THE AQttlCV LTVUAL JOURNAL 



771) 



(2) Define the meaning of organic mat- 

 ter. Which of the following suhstances 

 are organic and which inorganic: — Clay, 

 cotton, leather, glass, sugar, water? 



(3) Why is ventilation necessary in a 

 room with people in it? 



(4) Explain the difference between the 

 respiration of animals and plants? 



(5) What happens if you pour hydro- 

 chloric acid on washing soda? 



(G) How can you prove that your breath 

 contains carbon di-oxide? 



(7) What is chalk? Could you dis- 

 tinguish by a chemical test whether an 

 unknown white substance was chalk or 

 not? 



(8) How is the carbonic acid in the rain 

 vseful to the farmer? 



A Successful Potato Growerm 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. L. S. KERSHAW. 

 (By Ergates.) 



WHEN I resolved to pay a visit to Mr. 

 L. S. Kershaw, of "Sans Souci," 

 it seemed to me parsing strange 

 that I could leave Maritzburg 

 after breakfast and by rail and 

 postcart reach my destination beyond 

 the Kamberg — about the very ultima 

 thnle of civilisation I considered some 

 twenty years ago — early in the afternoon 

 of the day of starting. The postcart 

 journey from Rosetta is about eighteen 

 miles, and with the exception of the climb 

 over Vaalkop, the road is good and in fair 

 repair. After entering the Valley of the 

 Tattle Mooi River, through which the 

 most of the journey is made, the scenery 

 is striking, and if the weather be clear, 

 the traveller has a close view of the sum- 

 mits of the majestic Drakensberg range. 

 After leaving the station, for an hour or 

 so the heat, even at this altitude, was in- 

 tense. Then a dark cloud was to be seen 

 over by Giant's Castle. It rapidly grew in 

 size, and became the centre of a thunder- 

 storm. We could distinctly see it splitt- 

 ing, one half going Maritzburg way and 

 the other down the Bushman's River 

 Valley. A patch of the latter caught us. 

 The wind was almost of huriicane 

 strength and of icy coldness. Ahead 

 there was no rain, and through the clear 

 atmosphere, at a distance of five or six 

 miles, we saw a flash of lightning descend 

 as straight as a plumb line. Next day I 

 saw two oxen belonging to Mr. J. W. 



Bentley which that flash had killed. 

 Within a mile or two of the road many 

 homesteads may be seen, and among 

 others those of Messrs. J. Gillit, James 

 Henwood, K. Grobler, W. Doney, E. 

 Ratsey, G. C. Robinson, H. Laing, 0. 

 Hosking, Vanderwesthuisen (four), J. E. 

 Robinson, A. L'Estrange, W. T. Tratford, 

 and J. W. Bentley. At points along the 

 road, poles, bearing post bags, are to be 

 seen. The postcart is driven underneath 

 and from his seat the driver unhitches or 

 hangs the owners' respective bags. The 

 fare, 5s. for a good 18 miles, is by far the 

 cheapest I have yet come across in South 

 Africa. 



Potatoes. 



Mr. Kershaw is one of the most suc- 

 cessful potato gTowers in the Colony, and 

 upon potatoes nearly all our conversation 

 was centered. Mr. Kershaw came to his 

 present farm, "Sans Souci," in 1892, hav- 

 ing previously farmed in other districts, 

 and, still earlier, he ran transport. 



"To what," I asked, "do you chiefly at- 

 tribute your success?" 



"To three things; first, good land; sec- 

 ond, the climate ; and third, my system 

 of cultivation." 



"What made you go in so largely for 

 potatoes?" 



"Five or six years ago there was a good 

 demand for them, so I put in a couple 

 of tons of 'magnum bonum' seed, and I 



