500 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



AT THE SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND 

 EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



June, 1920. 



CEDARA, NATAL. 



Climatic. — From 29th May to 25th June (inclusive) the mean maximum 

 temperature has been 62.65° F., and the mean minimum temperature 39.33° F. 

 The highest maximum temper j-ture, 75° F. was registered on 4th June, and the 

 lowest minimum, 31° F. on 30th May. The total rainfall for the period was 

 .07 inches. The days were bright and sunny and the nights frosty. There 

 was a slight fall of snow on the hills on 23rd June. 



Crops. — The cow-peas have been cut and cured for hay. Turnips, Kale, and 

 Rape are now being cut and fed to dairy stock. During the month veld-hay 

 and potatoes were harvested and oats planted. 



Field Experiments. — The Kikuyu grass has been affected by the intense 

 frosts and has dried off considerably, but growth is still vigorous just below 

 the soil surface. In sheltered places the grass still retains its green colour. 

 Tall Fescue has resisted the frosts well, only the growing tops being affected. 

 The Cocksfoot has also been very little affected by the frosts and has retained 

 its green colour. The Napier fodder has not withstood the cold well and has 

 turned brown. Some new varieties of potatoes are being tried under winter 

 conditions. 



Chemical Laboratory. — A large number of samples were analysed in the 

 laboratory during the month, nearly half being tanning materials of various 

 kinds. A sample of ash from the spent bark was found to contain over 50 per 

 cent, carbonate of lime, nearly 3i per cent, phosphoric oxide, and 3 per cent, 

 potash, so that it has quite an appreciable manure value. A bark of an 

 indigenous tree was also analysed and found to contain 23 per cent, of tanning 

 matter. It seems that there is an unlimited supply of this bark, and the 

 sender is confident that extract could be manufactured from it at an appreciably 

 lower cost than from the black wattle. The colour, however, is deeper than that 

 of the wattle, although the objectionable red tint is not very prominent. Of 

 three dipping fluids analysed, two showed that a very large proportion of the 

 arsenite originally present had been oxidized to arsenate of soda, so that its 

 presence could not be detected by the isometer and other similar methods that 

 are often used by farmers for testing their dips. As the arsenate has been 

 proved to have practically half the scalding and insecticidal effect that the 

 arsenite of soda has, it is possible that grave errors often arise through trusting 

 solely to the isometer, and not having a proper chemical analysis periodically 

 made of the fluid in the tank, as a check on the isometer readings. 



Stock. — The stock are all in excellent condition. Three calves were born 

 during the month, one Friesland bull, one Shorthorn heifer, and one Aberdeen- 

 Angus heifer. Fourteen head of cattle were shown at the Royal Agricultural 

 Show, Pietermaritzburg, and these secured fourteen prizes, including a cham- 

 pionship and three specials. 



Stoch Sale. — The Annual Stock Sale was held at Cedara on 26th June, 

 when 37 cattle, 23 pigs, and 12 pens of poultry were sold, the total proceeds 

 of the sale being £4487. The prices on the whole were good, the poultry, for 

 example, being sold at an average of 30s. per bird. 



