EXAMINATION IN HORTICULTURE, 1903. 119 



EXAMINATION IN HORTICULTURE. 1903. 



The Annual Examination in the Principles and Practice of Horti- 

 culture was held on April 22, 1903, when 198 papers were sent in. 



Three hundred marks were allotted as a maximum, and all candidates 

 who obtained 250 marks and upwards were placed in the First Class. The 

 total number was 15, or about 7*6 per cent. 



Those who secured 200 marks and less than 250 were placed in the 

 Second Class. The number was 62, or about 31*3 per cent. 



Those who obtained 100 marks and upwards to 200 marks were placed 

 in the Third Class. The number was 111, or about 56 per cent. 



Ten candidates who obtained less than 100 marks were not placed. 



There has been a decrease in the number of candidates, as 229 offered 

 themselves in 1902 ; and lower percentages in the First and Second 

 Classes, and a correspondingly higher one in the Third. 



Two causes may account for these differences. First, the character of 

 the examination was raised, as it was found that the syllabus of the require- 

 ments previous to 1902 had become too limited for the more advanced 

 studies now very generally undertaken by the students. Secondly, the 

 relation between the maximum for each class is altered ; that for the First 

 Class now eliminating all who fail to obtain 250, instead of 200. 

 Similarly the Second Class now requires a minimum of 200 instead of 150 

 marks. 



These changes fully account for the smaller percentage in the First 

 and Second Classes. Although the standard of the questions, of the 

 Elementary Principles especially, has been varied, it is gratifying to find 

 that, though fewer examinees attained to the First Class, those who 

 did so were quite competent to answer the questions in a very satisfactory 

 manner. In the department of Horticultural Operations the answers on 

 most subjects were fully up to the average of the last three years. The 

 subject which seemed most difficult to the candidates was Landscape 

 Gardening, in which the answers were not satisfactory ; indeed most 

 students avoided the subject altogether. The question on Bog Gardens 

 and Aquatic Plants was also left out very frequently, and when the subject 

 was taken up it was not well done. A larger number of candidates than 

 usual failed to answer four questions fully, and in two or three instances 

 this happened with those who answered remarkably well as far as they 

 were able to go. If the candidates had been allowed a little more time 

 they would certainly have stood very much higher on the list. 



The questions in both sections are more difficult, and it may be matter 

 for careful consideration whether it might not be better to allow half an 

 hour longer, so that the fastest writer may not on that account have so great 



