milk yield and to fat percentages with those of the recorders' ordinary tests.

The results of the year's tests show a continued improvement in the milking properties of the herds tested by the Association.

The Association's scheme of private or unofficial milk records was continued in 1927. This scheme showed a profit in the financial year 1926-27 and it was not therefore found necessary to make special provision for a grant in aid of the scheme in the financial year 1927-28. The total membership in the calendar year 1927 was 186 and 3,813 cows were tested. In 1926 the corresponding numbers were 193 members and 4,087 cows. The arrangements under which members make their own tests under this scheme are reported to have been carried out satisfactorily during the year.

At the end of the year proposals were under consideration for the reorganisation of the Association's schemes of milk-recording, particularly the main or official scheme, with a view to reducing the cost of milk-recording both to the State and to the farmer.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL MILK AND HEALTH ASSOCIATION. During the year this Association continued its activities which included lectures, demonstrations and propaganda. By the end of the year sums amounting to £323. 4s. 4d. had been advanced to the Association in terms of the offer of £500 by the Board on a pound for pound basis to enable the Association to overcome the initial difficulties of finance, organisation, etc.

Reference is made elsewhere in this Report to the grants made to the Association by the Empire Marketing Board for the purposes of experiments in the feeding of school children, and an investigation into the utilisation of milk residues.

MILK AND DAIRIES (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1914.

In accordance with the requirements of Section 8 of the Act, the draft bye-laws of fifty-five local authorities prescribing the structure, lighting, ventilation, etc., of cow-sheds and dairies and providing for the prevention of impurities in milk, etc., etc., were received from the Scottish Board of Health. These were returned to that Department with the observations and suggestions of the Board, whose concurrence is required before the bye-laws are confirmed.

WORLD'S DAIRY CONGRESS, 1928.

The above Congress, which is to take place in June and July 1928, and is being arranged in conjunction with the International Dairy Federation, and with the concurrence of the International Institute of Agriculture, Rome, is the eighth of its kind but the first to be held in Great Britain. Its main object is to bring about a meeting between all who are concerned in the dairy industry both at home and abroad, with a view to further progress being made in the direction of placing an abundant supply of clean milk and milk products within the reach of the consuming public.

At the request of the General Committee set up in connection with the organisation of the Congress, the Board took the initiative in forming a Scottish Sub-Committee to co-operate with the General Committee in making arrangements for that part of the proceedings of the Congress which will be held in Scotland. This Sub-Committe is representative of the various interests concerned. It has prepared a programme for the three days during which the Congress will be held in Scotland. One morning will be spent in the reading and discussion of papers, while the rest of the time will be devoted to inspection of creameries and dairy farms, etc., and tours through dairying, etc., districts. The Board assisted the Committee in making the preliminary arrangements. Towards the end of the year two small sub-committees were appointed to arrange the details in connection with the proceedings in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.

AGRICULTURAL SHOWS.

The scheme for assisting local agricultural shows was continued during 1927, and assistance was given to (a) small landholders' agricultural shows or agricultural shows at which there are classes confined to small landholders, and (b) agricultural shows in the Congested Districts of Scotland at which there are classes confined to small farmers' stock. The term "Small Landholder " was defined to mean all occupiers of holdings (whether registered as such by the Land Court or not) the annual rent or value of which as entered in the Valuation Roll did not exceed £50, or if this were more than £50, the area of which did not exceed 50 acres. Grants were made towards the provision of (a) prizes in the classes confined to small farmers' or small holders' stock, and (b) show equipment such as fencing, flakes, and coops. Special prizes for young breeding animals suitable to the different districts were also offered by the Board. The amounts awarded varied from £1. 10s to £34. 10s. and the number of shows assisted was 41 as compared with 40 in 1926, viz. :-5 in Argyll, 1 in Ayr, 1 in Bute, 3 in Caithness, 2 in Dumfries, 1 in Fife, 1 in Forfar, 4 in Inverness, 9 in Orkney, 1 in Perth, 3 in Ross and Cromarty, 7 in Shetland, 2 in Sutherland, and 1 in West Lothian.

PROVISION OF VETERINARY SERVICES.

As in former years, grants were made in 1927 towards the provision of veterinary services for small holders' stock in Shetland and Sutherland.

The grant for Shetland was 75% of a salary not exceeding £300 paid to the County Veterinary Surgeon on condition that the Veterinary Surgeon provided professional services and necessary medicines to small holders at a fixed scale of charges. The last report received from the County Council-that for the year ended 15th May 1927-shows that during that period the Veterinary Surgeon, in addition to travelling over 12,250 miles on the mainland of Shetland and in the islands of Unst and Yell in

answer to special calls, paid 148 visits to the smaller islands of Fetlar, Whalsay, Muckle Roe, Burra East and Burra West, Papa, and Trondra; he performed altogether some 580 operations and arranged for the supply of the necessary medicines.

The grant made to the County Council of Sutherland is one of £150 a year on conditions similar to those applicable to Shetland. The last report from the County Council deals with the year to 30th June 1927, during which period the Veterinary Surgeon travelled 4,303 miles, making 178 visits for the treatment of small holders' stock.

SUGAR BEET.

Particulars were given in the Board's last Report of the sugar beet grown in Scotland in 1926 and manufactured into sugar and molasses at 31st December 1926 by the Second Anglo-Scottish Beet Sugar Corporation, Limited, and the Orchard Sugar Company, Limited, respectively. The following table shows the total quantity of sugar and molasses manufactured by these companies from the 1926 crop and the subsidy paid therefor :

Second Anglo-Scottish
Reet Sugar Corpora-
tion, Ltd.

Orchard Sugar Coy.,
Ltd.

22,218 11 50,457

14,784 16

7

3,183 13 7

15,479 49,195 12 4 6,894 10 8,885 6 15,366 7,147 Totals 31,103 17 65,823 22,626 63,980 8 10 10,078 4 2

The aggregate area from which the sugar beet delivered to the factories was taken was, as returned by the Companies, 3,390 acres as compared with 3,649 acres returned to the Board by the occupiers of holdings as at 4th June. The discrepancy in the figures may be due to the fact that areas contracted for were not fully used for beet growing or that certain crops were not harvested for delivery to the Scottish factories. The average yield of beets per acre in 1926 was 91 tons, the average sugar content of beets being 16:56 per cent., and the average price paid by the Companies per ton of beets properly topped, washed, and delivered into the factories, 54s. 1d. The average extractions of sugar and molasses from beets delivered into the factories for manufacture were 10.58 per cent. and 3.64 per cent. respectively.

In 1927 the area returned to the Board as under sugar beet in Scotland was 10,352 acres.

At 31st December 1927 the Second Anglo-Scottish Sugar Beet Corporation, Limited, had manufactured 87,707 cwt. of sugar and 22,298 cwt. of molasses from the home-grown crop of that year, the total subsidy payable therefor to the Company being £95,446. 18s. 7d., of which £85,514. 17s. 10d. was in respect of sugar and £9,932. Os. 9d. in respect of molasses. The factory had not finished its operations at the close of the year. The

contracts made with growers were on the basis of a rate of 54s. per ton delivered at the factory and 50s. per ton free on rail at the grower's station for beets of an average sugar content of 15 per cent. These prices were subject to an increase or decrease of 3d. in respect of each th per cent. above or below The number of separate con

15 per cent. of sugar content. tracts was 1,720.

At 31st December 1927 the Orchard Sugar Company had manufactured from the home-grown crop of that year 37,653 cwt. of sugar and 6,585 cwt. of molasses, the subsidy payable by the Board to the Company therefor being £38,283. 12s. 11d., of which £35,350. 12s. 1d. is in respect of sugar and £2,933. Os. 10d. in respect of molasses. The factory had not finished its operations at the close of the year. With regard to growers' prices 530 contracts were made on the basis of 50s. per ton of beets free on rail or free on board at the grower's station, and 79 contracts at prices varying from 47s. to 61s. per ton of beets of 15 per cent. sugar content, subject to an increase or decrease of 3d. in respect of each 6th per cent. above or below 15 per cent. as the case may be.

The weather conditions in 1927 were generally unfavourable for beet growing. The germination and growth of the crop in the early stages were retarded by a long period of dry, cold weather during the sowing season, followed later by abnormal rainfall. In many parts of the country a tendency to "bolt was evident, and it is anticipated that the average yield per acre will be substantially lower than in the preceding year.

SEEDS ACT, 1920.

During the year, 213 official samples of seeds were taken from stocks exposed on seed merchants' premises. The majority of these samples conformed to the declaration given by the vendor, but several were found on test to be deficient in purity or germination, and the vendors were warned of the necessity for strict compliance with the requirements of the Act. In one case where the deficiency was serious, proceedings were instituted against the merchant concerned, who was convicted and fined. In another case a merchant was proceeded against for exposing seeds for sale without displaying conspicuously on or in close proximity to the seeds a statement in writing containing the particulars prescribed by the Act and Regulations made thereunder. A conviction was obtained.

Inspections were made of all licensed private seed-testing stations, and these were found to be conducted in accordance with the conditions of licence.

TESTING OF SEEDS FOR EXPORT TO THE DOMINIONS. With a view to encouraging the trade in home-grown agricultural seeds with overseas parts of the Empire, the Board obtained a grant from the Empire Marketing Board to permit. of the testing, free of charge, at their official Seed Testing

Station of samples of home-grown seeds to be exported from Scotland in cases where the import regulations of the Dominions, etc., require consignments of seeds shipped from this country to be accompanied by a certificate of test carried out at an official Seed Testing Station.

During the year 12 samples of seeds for export to Canada were certified in accordance with this arrangement.

SEED POTATOES.

During the year a number of cases of contravention of the Seeds Regulations were reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in respect of consignments of seed potatoes supplied to merchants or growers in England. In seven cases proceedings were instituted against merchants whose consignments were sold under a variety name but fell considerably short of the standard of purity of 97 per cent. thereby implied. Convictions were obtained in all cases and fines were imposed.

In several instances, owing to the absence of sufficient corroborative evidence, it was considered inadvisable to institute proceedings, but the merchants or growers were warned of their obligations under the Act and Regulations. Similar warnings were issued in cases where the irregularities were not considered sufficiently serious to warrant proceedings.

STATION FOR THE TESTING AND REGISTRATION OF
AGRICULTURAL PLANTS.

Potatoes.-The results of the trials, which were conducted on the same lines as in previous years, are dealt with elsewhere in this Report. A public demonstration of the trials was again held.

Swedes.-The conclusion that has been reached as the result of the sheep-feeding expériment referred to in the Board's last Report and of the systematic investigations and analysis carried out for several years past, is that the swede for plant-breeders to aim at is that which, other things being equal, gives the largest yield of solid matter per acre. The detailed results of the investigations have been published from time to time in the Scottish Journal of Agriculture.

It has been decided that for the future, operations shall be confined to the acceptance of varieties declared to be new for test against standard varieties in respect of (a) yield per acre, (b) content of total solids, soluble solids, sugar, etc.

Oats. As a result of the extended trials in 1927 referred to in the Board's last Report, it has been decided to continue in 1928 the testing of two varieties with a view to a decision being arrived at regarding the question of their registration.

Wild White Clover.-The Committee appointed by the Board to assist their staff in investigating the quality of the Wild White Clover seed at present in use held its first meeting in June when the clover trial plots were inspected.