3

E.—7a.

No. 4 Eetuun of the Number resident as Pupils for each Tear. The school was opened the 19th July, 1880. Number of pupils during the two terms ... 21 1881 —Number of pupils during the three terms ... ... ... ... ... ... 47 1882 —Number of pupils entered for the present term (the first) ... ... ' ... ... 38 Note. —Of these Btudents, 1 comes from the West Coast, 2 from Otago, 5 from Napier, 2 from Nelson, 4 from Auckland, 2 from Wellington, 2 from GKsborne, 1 from Picton, 1 from Invercargill.

No. 5. Return of Nature and Results of Experiments made at the Farm.

Name. Prom whence introduced. Eesult of Cultivation. (a.) Inteodtjced Illinois Alexandria California 'lANTS, OB VaEIBTIBS OT PLANTS. Red clover )» ... Alfalfa (lucerne) Plant stands well; is still in cultivation; no seed. Too tender—killed first winter. Earlier than the common lucerne; plants still growing. A further supply of seed sent for this year. Failure. Lucerne si ... Melilotus, sp. Italy Russia Egypt Apparently a very promising plant of strong growth. Further trials being made. The cultivated spurreys. Highly recommended; but, though useful in their native country and grow well here, are not equal to other fodder plants in cultivation. Spergula maxima „ arvensis Denmark :> Rape Lentils Russia Egypt Not so valuable as English—coarser and less succulent. Grew well; but not adapted to New Zealand, at least at present. Grew and bore well; may be useful on light lands; experiment was not continued for fear of effect of alkaloid " lupuline" on stock. Heavy-yielding variety. Fair-yielding. Lupine (white) Egypt Vetches (spring) » (grey) „ (black) Illinois Montreal Canada Russia a j> • •• Mustard (white) 5> >J ••■ „ (black) )s )) Millet Egypt England Italy Iowa England Russia Illinois Failure. These vetches have been grown a second year, but, as the vetch is not a much-valued crop in Canterbury, the cultivation has been discontinued. These grew well. The English is valuable either for its seed, for sheep, or for green manuring. The cultivation will be continued regularly. The difficulty of harvesting this crop, where birds are so thick, is against it; otherwise it promises well. Cultivation of the English will be continued. Failure. This millet grew fairly well for two years. The climate is, however, rather cold for it, and it did not very well hold its own against grasses and weeds. It seeded well—plenty of seed on hand. These came, but not so strongly as the above. They are similar in habit, and not to be recommended. Climate apparently too cold. Samples of dun peas, not better than those grown here. ,, Hungarian grass Russian mohair Broom-corn Peas 3) Kansas South Australia Victoria Kentucky Victoria J> Partridge pea; very large, but not so saleable here as other sorts. Cultivation discontinued. These yielded seed of no better quality than that ordinarily grown, nor was there anything noticeable in the straw. Grown for three years; much attacked by birds; less straw, and therefore fibre, than yielded by ordinary kind. Failure. J) Linseed Russia, 3 samples Italy U.S.A. ;> •" „ „ (large-seeded) ... JJ Hemp Chili Russia U.S.A. Buckwheat Like all kinds of Polygonum, these grew well; but their value is questionable. For the growth of these oil-yielding plants the climate is too cold. „ mammoth ... Castor-oil )) Sesame Sunflower