The Stacking of Cereals. — There are two kinds of stacks usually 

 made in .stacking wheat, etc. : the four-sided and the round. The 

 latter is chiefly found in the Western Province, while the former is 

 most commonly used in the eastern portions of the Orange Free 

 State, where the summer rain necessitates the making of stacks 

 capable of allowing the water to run off freely. As the Western 

 Transvaal is similarly situated, the four-sided stack is recommended. 

 The usual size for such a stack, holding about 10,000 bundles, is 8 

 yards by 4 yards. The most important points to be observed in 

 making it in our climate are: (1) Keep the centre well up; do not 

 allow your stack to become level or hollow in the centre, as, when 

 the stack settles, the butt ends of the straw will stand upwards, thus 

 enabling the rainwater to run " into " instead of " off '_' your stack. 

 (2; Do not fail to let your sheaves bind properly ; that is to say, the 

 sheaves of the inner rows must always overlap the outer, to prevent 

 slipping, which would probably cause your stack to fall. (3) See that 

 j^our bundles are well tied; this will ensure a good stack being made 

 (in addition to avoiding considerable annoyance) and save time and 

 money. 



