National Agricultural Examination Board. 261 



Mensuration and Land Surveying. Mr. R. E. C. Burder, P.A.S.I. 



Old Regulations. 200 Marks. 

 The papers submitted in this subject maintained a fair average standard, but I do 

 not consider that any of them could be described as being in any way exceptionally 

 good. The style of the plans ^.nd sections was very much the same as last year, and 

 greater neatness and definition is still very desirable. 



F.\RM AND Estate Engineering. Mr. R. E. C. Burder, P.A.S.T. 



(Surveying and Farm Buildings) ; Mr. Arnokl G. Hansard, B.A., M.Inst.E.E. 



(Machinery and Implements). 



New Regulations, 300 Marks. 



The remarks made with reference to the papers in Mensuration and Land Surveying 

 apply equaVly to the Surveying portion of this examination. In the Building section 

 the candidates showed that they had been carefully instructed in the subject of land 

 drainage, but in many cases tlieir answers indicated that they had failed to consider 

 sufficiently the exact conditions laid down in the question. The candidates appeared 

 to possess "a very fair knowledge of plan drawing and of the dimensions required for 

 the different descriptions of buildings, l)ut they were ill prepared on the subject of cost 

 and values, the answers given to the second portion of question 6 being very poor 

 indeed 



The Machinery and Implements portion of the paper was only fairly well done 

 by about half the candidates, the remainder would not have passed on this portion 

 alone ; there were only three or four really good sets of answers. Both the written 

 and oral examinations showed that in many cases students taking this paper had 

 had hardly any opportunity of obtaining practical acquaintance with the vi'orking 

 and construction of simple engines and the commoner agricultural implements. 



General Chemistry. Dr. H. B. Baker, F.R.S. 



Old Regulations, 200 Marks. 



The percentage of failures was rather higher this year than last. This is probably 

 to be accounted for by many candidates who were not quite ready for the examination 

 going in for the last examination of its kind. Some of the work was excellent and 

 quite up to the standard of last year. I was more than ever convinced of the great 

 value of the oral examination. 



Geology. Dr. J. E. Marr, M.A., F.R.S., P.G.S. 



Old Regulations, 100 Marks. 



The answers of the candidates for the National Diploma in Agriculture who took 

 Geology were moderate. There were few who had not at least a fair acquaintance 

 with the principles of the subject, but no one shewed marked ability. 



Agricultural Zoology. Prof. J. Arthur Thomson, M.A. 



Old Regulations (Part I.), 100 Marks. New Regulations. 200 Marks. 



The candidates who entered under the neir regulations showed a higher average 

 than on any occasion during the past twelve years. In most cases there was clear 

 evidence of familiarity with actual specimens and their practical importance. Some of 

 the candidates who entered under the old regulations did equally good work. In 

 almost every case the insect supplied was correctly classified and the specimen 

 supplied rightly identified. Very few candidates attempted to deal with the micro- 

 scopic preparations. The question which was most frequently answered in an unsatis- 

 factory way was the very conventional one, asking a statement of the general characters 

 of Dipterous Insects. 



Practical Agriculture. Mr. T. A. Dickson, Mr. John Gilchrist, F.S.I. , 



and ProfesEor W. McCracken. 



Old Regulations (Part II.), 500 Marks. 



xr^„. w^.,.,i,+;^„ / First Paper, 300 Marks. 

 New Regulations | Second Paper, 300 Marks. 



The work of those who attained or approached the Honours s-tandard was excel- 

 lent. The standard of the rank and file was, however, susceptible of improvement, 

 and we look forward with confidence to greater proficiency as the result of the 

 alterations in the regulations under which future examinations will be held. 



A number of candidates were not well informed as to the principles ui)on which 

 rotations of crops are based, nor were the reasons for particular rotations generally 

 understood. 



Questions relating to farm drainage were not very well answered, owing, appar- 

 ently, to the fact that many candidates had never seen drainage operations actually 

 carried out. 



