parts, to be taken, as a rule, in two successive years. By the courtesy of the authorities of the Yorkshire College at Leeds, the first examination for the Diploma will be held in the Great Hall of the College on Monday, April 30 next, and four following days. The entries of candidates for this examination will close Saturday, March 31, 1900. on 13 Hanover Square, W. December 6, 1899. By Order of the Council, ERNEST CLARKE, Secretary. REPORT OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE ON THE RESULTS OF THE EXAMINATION IN DAIRYING, 1899. THE Committee have the pleasure to report that the Fourth Annual Examination for the National Diploma in the Science and Practice of Dairying was conducted jointly by the Royal Agricultural Society of England and the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in September and October 1899. 2. The Examination for English candidates was held under the supervision of the Executive of this Society from September 25 to 28, 1899, at the Reading College and British Dairy Institute. The Examination for Scottish candidates was conducted on identical lines, but with different Examination Papers, at the Scottish Dairy Institute, Kilmarnock, from October 2 to 5, 1899, under the supervision of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. 3. Twelve candidates entered for the Examination at Reading, and nine for the Examination at Kilmarnock, all of whom were examined. 4. Of the twelve candidates examined at Reading, the following six have satisfied the Examiners, and will therefore be entitled to receive the National Diploma in the Science and Practice of Dairying : MAUDE P. ASHBY, 110 Liverpool Road, Birkdale, Southport. ANDREW LOGAN, Midland Dairy Institute, Kingston Fields, Derby. 5. Of the nine candidates examined at Kilmarnock, the following five were successful: CHRISTINA D. FLEMING, Hawkwood, Strathaven, Lanarkshire. 6. The Examiner in Chemistry and Bacteriology at Reading (Dr. J. A. Voelcker) reports that "although in only one instance has special acquaintance with the subjects been shown, yet I have been very well satisfied with the general knowledge possessed by the candidates, only one of whom, indeed, obtained less than the qualifying marks. There was much less of the vagueness of replies which I have noticed before, indicating, as it did, very imperfect understanding of the subject matter; and I think there has been a more intelligent grasp of the main points and facts of the sciences involved. This was especially noticeable, I considered, in the case of those candidates who had been referred back to their studies from a previous year; and the extra year's work has, I believe, been decidedly beneficial in their case." 7. The Examiners in General Dairying (Mr. John Gilchrist) and in Cheese-making (Mr. William McFadyean) have presented a joint report that "the successful candidates acquitted themselves in a very creditable manner, and will no doubt give a good account of themselves in the future. On the other hand, a number came forward unprepared, and were evidently unaware of the necessity of the practical experience and study which would enable them to secure such an important Diploma. We were impressed with the earnestness of all the students who came before us, and their evident desire to qualify themselves both practically and theoretically in all pertaining to Dairy work." 8. The thanks of the Royal Agricultural Society are again due to Mr. J. Marshall Dugdale, who personally superintended the Examination at Reading, to the authorities of the Reading College, and to the Committee and Officials of the British Dairy Institute, for the excellent local arrangements with regard to the general conduct of the Examination, and the provision of milk, cream, and utensils. MORETON, 13 Hanover Square, W. Chairman. EXAMINATION IN THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF QUESTIONS IN GENERAL DAIRYING. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MARKS, 200. PASS NUMBER, 100. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and at least other six questions must be attempted. * 1. You are asked to select a dairy farm of about 180 acres. Describe the kind of farm you would look for, stating the district, position, and the system of dairying you have in view. Suggest a suitable rotation of crops, and state what would be a desirable acreage to have under Hay, Pasture, and Roots. * 2. Describe and compare the selection and feeding of the stock of milkcows in the following systems of dairying: (a) Where the milk is sold as new milk. (b) Where the cream is separated and made into butter and the skim milk is fed to calves. (c) Where cheese is made. * 3. Describe in detail what you would recommend as the best system of ripening small quantities of cream (without a separator) where churning is done twice a week. * 4. Give some indication of the amount of fat which is present in thick and thin cream. What thickness of cream do you recommend for ripening, and also for churning? Give your reasons. 5. Describe fully what you consider to be the best method of curing butter which is to be kept for three months. 6. State all the operations that are required in the preparation of the land and the cultivation of a crop of swedes, and the costs per acre of these, and of manure and seed. Estimate the weight and value per acre of the crop produced. 7. Enumerate and describe the precautions you would take to prevent the infection or inoculation of milk by noxious bacteria. 8. Describe the management of, and give the cost of keeping, a shorthorn heifer for one year previous to date of calving. 9. What conditions of management and production would you impose on a farmer who sends his milk regularly to a creamery for butter-making? 10. Give the average composition of beans, linseed cake, and swedes, and describe their special advantages and disadvantages as food for dairy cows. 11. Specify the points you would allow when judging butter, and state how you would arrive at your awards. 12. You are about to purchase twenty hens for egg production and fattening purposes. What breed and at what age would you purchase? What kind and amount of food would you allow per day for twenty laying hens of this breed? QUESTIONS IN CHEMISTRY AND BACTERIOLOGY. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MARKS, 200. PASS NUMBER, 100. (Seven questions only to be answered, among which must be the five marked *.) (Three hours allowed.) 1. Discuss the most recent views as to the relative extent to which the fat of milk is derived from the carbohydrates, the albuminoids, or the fat of foods. *2. Set out comparative analyses of whole milk and separated milk, stating what is removed in the operation of separating, and showing to what extent the other constituents of the milk are thereby affected. What effect will this have on the product (separated milk) regarded as a food material? 3. Describe the souring of milk, showing in what respects and under what circumstances the process is to be considered a chemical one, and in what way a bacteriological one. 4. How is condensed milk prepared? What are the difficulties and uncertainties associated with its purchase? How do these arise, and what prejudicial effects may they have in the utilisation of the material as an article of food? * 5. What is the particular influence on dairy produce exercised by the following foods when given to milking cattle: Linseed cake, bean meal, oats, s xedes, brewers' grains (wet), silage? 6. Give reasons for the practice recommended in the cleaning of dairy utensils to "first wash in cold water, then scald with hot water, and finally wash again with cold water?" 7. Exemplify the dependence of cheese-making upon the action of bacterial life. How might the growth of bacteria in cheeses be prevented. and what would be the result? 8. To what class of ferments does the active principle in rennet belong? What are the principal qualities of the ferments of this class that distinguish them from another large class? 9. In the "ripening" of cream for butter-making, what is it sought to effect and what to avoid? 10. Set out in the form of a chemical analysis the general composition of genuine fresh butter. What is butter-fat, considered chemically? QUESTIONS IN CHEESE-MAKING. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MARKS, 200. PASS NUMBER, 100. Not more than 10 of the following questions are to be answered. 1. From a herd of 50 Shorthorn or Ayrshire cows, what weight of cheese would you expect to make during the season, and what do you consider a satisfactory price for the make of cheese per cwt.-either Cheddar, Cheshire, Leicester, or Derby? 2. How long do you think a fine Cheddar or Cheshire cheese should take to ripen, and what percentage of loss in weight would you expect during this time? 3. Compare the ripening of the Stilton cheese with the same process in a Cheddar or Cheshire, and give details of the treatment of the two after leaving the hoops until they are fit to use. 4. Explain two of the best known tests for determining the amount of acid in, and before drawing off, whey. Is it necessary to always develop the same amount of acid at this stage? And under what circumstances would you vary it? 5. What do you know of the use of "Starter" in cheese-making? And how would you prepare one in your own dairy so as to have the best results in using it? 6. What difference in keeping qualities would you expect to find in a cheese made from curd too acid, as compared with another made from a curd with the proper amount of acid? And what are the defects in the former when cut? 7. Briefly explain the treatment of milk for Stilton cheese-making from the time it comes into the dairy until the curd is ready for vatting. Has the temperature any effect on the process, and if so, in what way? 8. Name some of the causes of having bad-flavoured cheese. What would you suggest to remedy or lessen the recurrence of such ? 9. In the making of a Cheshire or Cheddar cheese, state the quantity of rennet you would use, the effects of using too much or too little, and the principal points to be observed in making. 10. What is meant by a porous curd? How could it be prevented? Name a very common cause of it. 11. Why is Shorthorn or Ayrshire cows' milk preferable to Jerseys' in the manufacture of pressed cheese? 12. Give your views of the best and most economical means of keeping the dairy and curing room at a uniform temperature, and reasons why temperature should be kept from fluctuating. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1899 OF THE THE present Report, consequent upon the separation of the "experimental" from the "analytical" side of the Society's chemical work, in consequence of the establishment of the Woburn Experimental Station, deals only with matters referred to me by Members of the Society, and relates to analyses of the various samples submitted to me for analysis and report. The number of samples sent in the ordinary course by Members has been rather less than last year, viz. 802, against 861 in 1898. In addition, however, there have been 51 other samples analysed in connection with special matters of inquiry. Moreover, a large number of samples of milk, both whole and separated, were analysed in the Society's Laboratory, in connection with the awards in the Cream Separator trials and the Dairy Classes at the Society's Country Meeting at Maidstone. Despite the falling-off in the number of samples sent, it can be said that the past year has proved quite as useful as its predecessor in showing the desirability of analytical examination. It is quite true that in staple articles purchased for farm use, such as linseed and cotton cake, mineral superphosphate, and the like, there is much greater security to the purchaser now than there was formerly, and also such ready and good supply as perhaps only occasionally to call for examination and verification of deliveries. But there nevertheless spring up from time to time new materials about which information is needed, and new forms of adulteration that have to be guarded against. It is in supplying such information that the occasional Reports issued by the Chemical Committee in the Minutes of the Council Proceedings serve a useful purpose. Perhaps the chief features in the year's analytical work have been in connection with the extended use of basic slag, and the method of sale and purchase of "blue vitriol" (sulphate of copper), together with the detection of the unsatisfactory nature, in many cases, of the materials used in the manufacture of "compound" or so-called "feeding" cakes. Basic slag has undoubtedly been used more generally, and |