National Agricultural Examination Board. 



On the whole the practical knowledge obtained by the 

 candidates on dairy and other farms was quite satisfactory. 

 A weak point, however, was that some of the candidates, who 

 had gained most of their practical experience on college farms, 

 were not able to deal efficiently with problems arising on 

 ordinary commercial farms. This criticism applies to a few of 

 the candidates at the English Centre, and not to the candidates 

 at the Scottish Centre, where on the whole their practical 

 training was of a most satisfactory character. 



The work again indicated that careful instruction is being 

 given in General Dairying and Practical Butter-making at the 

 different teaching centres, and that those centres are in close 

 touch with the practical dairy farming problems arising in 

 their districts. The advisory work at these centres, undertaken 

 for the Board of Agriculture, has evidently had an excellent 

 influence in this direction. 



There Avas a distinct improvement in the evidence given by 

 the candidates of capacity to impart instruction, in some cases 

 this being of a most satisfactory character. 



7. Mr. John Benson states that in his section the work of 

 most of the candidates was very good. In Practical Cheese- 

 making he had never had such good results. On two or three 

 days of the examination many of the candidates had to deal 

 with milk which was very ripe and forward in condition, but 

 in making this into cheese they exhibited much skill, and 

 obtained excellent results with milk which was certainly not 

 easy to deal with. The blue-moulded and soft cheeses were 

 this year better than usual, and especially the Wensleydale 

 cheeses, which are at the best really difficult to make. 



In the manufacture of Cheshire cheeses — though to a less 

 extent than last year — candidates were not quite so successful 

 as with other varieties. There was a tendency to develop too 

 much acidity in the earlier stages, and, in consequence, a 

 cheese possessing too close a texture was obtained. 



The Examiner remarks that those candidates who had spent 

 a considerable period on independent dairy farms were much 

 the best in practical work. They handled the milk and curd 

 more expertly and exhibited more confidence when dealing 

 with milk which was a little over-ripe. 



In the theory of dairying the results of the Examination, 

 both written and oral, were good, and, on the whole, better 

 than in recent years, though there is still room for improve- 

 ment. The answers given by some candidates, though correct, 

 were too long and wordy, while the writing was hurried and 

 indifferent, and difficult to read. 



A number of the candidates, though somewhat weak in 

 the written answers to questions, improved their position in the 



