National  Agricultural  Examinafioii  Board. 
\V22 
the  Examiner,  such  knowledge  is  of  little  use  to  Agricultural  students.  A 
more  serious  matter  is  tlie  difficulty  which  the  Candidates  appear  to  find  in 
studying  geological  maps.  It  is  very  desirable  that  teachers  should  explain 
clearly  by  the  aid  of  Sopwith’s  models  (copies  of  which  could  readily  be  made), 
the  nature  of  the  outcrops  of  stratified  rocks  on  uneven  ground. 
6.  Agricultural  Zoology.  (100  Marks.)  Prof.  J.  Arthur  Thomson,  M.A. 
The  written  yjapers  were,  in  most  cases,  quite  satisfactory,  and  only  six 
Candidates  out  of  forty-five  made  mistakes  in  identifying  or  classifying  the 
two  specimens  supplied.  The  value — for  examining  purposes — of  including 
specimens  in  the  written  paper  was  in  several  cases  very  obvious,  for  several 
Candidates  who  had  made  no  mistake  with  the  specimens  thus  supplied,  made 
serious  errors  in  the  viva  voce  tests,  evidently  through  nervousness.  While  the 
Candidates’  practical  familiarity  with  insects,  worms,  and  the  like  has  greatly 
improved  during  the  past  five  years,  it  must  again  be  pointed  out  that  many 
were  unable  to  identify  under  the  microscope  such  simple  and  characteristic 
structures  as  a trachea  or  a tapeworm’s  head. 
6.  The  Examiners  in  the  five  subjects  included  in  Part  II. 
report  as  under  : — 
6.  Practical  Agriculture.  (500  Marks.) 
Mr.  T.  A.  Dickson,  Dr.  R.  Shirra  Gibb,  and  Professor  W.  McCracken. 
The  Examiners  were  a little  disappointed  with  the  standard  attained, 
which  fell  somewhat  short  of  the  average  of  former  years.  In  their  opinion 
this  falling  off  may  be  ascribed  to  two  causes  : — (1)  The  considerable  proportion 
of  the  Candidates  who  were  foreigners  possessing  an  imperfect  knowledge  of 
English  ; (2)  The  insufficient  foundation  upon  which  the  specialised  training 
of  many  had  been  built,  and  their  failure  in  consequence  to  take  full  advantage 
of  the  teaching  which  had  obviously  been  placed  within  their  reach.  Certain 
branches  of  the  subject  were  well  understood  by  the  majority  of  the  Candi- 
dates, notably  dairying,  potato  growing,  and  tillage  operations  generally.  On 
the  other  hand,  their  knowledge  of  sheep  management  left  much  to  be  desired. 
Most  of  the  Candidates  had  a good  sound  grasp  of  the  farming  practices  of 
their  own  parishes,  but  knew  too  little  of  the  conditions  and  practices  of  other 
districts  to  do  full  credit  to  the  National  Diploma  in  Agriculture. 
7.  Agricultural  Book-Keeping.  (200  Marks.) 
William  Home  Cook,  C.A. 
Forty-two  Candidates  presented  themselves  for  examination  in  this  subject, 
and  of  these  thirty-nine  obtained  the  necessary  pass  marks.  The  first  question, 
dealing  with  the  preparation  of  a Balance  Sheet  and  Profit  and  Loss  Account, 
was,  on  the  whole,  fairly  well  answered.  The  second  question,  which  perhaps 
required  a little  more  originality  and  thoughtfulness  on  the  part  of  the 
Candidate,  was  not  so  well  answered. 
8.  Agricultural  Chemistry.  (200  Marks.) 
Dr.  J.  Augustus  Voelcker,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  F.I.C.,  and  Dr.  Bernard 
Dyer,  D.Sc,,  F.I.C. 
The  examination  in  this  subject  was  of  a somewhat  disappointing  nature, 
several  of  those  who  had  written  good  papers  failing  to  reach  the  same 
standard  in  the  viva  voce  part  of  the  examination.  On  the  other  hand,  several 
who  had  not  the  ability  of  expressing  their  ideas  well  on  paper,  proved  in 
viva  voce  examination  to  have  a much  better  practical  acquaintance  with  the 
subject  than  appeared  from  their  papers.  Although  eight  of  the  Candidates 
gained  80  per  cent,  of  the  marks  allotted,  there  was  no  instance  of  special 
excellence,  and  in  only  one  or  two  cases  was  there  shown  much  acquaintance 
