164 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [SepT 1, 1900. 
tary schools, because many of these are not un^er 
official control." The Blue-book3 of the colony indi- 
cate that to some extent it is taught, and for some 
years it has been an optional science subject for 
teachers. In the Report of the Superintendent- 
General of Education for 1898, for instance, it is 
stated that not a single candidate had been jiresented 
for examination in agriculture, which Dr. Muir ridds, 
"in view of the large total (318 as against 250 in 
1897) is decidedly disappointing." 
Placed under the contiol of the Ediualicn Dfpait- 
nient of Cupe Colony are two agriculturnl schools 
—one at Elsenburg, the other at Somerest East 
The latter school, the Superintendent-General of 
Education reports, "has been allowed to linger on 
without alteration." These agricultural schools, I 
may add, were formerly three in number, and under 
the Di-partment of Agriculture, and have cnlv lately 
been transferred the care of the Education Depart- 
ment. One of the three has, however, been given 
up for some time, and now it would seen that another 
will soon follow. 
The Elsenburg School of Agriculture at Mulder's 
Vlei is, in a sense, a new venture, which was only 
opened in September, 1808; yet it represents the 
cid Stellenbusch School of Agriculture which moved 
from there to this farm. The Principal, like the 
school, is also new, having been selected in England 
to start the new experiment. The school as remodelled, 
is intended for hoys of the better class, and the 
entry test is the fifth standard of the ordinary school. 
The work done in the agricultural schools, formerly, 
was mainly theoretical. The school at Elsenburg 
is an admitted experiment to see if an institution, 
where practical instrution is given in farm work, 
gives better resdts than the former semi-theoretical 
and scientific schools. At Elsenburg, with this object 
in view, the students have now to devote their after- 
noons to practical farm work. 
The Department of Agriculture at Cape Cilony 
has a wine farm at Groot Constantia, employs ex- 
perts and agricultural assistants, and issues an 
Agricultural Journal. This completes, I think, what 
the Capo furnishes in respect to agricultural education. 
(To be continued.) 
FRUIT CULTURE IN QUEENSLAND 
By Albukt H. Benson. 
THE COMPOSITION AND APPLICATION 
OF MANURES. 
{Continued from i^aqe 131.) 
Sulphate of Ammonia.— A good sample should contain 
at least 204 per cent, of nitrogen, and be worth in 
round figures £10 per ton. This manure is very 
soluble, and consequently acts with great rapidity. 
It is used either as a top dressing by itself or is 
mixed with varying proportions of pliosphoric acid 
and potash to form a complete fertiliser. When 
used alone it should be applied at the rate of 1 to 
2 owt. to the acre during a period of the plant s 
active growth. It ban a marked effect on the 
growth of cereals, grasses, corn, sorghum, &c. ; but 
18 apt to produce too much straw or stalk at the 
expense of the grain. It is therefore most valuable 
for the growth of green fodder or hay, but not so 
valuable for grain production. It is of great value 
in the production of vegetables when rapid growth- 
and quick returus are desirable, but in this case it 
is btlier to use it in conjunction with soluble phos- 
phoric acid and potash in order to produce the b'e- 1 
results. Used by itself, it is very apt to impoverish 
the land, as it stimulates such a vigorous growth 
that the plants are apt to exhaust the soil of other 
available plant foods. Its use, therefore, requires 
iudgment, followed by judicious cropping, cultivation, 
and the application of farm manure or a complete 
fertiliser. , , , i t j 
In the cue of fruit trees that have been neglected 
and run down, a severe pruning, followed by a good 
dt«S6iof( of sulphate of ammoma-say, 2 to 4 lb. tg 
the tree, according to its size — will often produce a 
vigorous growth, provided that the roots are healthy, 
but care must be taken, once this growtli has been 
forced, that the trees have sufficiency of plant food 
given them in the form of farm manure or a complete 
fertiliser to sustain and continue such growth. 
Nitrate of Soda- — Is similar in its action to sulphate 
of ammonia, but at its present price, as compared 
with other sources of nitrogen, it is too dear to use. 
It conl«ins a little over 15 per cent, of nitrogf-n, 
worth about £7 5s. per ton, and its cost is about 
£15 per ton. 
S'ilphate of Potash. — This fertiliser is seldom used 
alone— in fact, its use is only to be recommended 
when combined with nitrogenous and phosphatic 
fertilisers. A good sample should contain at least 
50 per cent, of potash, and is worth 5s. 4d. per unit, 
or about £13 to lus. per ton. It is probably the 
best form of potash to use, as the general opinion 
is that the best results are obtained from its use. 
2/wiate of Potash. — Similar in its action to sul- 
phate of potash, and used in place of the latter. 
A good sample contains about 60 per cent, of potash, 
and is worth about £15 per ton, as the potash is 
considered to be less readily available, and consequ- 
ently of slightly less value, when in the form of 
muiiate than in the form of sulphate. 
Kainit. — A mixture of muriate of potash, muriate 
of soda (common salt), and muriate of magnesia. 
Its value is due to the potash it contains, which 
in a good sample amounts to 13 per cent., worth 
£3 93. per ton, whereas the price charged is not less 
than £4 per too. Kainit is therefore a dear form 
of potash as compared with the sulphate or muriate, 
as not only does the potash cost more per unit but 
the proportion is so small that a much larger amount 
■ — from four to five times is required to produce 
the same result. This adds con.siderably to the 
freight and handling, and consequently renders this 
form of potash expensive to use. 
There is one other form of potash now on the 
market known as " ustralian potash, " which contains 
25 per cent, of potash and 4i per cent, of insoluble 
phosphovic acid, which is worth about £1 per ton 
when estimate! at its unit values. Its price is £6 
per ton in Sydney, at which rate it is the cheapest 
from of potash on the market. 
There are two other classes of commercial fertilisers 
— of which the first is superphosphate, and the other 
a complete or mixed fertiliser. 
Suijcrphosphate. — The manufacture and value of 
super or soluble phosphate was referred to in the 
previous part of this article, so I will only need to 
give its unit value, which is 5s. 4d. per unit for water 
soluble phosphoric acid, 4s. 6d. for citrate soluble 
phosphoric acid, and 2', for insoluble. A good super- 
phosphate contains about 17 per cent, of soluble 
phosphoric acid. 
Complete or Mixed t ertilisers. — There are a number 
of manures of this type on the market, the com- 
position and value of which are very variable, as 
they are made with a view of meeting the require- 
ments of various soils and crops, both farm, garden, 
and orchard. 
The bulk of these manures consist of a mixture 
of phosphatic, nitrogenous, and potash manures. 
The phosphatic portion is present either in the soluble 
or superphosphate condition or else in that of the 
insoluble or bone phospliate condition. 
The nitrogen is present either in the form o£ 
sulphate of ammonia, or in that of blood, nipho, or 
other form of organic nitrogen— usually the former ; 
and the potash is almost always present in the form 
of sulphate of pota=h. The so-called Colonial Sugar 
Company's manures are good examples of this type, 
and their composition can be relied upon, but there 
are others on the market equally as good. 
In dealing with the question of complete or mixed 
fertilisers, I wish it to be clearly understood that 
the suggested composition of and quantity to be 
applied to any particular crop is not to be taken 
aa absolutely binding on all classes of soils and un^es 
