1910.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 143 



These societies are registered under the Friendly Societies 

 Acts without share capital, and consist mainly of small 

 holders in agricultural districts of England and Wales.* 

 The societies are distinguished from ordinary friendly 

 societies in that the amounts of the insurances are not limited 

 by the Act. In practice, however, the insurances are for 

 small amounts only. 



SUMMARY OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS.! 



Experiments with Cereals— continued. 



The Composition of Oats (Trans. Highla)id and Agric. Soc. of 

 Scotland, Fifth Series, Vol. 22, 19 10). — In this paper Mr. James Hendrick 

 discusses a number of analyses of different varieties of oats made by 

 him in the years 190 1-4, the main object being" the comparison of old 

 well-known Scotch varieties, such as Sandy and Potato, with new and 

 foreign varieties. Most of the samples were grown in the northern 

 counties of Scotland. 



Proportion of Husk and Kernel. — In 1901-2, Sandy was the thinnest 

 husked variety, and Storm King the thickest. Eleven old varieties 

 contained on the average 20*56 per cent, of dry husk and 66*82 per cent, 

 of dry kernel, while eleven new varieties contained 23*04 and 64*45 

 per cent, respectively. Some new varieties, however, such as New- 

 market, Goldfinder, Waverley, and Banner, w T ere quite similar in propor- 

 tion of husk to Potato, Hamilton, and Scots Birlie. In 1903-4 the 

 following were the average percentages of husk : — Sandy, 22*47 '■> Potato, 

 23*91; Newmarket, 23*60; Goldfinder, 23*10; Waverley, 23*51; and 

 Banner, 24*27. From six to ten samples of each of these were examined 

 and the samples were drawn from a wide area, representing consider- 

 able differences in soil and climate, so that the results are representative 

 of what may be expected on the average in practice in Scotland. 



On the average the new varieties were found to contain more husk 

 than the old. The old varieties thus on the average give a greater 

 weight of kernel, and consequently of meal, for a given weight of grain. 



Oil and Albuminoids. — The old varieties were much richer in oil than 

 the new. On the average of four years, Potato gave the highest per- 

 centage, 9*22 ; Sandy contained 8*99 per cent. ; Hamilton 8"8i per cent. ; 

 and Scots Birlie 8*45. Of the new varieties the following were the 

 best :— Wide Awake, 7*43 per cent. ; Banner, 6*99 per cent. ; Waverley, 

 6*98 per cent. Mr. Hendrick concludes that (1) the grain of the well- 

 known old Scotch varieties of oats is in general richer iri oil than 

 that of the new varieties ; (2) Potato and Sandy oats are specially rich 

 in oil, and may be expected to be distinctly richer than Banner, Waverley, 

 Thousand Dollar, Siberian, Goldfinder, Newmarket, Tartar King, and 

 Storm King; (3) of new varieties, New Zealand and Wide Awake are 



* There were no Societies of this class at work in Scotland or Ii-eland. 



t The summaries of agricultural experiments which have appeared in the present 

 volume have been as follows : — Experiments with Cereals, April, p. 59. The Board 

 would be glad to receive for inclusion copies of reports on inquiries, whether carried 

 out by agricultural colleges, societies, or private persons. 



