13 



water with soft soap. A simple infusion without soap, is, however, quite 

 as effective, and for use in green -houses the latter is preferred. Quassia 

 water is odourless and perfectly safe to use. In these respects it is pre- 

 ferable to both kerosine emulsions and to tobacco water. There is al- 

 ways a certain amount of risk in using kerosine emulsion even in the 

 most careful hands, and besides, the smell is specially obj ctionable. If 

 more widely known, it is probable that Quassia extract for delicate 

 plants in houses, would almost entirely take the place of tobacco water 

 and largely also of kerosine emulsion. If sprayed regularly over the 

 plants, it would keep them entirely free from insect pests." (Kew 

 Bulletin). 



GRANTS FOR AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



Mr. P. G. Craigie has presented to the President of the Board of 

 Agriculture his Report on the administration of the Parliamentary grant- 

 in-aid of agricultural education in Great Britain, during the financial 

 year ended 31st March, 1 895. As a great deal of interest is being taken 

 in the subject in Jamaica, it may not be out of place to insert a notice 

 of what is included under the phrase " Agricultural Education" in 

 England. Out of the total Vote of 8,000/. entrusted to the Board 

 of Agriculture for educational purposes, a sum of 7,400/. has been 

 distributed in specific grants to 17 institutions. The balance has 

 been applied to making the necessary provision for the cost of 

 inspecting the work of the collegiate bodies or societies applying for 

 assistance, as well as for the inspection of the educational arrangements 

 of various County Councils, undertaken at the request of those authorities. 

 After. recounting the history of the grant, Mr. Craigie says : — " Central 

 institutions receiving aid from the Board of Agriculture, and of the 

 special type which seven years' experience has shown to be of practical 

 value, are, therefore, now available, or in process of equipment, for the 

 counties lying in the centre, sonth-east, and south-west of Scotland, for 

 all those in Wales, with the exception of Glamorganshire, for the three 

 Ridings of Yorkshire, for the counties of the North of England, and for 

 the counties of Berks, Oxford, and Hants, in the Valley of the Thames, 

 as well as, in a less perfect form for the East Midland and Eastern 

 Counties of England. Some extension of the areas directly benefited by 

 several of these institutions may yet be looked for in several instances 

 by including in their sphere of work other contiguous counties. Other 

 counties which have not yet the same facilities within reach may 

 eventually find it to their interest to co-operate for the establishment 

 of centres, either of the type which Kent and Surrey are main- 

 taining at Wye, or such as the county of Lancaster lias pro- 

 vided for itself. The cases are, however, rare where establish- 

 ments of this nature can be economically managed by single coun- 

 ties, and were the system of grouping, pursued elsewhere, to be 

 adopted by the Western and West Midland Counties, this would 

 suffice to provide, for England at all events, the two or three additional 

 centies still lacking to complete the organization of a uniform system 

 of graded agricultural teaching for the entire country. Some of the 

 leading features in which it has been found that agricultural centres are 

 likely to prove of special value to agricultural education in all its bear- 



