86o Summary of Agricultural Experiments. [Jan., 



from the imported feeding stuffs over the home-grown foods works 

 out at ^3 lis. yd. To this amount, however, must be added the 

 difference in the cost of the foods (imported foods cost £10 135. qd. 

 and home-grown £13 165. 3d.)' an d the greater manurial value of the 

 cotton cake and maize. 



Dairying. 



Churnability of Cream (Jour. Agric. Set., Vol. iv., Pt. 2, October, 

 191 1). — In an article, by Messrs. Cooper, Nuttall, and Freak, of the 

 Cooper Research Laboratory, dealing with the fat globules of milk, a 

 number of investigations are described which were undertaken with the 

 object of explaining the variations in the behaviour of cream in churn- 

 ing. It appears that the cream of various breeds — and even the cream 

 of individual cows — shows a persistent difference in behaviour as regards 

 the time required for churning and the amount of fat recovered in the 

 form of butter. It appears that cream in which the average size of 

 the globules is large gives the best results for butter making, whereas 

 for cheese making the smaller globules give better results. The 

 authors describe the ingenious apparatus they have devised for carry- 

 ing out these investigations on the "churnability" of milk. They are 

 unable to announce a solution of the various problems to which the 

 subject gives rise, but it is hoped that a more extended series of 

 experiments will yield valuable results. 



Weeds and Plant Pests. 



Tumour and Canker in Potatoes (Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc, December, 

 1911).— This article, by Mr. A. S. Home, B.Sc, F.G.S., gives the 

 history of Chrysophlyctis endobiotica and Spongospora solani, together 

 with an account of the symptoms of the two diseases. With regard to the 

 latter an experiment at Durham is described in which the seed was derived 

 from several different known sources, and the potatoes planted in the 

 experimental rows were carefully selected. The crop was found to be 

 uniformly infected, and it is contended that it is extremely improbable 

 that the disease in this case was introduced by infected seed. The 

 addition of lime to the soil brought about an increase in the amount of 

 disease. It is concluded from the experiment at Durham and from 

 some experiments carried out near Edinburgh and in Aberdeenshire, 

 that Spongospora may be present in the soil of a particular field or 

 farm, but the disease may not manifest itself to any extent. 



Diseases of Animals. 



Loss of Efficiency in Arsenic Dipping Fluids (Jour. Agric. Sci., Vol. iv., 

 Pt. 2, October, 191 1). — A paper dealing with the loss of efficiency 

 observed in certain alkaline arsenite dipping fluids is contributed from 

 the Cooper Research Laboratory. In certain warm climates, where, 

 owing to the prevalence of tick-borne diseases, it is necessary to dip 

 cattle periodically, the fluid used contains sodium arsenite as its 

 principal ingredient, and under the influence of the other ingredients 

 an oxidation of the arsenite sets in which results after a time in the 

 bath losing its efficiency. 



