808 Journal of the Departmknt op Aortculttjre. 



AT THE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND 

 EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



April, 1920. 



CEDARA, NATAL. 



Climatic. — The raintall ioi- the niontli (up to and including the 23rd inst.) 

 was 1.37 inches. The mean maximum temperature was 71.2° F., and the mean 

 minimum 52.08°. The days were mostly bright and warm with cool nights. 



Crops. — The maize for grain has produced good cobs and the crop promises 

 to be quite up to the average. Ensilage maize is now being cut and placed in 

 silos. The cow-pea crop was badly affected with leaf rust and very few pods 

 were formed. The crop was cut for ensilage. The turnips, rape, and kale have 

 all very good stands and promise heavy yields. 



Field Experiments. — The linseed planted in January has produced a heavy 

 yield of seed, but the stalks are very short. Bimlipatam Jute, also planted in 

 January, has made very poor growth, the stalks not exceeding an average height 

 of 2 feet. The experimental maize plots are looking very well and a heavy yield 

 is expected. 



Stock. — The condition of the stock is good and the veld is still in good 

 grazing condition. One Aberdeen-Angus heifer calf was born during the month. 

 The nine Aberdeen-Angus cattle shown at the Witwatersrand Show secured eleven 

 prizes, including the Dunne Challenge Cup, one reserve champion, and three 



firsts. 



Orchard. — The autum ])loughing and turning in of the cover crop is now 

 demanding attention. Citrus fruits are now beginning to ripen and manured 

 trees show a marked increase in the size of the fruit. 



Chemical Laboratory. — Activities during the month were mostly confined 

 to the investigations commenced in the previous mouth, viz., (1) on the composi- 

 tion and tanning properties of wattle bark^ and (2) the composition and nutritive; 

 value of indigenous grasses. 



.Ipiculture. — Two discovei-ies of great interest to l)ee-keepers were mad*; 

 during the month. First, it was found that the Isle of Wight disease, due to a 

 parasite known as Nosema Apis, is present here in South Africa. Hitherto it 

 ^^■as thought that European Foulbrood was the only serioiis bee disease in 

 this country, but Isle of Wight disease has been found at Cedara and in some 

 neighbouring apiaries during the month. This disease must have I)een present 

 for some years past, but it has never l)een noticed before. 



The second discovery is of a parasite fly, about the size of a house-fly, which 

 enters the hives with impunity and parasitises adult worker bees. The maggot 

 of this fly lives as a parasite in the abdomen of the bee and eventually kills it, 

 the maggot then leaving the dead I)ody of its victim and burying itself in the 

 ground and changing into a chrysalis, which eventually gives rise to the adult 

 fly. It is impo.ssible to estimate the ravages of this pest as numbers of the 

 parasitised bees must die out in the field. Both these pests are being made the 

 subject of further studies. 



Students. — There are sixty-four students in residence to date. Three are 

 at present taking a special course at Winklespruit. 



