1906.] Chambers of Agriculture in Prussia. 363: 



winter schools are under the permanent and constant manage-- 

 ment and supervision of the Bonn Chamber of Agriculture. 



An interesting account of the work of this Chamber is given 

 in a Report* to the Foreign Office by Dr. Koenig, H.M. Consul 

 at Dusseldorf, from which it appears that its yearly income is 

 about ;^40,ooo. Of this sum i^8,ooo is an annual subsidy from the 

 Government, another ;{^8,ooo is a contribution paid by the 

 province. The Chamber spends ^,9,000 to i^iopoo annually 

 on its agricultural schools, £8,^00 go to subsidise the breeding 

 associations, i^i,ooo to pomology, viticulture and gardening, 

 and ^600 a year go towards the expense of publishing journals. 

 The Chamber not only encourages agriculture directly, but does 

 all in its power to exercise a political influence on the agri- 

 cultural legislation of the province, and it may be said that 

 there is no branch of agriculture which does not receive a 

 helping hand from the Chamber and through it from the 

 Government. As stated above, a large sum of money is devoted 

 to subsidising associations for horse, cattle, pig, goat and poultry 

 breeding. The cattle-breeding associations were referred to in 

 an earlier number of this Journal (October, 1905, p. 406). 



One interesting development promoted by the Chamber takes- 

 the form of butter-testing competitions. 



The object of the tests, which take place in the autumn and 

 spring, is to encourage the production of a more uniform class of 

 butter. The province is divided into from four to six districts 

 and tests are held twice yearly in certain places provided that 

 twenty dairies undertake to send samples. 



Each sample has to weigh five lbs. and must be supplied free, 

 but no charge is made. The samples go towards meeting the 

 cost of the competition. The dairy has to fill in a column of 

 answers to questions regarding the manufacture and mode of 

 production. The dairy's samples are represented by numbers- 

 and not by names, so that the judges do not know who has sent 

 them in. 



There are four classes : (a) sweet cream butter ; (d) partially 

 sour cream butter; (c) butter made from full or whole milk 

 [d) butter made from full or whole milk inpart only. 



Points are awarded as follows : — Taste (purity, salt), 25 



* Foreign Office Reports, Misc. Series, No. 652. 



