§ Mr. C. BATHURSTasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether his expert advisers share the view expressed by some scientific experimentalists that a heavy dressing with kainit or other potassic manure in the first week of January of land about to be sown with oats is a certain preventative of stem eelworm and frit-fly in that crop; and, if so, whether he will publish advice to farmers to this effect so as to avoid the recurrence of the present widespread oat sickness?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANDressings of potash salts have been shown to be beneficial in cases of attack by stem-eelworm, and are already recommended in the Board's leaflet on this pest. But the Board are not aware of any scientific evidence indicating that kainit or other potash manures act as a preventive of frit-fly.