E.—s

72

With rows 2 ft. apart, 2 oz. to 10 ft. = 2£ cwt. per acre. ; 1 lb. applied to 40 square yards = 1 cwt. per acre; § oz. applied to 1 square yard = 1 cwt. per acre; lime or manure, 8 oz. applied to I square yard = 1 ton per acre. School Gardening. — In laying , out a new garden care must be taken to obtain the most suitable piece of land available. It should be situated so that there is sufficient fall for good drainage, and be well sheltered without being too near the roots or shade of large trees. If the land is poor in quality it will lend itself all the better to the manurial experiments. In preparing the ground it should be dug over in autumn or early winter, and left exposed to the weather. If the subsoil is stiff or hard it should be broken at the same time, but not brought up to the surface. After the winter the ground should be found mellow and friable, and should easily be worked down with spade, fork, or rake into a good seed-bed in the spring. The size of the plots and the number of children to work at each plot will depend very largely on the amount of land available for the school garden, but a convenient size of plot is '4'i ft. by 11 ft. for, say, two pupils, and the ground should bo measured off into regular plots of the size found suitable Plots should not be very wide, so that they can be hoed and weeded from the paths. Pupils should be taught to keep all tools clean, and to put them carefully in their places when not in use; all handles should be oiled occasionally to prevent them from cracking, and also to make them much more pleasant to use. The first year's work will consist chiefly in the preparation and laying-out of the ground, and in growing ordinary farm and garden crops, such as wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, peas, beans, cabbage, turnips, mangolds, &c. A beginning may Ix; made in the work of seed-selection to ascertain if the quality of the grain grown can be improved by carefully sowing the best seeds. Plots may be laid out to grow the same crops in succession for several years, and plots of useful grasses established to test their permanence. Experiments may be made with manures and with lime. The work in the following years will be similar to that undertaken in the first. The work in hand will be continued and further manurial experiments made, with perhaps some variation based on experience already gained. An interesting addition to the work would be an experimental plot where efforts could be made to acclimatise useful plants from other places. Gooseberry and currant bushes should be grown to provide material for cuttings, and grafting and budding may be taught. Throughout the whole of the work pupils should be trained to observe and note the different operations carried out, and to keep accurate records of the results of the experimental work. Gardkn Tools.— A set of tools will consist of 2 spades, 2 digging-forks, 2 Dutch hoes, 2 hoes, "_' steel rakes, 2 garden-lines, 1 watering-can, 6 hand-forks, for each ten or twelve pupils. Apparatus and Materials required. —1 chemical balance; 1 test-tube stand; 1 stand with clamp and universal joint; 1 tripod; 1 pipeclay triangle; 1 piece wire gauze; 1 spirit-lamp: 1 pneumatic trough ; 1 bee-hive stand; J dozen gas-oollecting jars or pickle-bottles; 1 dozen testtubes ; .'5 boiljng-tubes; 2 small flasks: 2 measuring-glasses; 2 thistle funnels; 2 filter funnels; 1 bell jar; lib. glass tubing; 1 yard rubber tubing; 2 dozen corks; 100 filter-papers; 1 de-flagrating-spoon; 6oz. chlorate of potash; 4 oz. manganese-dioxide; 6 oz. granulated zinc; 6 oz. lime; 6<k. ammonium-chloride; 8 oz. carbonate of lime: 2oz. phosphorus; 2oz. sodium; 2 oz. potassium: 2 oz. barium-chloride; 1 oz. iodine; 1 oz. potassium-iodide; 2 oz. carmine; lib. sulphuric acid : 1 bottle eosin tabloids ; 1 bottle methylated spirits.

Approximate. Onxt of P<tpe-r. —Preparation, aot given; printing {3,800 copies), .£69 15s.

Price Is. 6d."i

By Authority : John Mackay. Government Printer. Wellington.—l9o7.