STOCK-JUDGING COMPETITION AT THE HIGHLAND AND
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S SHOW.

At the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show in July a stockjudging competition was held between teams of students from the three Colleges. Each team consisted of five students, two teams being entered from the West of Scotland Agricultural College and one team from each of the other Colleges. A team from the West of Scotland College secured the highest number of points.

CENTRAL CLASSES.

The following table shows the attendance at the Central Classes of the three Agricultural Colleges during the academic year 1926-27, and the enrolments for 1927-28

*The short course for farmers at the Edinburgh College extends over about five weeks in January and February of each year. The 1927 course was attended by 14 students.

In addition to the courses of instruction covered by the above table, the undernoted courses were also provided by the Colleges :

Courses in School Gardening, etc., for Certificated Teachers or for Students in Training.-At Aberdeen 16 students attended the class held during the Winter and Summer Sessions, while 44 certificated teachers attended the vacation class held in July. At Edinburgh 40 teachers attended a Saturday class, 13 a Rural Schools Vacation Course, and 19 a Vacation Course in Outdoor Occupations.

Dairy School, Kilmarnock.-The total number of students attending was 275. Of these, 108 attended the Junior or Senior Courses in Dairying, 60 the Special Four Weeks' Courses in Dairying in January and February, 15 the course for Milk Records, and 65 the Sanitary Inspectors' Course, while 27 took other short courses.

Poultry School, Kilmarnock.-The total number of students was 65. Of these, 25 took the Junior Course, 14 the Senior Course, and 12 the Advanced Course, while 14 took shorter

courses.

Bee-Keeping and Horticultural Departments, Kilmarnock.Six students attended courses of instruction in bee-keeping, and three attended courses of instruction in horticulture.

Craibstone School of Rural Domestic Economy.-The course which was held from January to June 1927 was attended by 21 students, while the course from July to December 1927 was attended by 15 students.

EXTENSION WORK.

In the following table statistics are given of the work done by members of County Staffs of the Colleges during the year :

Agricultural Botany.-Dr. W. G. Smith entered on his duties as Advisory Officer in Agricultural Botany during the year. Hill pasture experiments, which had been commenced by him when he was Lecturer in Biology at the College, were continued in Boghall Glen. These experiments are concerned with the yield from the principal types of grass herbage, the preference for types of herbage by sheep, and the effect of top-dressing with phosphates and other materials. Irrigation of hill pasture herbage by water from natural springs has been carried on, and more definite information on the consequent changes is being collected. Investigations in bracken control are also being continued.

Enquiries for advice have been frequent, and have led to visits to a large number of farms. The Advisory Officer has

co-operated with the Animal Diseases Research Association in connection with an investigation into "grass sickness" in horses. He has also been appointed a member of the Pasture Sub-Committee set up by the Development Commissioners' Advisory Committee on Agricultural Science. This SubCommittee has drafted a scheme for the investigation of the yield and grazing value of pastures in Great Britain.

Agricultural Bacteriology.-A large number of samples of milk was examined and reported upon during the year, and advisory visits were made to a number of dairies. difficulty in churning due to gassy cream was investigated.

A case of

Work in connection with the inoculation of lucerne, to which reference is made in previous Reports, was continued during the year. For the successful cultivation of lucerne in the East of Scotland the essentials appear to be :-(1) suitability of the soil in regard to lime requirements; (2) inoculation of the seed; (3) use of the Grimm variety; (4) thorough cleaning of the land; (5) sowing not before June.

Life Cycle of Bacteria Amylobacter.-During the year work on Bacteria Amylobacter has been continued and seems to indicate that the life cycle of this organism is more complex than was at first supposed. Between 60 and 70 cultures, consisting mainly of aerobic cocci and sporing and non-sporing rods, have been isolated. These strains are now being characterised, and further evidence of their relationship to the anaerobic bacillus is being obtained. As each strain must be studied intensively for a period of two to three months progress is slow.

In January 1927 a preliminary paper was published, in which the evidence that certain aerobic cocci form part of the life cycle of Bacteria Amylobacter was presented. The formation of the cocci from the bacillus appears to be favoured by incompletely anaerobic conditions. Unlike the bacillus the cocci are unable to fix free nitrogen.

Soils Advisory Work.-Numerous enquiries, mainly, as in former years, with regard to lime requirement in soils, were received from farmers during the year. Examinations of soil were also made in connection with certain experiments carried out by the County Staff in various centres in the College area, and some work was done in co-operation with the Advisory Officers in Agricultural Botany and Agricultural Bacteriology.

The detailed soil survey of a strip of land in East Lothian from the Lammermuirs to the coast was continued, the mapping being done on the profile basis. General observations were also made of the distribution of the main types within the College area, and these have been embodied in the recently published soil map of Europe.

Laboratory examination of the soil types mapped in the course of field work was continued, especially with regard to acidity and lime requirement.

Dr. Ogg attended the First International Congress of Soil Science at Washington.

WEST OF SCOTLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

DEPARTMENTS AT KILMARNOCK.

For some years the Governors of the College have been concerned about the position of the College work carried out at Kilmarnock on the farms of Holmes and Grange, the leases of which expire shortly. Owing to the development of the Burgh of Kilmarnock parts of the land have been taken from time to time for feuing purposes as provided in the lease, until the area of the farm has been so reduced, with a prospect of further reduction, as to threaten serious limitation of the College activities.

The Governors have submitted to the Board a scheme for the proposed transference to Auchincruive, near Ayr, of the College activities at present carried out at Kilmarnock. The scheme is designed to take advantage of the offer of Mr J. M. Hannah, Girvan Mains, Girvan, of the mansion-house and the greater part of the estate of Auchincruive, for the purposes of agricultural education and research in the West of Scotland. It is laid down as a condition of the offer that the College activities at Kilmarnock shall be transferred to Auchincruive, and that the proposed new Dairy Research Institute, to which reference is made on page 43, shall be situated either at Auchincruive or on land adjoining.

The cost of the transference to Auchincruive is estimated to amount to over £50,000, and the Governors have made application for a grant-in-aid from the Development Fund. The Board have submitted proposals to the Development Commissioners with a view to enabling the Governors to proceed with their scheme and with a view also to facilitating the establishment at Auchincruive of the Dairy Research Institute.

SPECIAL COURSES FOR SANITARY INSPECTORS.

Two special courses of instruction in clean milk production, arranged in conjunction with the Board and the Scottish Board of Health, were held at the Dairy School, Kilmarnock, in November. Each course was of a week's duration, and in all 65 sanitary inspectors, from nearly every county in Scotland, attended. The courses were conducted under the immediate direction of Professor R. H. Leitch. Through the medium of illustrated lectures, discussion, laboratory demonstrations, and visits to selected farms and city milk depots, a clear idea of the fundamental factors which have a direct bearing on the hygienic production and handling of milk was conveyed to the members of the class.

ADVISORY OFFICER SCHEME.

Milk Utilisation.-The amount of advisory work on milk and its products showed considerable expansion during the year,

and a large number of problems submitted by farmers and dairymen was investigated. Twenty-five cases of faulty flavours in milk were studied and, except in one instance, the source of the trouble was located and the advice tendered resulted in the elimination of the trouble. About 200 other samples of milk were examined for different purposes, and samples of commercial rennet and of annatto were tested for strength. A clean milk competition under the auspices of an Ayrshire creamery was undertaken by the Department, and a distinct improvement in the quality of the milk resulted. Several samples of home and colonial butter were examined for the determination of specific faults, such as tallowiness, rancidity, bleaching, acidity, excessive moisture content, and certain physical defects.

The investigation into discoloration in cheddar cheese was continued during the year. Discoloration in its varied forms was produced in cheeses and valuable data were secured. Definite conclusions relating to this fault, which is wide-spread in its occurrence, and which causes serious economic losses to cheesemakers, were established by these investigations.

Milk Production.-During the year the various feeding trials mentioned in the Board's last Report were continued, and several new trials were initiated. A considerable amount of advisory work was carried out, and several papers were published during the year.

Plant Husbandry. The investigations into various forms of rot in turnips and into Helminthosporium avenae (yellow leaf or stripe on oats) were continued during the year. A bulletin embodying the work done in connection with the latter disease is in course of preparation. An investigation into the strawberry disease, commonly called the "Lanarkshire Strawberry Disease,' was also undertaken, and resulted in the discovery of an organism constantly present on diseased plants, which it is thought may be the primary cause of the disease.

NORTH OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE.

UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA IN AGRICULTURE.

The course of instruction for the University Diploma in Agriculture given at the College and the University of Aberdeen was discontinued at the end of the academic year 1926-27, in view of the reduced numbers of students taking the course during the past few years.

ADVISORY OFFICER SCHEME.

Soils and Drainage.-The study of different soil types has been continued, and sufficient information has now been collected to indicate the lines on which classification of the soils of the area should proceed. In connection with the programme of joint work in co-operation with English and Scottish soil-workers referred to in the Board's last Report, a field meeting was held