Schools of Agricultube and Experiment Stations. 103 



Field Operations. — Owing to the continued drought field operations were 

 confined entirely to the irrigable lands. Irrigation of lucerne has been con- 

 tinued; teff, oats, and mealies have been seeded, and mangels planted. 



Crops.- — These are all very backward. , 



Live Stock. — The veld is only just carrying on the stock. All the camps are 

 stocked so that very little change of grazing can be given to the animals. Oats, 

 mealies, and bran are being fed to mares, and foals at grass. The condition of 

 the stock is being fairly well maintained ; the great difficulty will be a few months 

 ahead unless very good rains soon arrive. There is very little grazing beyond 

 the bush ; grass has made no growth whatever. A South Devon bull was cah'ed 

 during the month, weighing 137 lb. A young Lincoln red bull, Nelsrust Governor 

 McCallum, has been purchased from Nelsrust and is in use in the herd. Mr. 

 Southey's Wanganella ram. Pride 2nd, has been hired for six weeks for the 

 Wangenella Stud Flock. 



Staff. — Several staff changes are taking place this month, Mr. Lewis, .stock- 

 man ; Mr. Van der Walt, shepherd; and Mr. Potgieter, B.Sc, experimentalist, 

 are resigning. The new appointments made are Mr. Forsyth, stockman; Mr. 

 Watermeyer, shepherd ; Mr. Joubert Cilliers, lecturer in engineering. 



Febrxj.\ry, 1920. 



Crops. — The rainfall for the month was 4.86 inches. Although it was too 

 late for ordinary summer crops, maize for ensilage, teff and rye were planted 

 and sown immediately it rained. As warm weather with occasional showers con- 

 tinued throughout the month crops and veld made rapid growth. 



The prospects of wintering of stock on the veld are very promising. Great 

 difficulty will, however, be experienced to obtain the required quantity of bulk 

 feed for the winter. 



Live Stock.— Although no direct losses have occurred through poverty, 

 several deaths have taken place, indirectly due to the prolonged drought. 



School. — It is expected that the one year returned soldier students will be 

 in residence early next month, as the building is nearing completion. 



Eqiiipment .— Several buildings are in the course of erection, namely, dairy 

 and three staff houses. 



Considerable improvement has been made at the poultry plant. Several 

 big runs were sub-divided and twelve houses were made. 



GROOTFONTEIN, MIDDELBURG, CAPE. 



January and February, 1920. 



Diploma Course Students. — The institution opened on the 26th January with 

 33 senior students and 37 junior students; total 70. This is the full complement. 



Returned Soldiers' Course. — This course reopened on the 10th January, after 

 a fortnight's break, with a full complement of 22 men. The work carried out by 

 these returned soldier students, and their attention to their work, has been 

 excellent. 



Farm Section. — During the month of January owing to the unparalleled 

 •drought, practically all work at Grootfontein, as well as in the surrounding area, 

 came to a .standstill, every effort being made to keep the stock in good condition. 

 On the 28th Jajiuary rain started to fall, and on the 30th the drought broke and 

 1.34 inches was registered for the month. During February the rains continued, 

 and over 6 inches has been registered for Febriiary. This permitted of farming 

 operations going ahead. Forty acres of teff were sown, the same area of 

 millet ; 20 acres laid down to Kikuyu grass, and ploughing is being continued 

 every day for the purpose of putting in oats and other winter cereals for 

 winter grazing and for next year's fodder crops. It is intended to use the 

 millet for silage. It is expected to reap 100 tons of lucerne at about the end of 

 February or early in March. 



Experimental Section. — Some splendid results were secured in this section, 

 especially with regard to wheat selections and hybrids, and Mr. Donkin, the 

 experimentalist in charge, is preparing reports on this work for publication at 

 the earliest possible date. The experiments with Kikuyu grass and Soudan 

 grass, etc., have also proved very successful. 



