The fungal flora associated with black spot of pineapples
- Authors: Edmonstone-Sammons, Chloris
- Date: 1956
- Subjects: Fungi , Pineapple -- Diseases and pests , Citrus -- Diseases and pests , Citrus -- Soils
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4258 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011738 , Fungi , Pineapple -- Diseases and pests , Citrus -- Diseases and pests , Citrus -- Soils
- Description: The earliest reference to investigations of "black spot" in pineapples is made by Tryon (1898), who refers to the work of Dr A. A. Brown (1896) of the stock Branch, Victoria (Aus.), who sectioned diseased areas of pineapples and found fungal spores and hyphae in the tissues. The symptoms of this socalled "fruitlet core rot," are described by Tryon as: "well defined dark brown markings immediately beneath the surface, and passing inwards to a depth of 1/4" to 1/2"- the malady commencing in separate fruitlets, the central core of the fruit remaining quite healthy." (This description agrees with the symptoms referred to as "black spot" 1n this country). Subsequent culture of the spores (found by Brown) on slices of healthy fruit resulted in growth of Mucor racemosus. Brown regarded an invasion by this fungus as a primary cause of the disease. Intro. p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1956
A critical study of methods for the determination of zinc in soils and plant materials
- Authors: Eve, Desmond John
- Date: 1955
- Subjects: Soils -- Zinc content , Soils -- Analysis , Plants -- Analysis
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011770 , Soils -- Zinc content , Soils -- Analysis , Plants -- Analysis
- Description: Although it is only fairly recently that the importance of trace elements in plant nutrition has been established, enormous advances have been made in this field of research and numerous publications of considerable scientific and economic importance, dealing with the subject, have appeared. The physiological functions of zinc in promoting plant growth have not all been satisfactorily identified as yet. There are indications, however, that zinc acts as a catalyst or regulator in plant metabolism. It appears too, that the element plays some role in chlorophyll formation. Zinc deficiency is associated with leaf chlorosis and a general collapse of v ital processes. The analysis of leaves and soils has become an essential part of the study of the nutritional diseases of plants and it is imperative that accurate and reliable methods of analysis should be available. Intro. p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1955
A sample survey of farming types in the divisions of Albany and Bathurst
- Authors: Davies, R J
- Date: 1955
- Subjects: Agriculture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4885 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014733
- Description: [From Introduction]. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine some of the broad relationships which exist between different land use types and farming practises on the one hand and the geographical environment on the other. The enquiry is confined to the study of a number of farm units which have been selected within the area enclosed by the District of Albany and Bathurst situated in the south-East coastal belt of the Cape Province. The procedure adapted conforms broadly to that of a project carried out in South America by R.S. Platt of the University of Chicago and embodied in hls book "Latin America, Countryside and United Regions." Platt's project, he notes, consists of a collection of "small field studies in a frame of complex generalisations." It does not aim to give a complete geographical account of the regions he selected for investigation, but is an attempt to enlarge geograpical understanding of the respective areas.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1955
An investigation into the insect ecology of citrus orchards, with special reference to citrus mussel scale (Lepidosaphes beckii newm.)
- Authors: Carnegie, Alistair John Michael
- Date: 1955
- Subjects: Citrus -- Diseases and pests -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Lepidosaphes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5905 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014637
- Description: In the course cf the last fifteen years the general lnsect ecology of citrus orchards in the Eastern Cape has provided the subject matter of four theses presented for the degree of M.Sc. of Rhodes University. The false codlin moth, Argyroploce leucotreta Meyr., formed the subject of a thesis by Horne in 1939. Then in 1941 the same insect formed the subject matter of a thesis by Harris. The general ecology of a citrus orchard, with special regard to the biological control of citrus red scale, Aonidiella aurantii Mask., was the subject matter of Whitehead's thesis in 1948. This was a much more general investigation than the preceding two theses, and touched on many more aspects of citrus ecology. Another thesis dealing with more general citrus ecology was that of Smithers in 1953.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1955
Studies of Hypnea spicifera
- Authors: Hewitt, Florence E
- Date: 1955
- Subjects: Marine algae
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4271 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018234
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1955
A preliminary investigation of the toxic principle of Moraea polystachya Ker
- Authors: Dry, L J
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Iridaceae Moraea polystachya ker
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4461 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011494
- Description: A member of the Iridaceae family, the plant (also known as the Blue Tulp) ... is a monocotyledon. The blue tulp grows profusely in rainy parts of the Union, for example along much of the Cape coastal belt as far east as Grahamstown, in both the Karroos, and in parts of the Transvaal. It is a perennial plant but only appears above the ground once a year for about two months. This is at the start of the rainy season and in Grahamstown the plant appears in April and May, after which it disappears again. Chapter 1, p.1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
An investigation of the equivalent circuit of a conductivity cell
- Authors: Allison, Francis Sutton
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Electrolytic cells
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4508 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013376
- Description: ( i) A linear circuit is shown not to explain the behaviour of a conductivity cell towards a long rectangular pulse of amplitude less than the decomposition potential of the solution in the cell. (ii) It is shown that the flow of current through the cell is governed by diffusion to the electrode. The diffusion current expression is the familiar one used in the case of diffusion up to a plane micro-electrode, except that in this case the concentration in the layer next to the electrode is not zero, but only somewhat less than the bulk concentration. (iii) Except during a short initial period (less than 10 seconds), the resistance of the electrolytic cell varies directly with the square root of the time for which an e.m.f. (less than the decomposition potential) is applied to the cell, and inversely with the concentration difference between the electrode surface and the bulk of the solution.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
Aspects of the resorcinol-formaldehyde condensation
- Authors: Waldron, Ronald Augustus Frank
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Resorcinol , Formaldehyde
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4514 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013460
- Description: An attempt was made to producea -β or Ϫ - resorcinyl alcohol from disubstituted resorcinyls. To accomplish this 3,5-dibromo-β-resorcylic acid was reacted with lithium aluminium hybride, a mild reducing agent, in an attempt to reduce the acid group to the alcohol group. This disubstituted resorcinol was recovered unchanged. 3,5-dibromo-β-resorcyl-aldehyde was reduced by lithium aluminium hydride, but, instead of the alcohol forming, resinification took place. 2-methyl- 4-ethylresorcinol and 4,6-diethyrecorinol were reacted with formaldehyde under alkaline and acidic conditions. In each case a resin formed. The above experlments indicated that condensation took place in the meta position of the resorcinol molecule. Trimethylresorcinol was therefore reacted with formaldehyde under alkaline conditions, resulting in a small quantity ot the alcohol derivative. A better yield of the alcohol derivative was obtained by the hydrolysis or the chloromathyl derivative. In pursuing this line, a seres of new compounds and their derivatives were prepared. The condensation of the alcohol derivative with trimethylresorcinol and also with resorcinol was investigated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
Defoe and Scottish politics after union
- Authors: Gathorne, R
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731 -- Political and social views , Scotland -- History -- 1689-1745
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2605 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011941
- Description: It would indeed have been a difficult matter for anybody possessing a taste for self-expression, a facility with words and an insatiable imagination to avoid becoming involved in political controversy in England during the early part of the Eighteenth Century. For one who, in addition, was confident in his ability to solve problems of state of whatever complexity it was clearly an impossibility. Daniel Defoe's close connection with politics during the first years of the Eighteenth Century involved him in numerous hardships. In later years it brought him much less fame than his excursions into fiction; but it was the means of providing him, albeit sparsely at times, with sufficient money to keep his creditors at bay. On more than one occasion the protection he gained helped to rescue him from imprisonment. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
Die aktualiteit in die poësie van A Roland Holst
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, Gertruida Catharina
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Roland Holst, Adrianus, 1888-1976 -- Criticism and interpretation , Dutch poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3639 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013499
- Description: From Verantwoording: By die ondersoek na die rol wat die aktualiteit in die poësie van A. Roland Holst speel, wou ons veral nagaan of die gedigte waarin elemente van die aktualiteit aanwesig is, in wese van sy orige werk verskil. Hoofstuk II, “Teen die Wereld” gaan veral sover dit die inhoud betref, op hierdie vraag in. In die derde en vierde hoofstukke is na aanleiding van ‘n aantal verteenwoordigende gedigte getrag om meer in besonderhede, en ook wat die vorm aangaan, die saak van nader te beskou, en die resultate van die ondersoek is in die Slotbeskouing saamgevat.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
Some aspects of the insect ecology of citrus orchards
- Authors: Smithers, Courtenay Neville
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Citrus -- Diseases and pests , Insect pests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5883 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013231
- Description: After a brief introduction, the species of Citrus on which the investigations were carried out are mentioned. This is followed by an account of the methods of collection used, and a discussion of their relative merits. The main method used was that in which the trees were fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas, and the insects falling from the trees were taken up on sheets. The location of the areas where collections were made are then given. An annotated list of the species taken by the fumigation method follows, and the numerical data obtained at the same time regarding the species present is given in an abbreviated form and discussed. A more detailed discussion of the relative abundance of the species is then undertaken. The discussion of the ecology of the insects commences with the insects listed according to their activities, so far as known, and an account of five trees of striking faunal differences is given. A broader discussion of citrus ecology is then given, based on the data previously presented; this ends with a short reminder of the inherent 'oneness' of the insect with its environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
Studies on the behaviour of Anomala opacicollis (Pér)
- Authors: Miles, Peter Wallace
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Anomala -- Behavior -- Zimbabwe , Anomala -- Control -- Zimbabwe , Anomala -- Larvae -- Zimbabwe , Scarabaeidae -- Zimbabwe , Beetles -- Control -- Zimbabwe , Tobacco -- Diseases and pests -- Zimbabwe , Tobacco industry -- Zimbabwe , Insecticides -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5901 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013514
- Description: [Summary]: The larvae of Anomala opacicollis (Pér), of Melolonthid and of other Rutelid species, attack tobacco in Southern Rhodesia, and are more commonly called "whitegrubs". Whitegrubs are widespread in the sandveld areas where tobacco is grown and, at the Trelawney Station of the Tobacco Research Board of Southern Rhodesia, where this work was done, A. opacicollis was the predominant species. An account o£ the one year life cycle is given. The adults eat the leaves of various indigenous trees and an account of an experiment on the food preferences of A. opacicollis adults is given, and the main food sources in the Trelawney area are listed. An experiment is described which shows that the beetles prefer to lay their eggs in the veld or in manured broken land rather than in normal ploughed lands. The larvae are erratically distributed in lands and experiments on larval movement suggest that this is mainly due to concentration of the larvae at discrete concentrations of organic matter in the soil. The temperature and moisture condition of the top 3" of soil are found to be those which attact the larvae. It is suggested that tho larvae prefer and move to soil which contains the lowest amount of moisture which keeps the soil air spaces saturated. lt appears that the preferred temperature decreases with increasing soil moisture content and it is suggested that this is due to the respiratory requirements of the larvae. Soil pH, compaction and fertiliser content and the presence of plants do not appear to influence larval movements. A theory is developed concerning the mechanism of movements in the soil and it is suggested that, in the absence of a continuous gradient, the speed but not the direction of movement is influenced by conditions to which the larvae are sensitive. Evidence in support of thie theory is given. Studies on the survival of larvae at different soil moisture contents and temperatures show that conditions in the top 3" of soil are not likely to be lethal in spite of the high temperatures and low moisture contents found there. The relation of whitegrub behaviour to agricultural problems is discussed. Other workers published evidence indicating that early ploughed lands were attractive to whitegrubs; this is shown not to be the case and the previous evidence is re-interpreted. Such lands tend to contain concentrations of whitegrubs round the borders. The reason for this is discussed and it is suggested that lands should be ploughed early to confine whitegrub infestations in this manner. Soils low in fertility through repeated cultivation are commonly believed to contain more whitegrubs than virgin soil. However, behaviour studies suggest that it is the activity and not the size of the population which is affected by soil fertility. The time at which tobacco is planted is known to determine the extent of subsequent whitegrub damage. The reason for this is to be found in the life cycle of whitegrubs and the results of an experiment on time of planting in relation to whitegrub damage are given. Some insecticides are shown to be more repellant than others to A. opacicollis larvae and the influence of this fact on the assessment of soil insecticide effectiveness in the field is discussed. Reference is made to a method developed by the writer for the determination of insecticide effectiveness under the conditions of erratic whitegrub distribution which normally occur.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
The determination of the solubility of mercurous chloride at 25°C
- Authors: Dry, Mark Eberhard
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Mercuric chloride
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011576 , Mercuric chloride
- Description: After the publication of the paper by Gledhill and Malan in which precision conductance techniques were used for the first time in the determination of the solubility of silver chloride, Dr. N.H. Perton of Christchurch College, New Zealand, wrote to Gledhill and suggested that the same methods might be rewarding if applied to the determination of the solubility of mercurous chloride. A review of the Chemical literature showed that the values for the solubility of mercurous chloride were not at all consistent. Into., p. 1
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
The polarographic determination of trace elements in blister and refined copper
- Authors: Eve, Adrian John
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Copper , Polarographs , Polarography
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4467 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011769 , Copper , Polarographs , Polarography
- Description: In the complete analysis of copper the following impurities are generally determined: silver, gold, lead, arsenic, antimony, selenium, tellurium, iron, zinc, cobalt, nickel, oxygen, sulphur, and, less commonly, tin and phosphorus. The actual copper content varies around 99.0% in blister copper; in the refined metal the content is somewhat higher, usually over 99.9%. The concentrations of the individual impurities vary from tenths to thousandths of one per cent.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1954
A critical study of the evidence of Andries Stockenstrom before the Aborigines Committee in 1835, viewed in the light of his statements and policies before 1935
- Authors: Urie, J M
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Stockenstrom, Andries, 1792-1864 , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- History -- 19th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2617 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013416
- Description: In recent years, increasing interest has been taken in the career of Andries Stockenstrom. Detailed study of his policy as Landdrost of Graaff-Reinet , as Commissioner-General of the Eastern Districts, and as Lieutenant-Governor, has brought about a realization of the soundness and value of much of his work. This appreciation of the sterling qualities of Stockenstrom's character- despite his undoubtedly difficult temperament - has led to the tacit assumption that the accusations which were levelled against him, and the odium in which he was held in Albany, after his evidence before the Aborigines Committee 1835 -1836, were largely the result of unfortunate newspaper propaganda. That evidence, it is implied - coming as it did at a time when public opinion was peculiarly sensitive to criticism - was in fact, not as black as it had been painted. Yet the events of the period between the Commissioner-Generalship and the Lieutenant- Governorship have not only coloured the judgment upon Stockenstrom of almost every writer on South African history, but so influenced contemporary public opinion as to materially impair the efficiency of his Lieutenant-Governorship. In writing this thesis, it has heen my purpose to make a detailed study of such material as is available for the period 1833-1836, and to endeavour, by an analysis of the evidence more particularly in the light of the years before 1833, to set this significant period in Stockenstrom' s career in its right perspective.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953
A preliminary investigation of the ecology of the Larger Kleinmond River Estuary, Bathurst District
- Authors: Brown, Alexander Claude, 1931-2005
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Kleinemonde River Estuary (South Africa) , Estuaries -- South Africa , Estuarine ecology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5904 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014611
- Description: Introduction. On the coast of the Bathurst Division, Eastern Cape Province, some 42 miles south- east of Grahamstown, lie two estuaries opening within a few yards of one another. These are known as the Kleinemonde. This paper embodies the results of an ecological survey of the fauna of the Larger Kleinmond Estuary. The chief concern has been the aquatic fauna but animals living along the banks have also been dealt with as far as possible, as have the birds. This is the second of South Africa's blind estuaries to be studied, the Klein River, Hermanus, having been investigated in 1947-49 by workers from the University of Cape Town. Though common in South Africa, blind estuaries are rare in parts of the world such as Europe, and present an almost entirely new field of research for the ecologist. It is hoped, therefore, that the investigation of the Kleinmond Estuary and a comparison with the results obtained from the Klein River, Hermanus, will add to our knowledge of this subject and be of service to future investigators. The history of the Kleimnond River is worthy of mention, for the lagoon was not always blind and shallow. The early maps of the 1820 settlers show the river as a navigable stream; sailing vessels anchored out at sea and sent lighters up what was then known as the Lydendoch River to collect fresh meat. The area at the mouth of the river was called Port Jessie. In these early days the region abounded with game. Hippo and elephant were common. the former inhabiting deep pools in the upper reaches of the river; pools which have since completely silted up. Constant ploughing of the slopes adjoining the river has caused vast amounts of soil to be washed by rains into the stream, and today what was within living memory a deep, clear stream is a shallow, blind and muddy river, a reflection of man's destructive methods of farming. These changes must have had a far-reaching effect on the fauna of the estuary; an effect about which we can, alas, only speculate. It is perhaps significant that though rich in numbers, the fauna is poor in species, tunicates and echinoderms being apparently entirely absent. The work involved in this survey was undertaken between September 1952 and November 1953, under the direction of Professor J . Omer-Cooper of Rhodes University, frequent and regular visits being made to the estuary. The entire month of February, 1953, was spent on the shore of the lagoon, so that animals could be observed over a continuous period. The starting date of the survey was particularly fortunate, as on September 28th, 1952, the river came down in flood and broke through the sand-bar separating the lagoon from the sea. The work thus began at a definite point in the estuarine cycle, the importance of which it is hoped to show.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953
Studies in chromium complexes
- Authors: Friend, Maurice Temple
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Complex ions , Chromium
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4474 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011892 , Complex ions , Chromium
- Description: In this work physical and analytical methods have been used to investigate the potassium salts of certain dioxalato chromium (III) complexes. The solid potassium salts of the trioxalatochromiate and the cis and trans dioxalatodiaquochromiates together with a salt corresponding to potassium dioxalatosulphatoaquochromiate were prepared. The mono- and dihydroxo derivatives of the cis and trans dioxalatochromiates were also obtained in aqueous solution. The methods of preparation and analysis used are described. Spectrophotometric absorption curves obtained on solutions of these salts using a Beckman Spectrophotometer are in agreement with results of previous workers, and the new absorption curve obtained from a solution of the solid cis dioxalatodiaquochromia salt shows that it is pure and gives additional proof of the completeness of the trans - cis isomerisation. Summary, p. i.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953
Studies in chromium complexes
- Authors: Cooper, Desmond Rudolph
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Chromium , Complex ions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4523 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014707
- Description: The chemistry of co-ordination compounds in general has played an important role in the development of the modern theory of valency, but the properties of complex salts between chromium and organic compounds containing carboxyl and amino- groups are of additional interest because of their bearing on the theory of certain technological processes such as chromium plating and, in particular, chrome-tanning. Owing to the rapid development of valence theory over the last two decades the technological chemist finds himself at a disadvantage vis-a-vis his academic counterpart in attempting to interpret the results of researches relating to these compounds as he must rely on the less powerful "classical" approach to his problems. Hence the need was felt for a brief survey of modern concepts of valency in terms of wave mechanics. For a more extended study the reader may consult the appropriate references and text books.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953
Studies on Paragus (Diptera, Syrphidae)
- Authors: Stuckenberg, B R
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Syrphidae , Diptera
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5887 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013321
- Description: As several new species are described in this thesis its full value can only be realised by its publication, and it has therefore been prepared with that end in view. The subject matter is divided into two parts, each of which has been treated quite independently of the other. Both parts are presented here in the form in which they have been offered for publication. The first paper consists of a systematic study of a complex of species within the genus Paragus. It includes descriptions of four new species, a new subspecies, an allotype, and redescriptions of two incompletely defined species. This paper has been offered for publication in the Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. The second part consists of a study of all the Ethiopian species of Paragus except those covered by the first paper. It includes the definition of a new subgenus, and descriptions of two new species and three allotypes. It has been sent for publication in the "Revue Zoologie et Botanique de Africaine" at the invitation of Dr. P. Basilewsky of the Musee du Congo Belge, Tervuren.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953
The petrology of the Khale dolerite sheet
- Authors: Eales, Hugh V
- Date: 1953
- Subjects: Petrology -- Botswana , Diabase -- Botswana
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5076 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014853
- Description: In the hills and in the plain of the Khale area are exposed two sheets of quartz-dolerite, the upper sheet being locally mushroom-shaped. The rock corresponds loosely with the Downes mountain type of dolorite, and contains numerous horizons of coarse-grained dolorite-pegmatite. The plagioclase felspars are described with special reference to the variation of grain-size, the features of zoned crystals, and the possible causes of a peculiar brown clouding in the basic zones of the crystals. Phenocrysts of augite and pigeonite, as well as plagioclase are recorded in the chilled contact rock. The micrometric data indicate that the mineral composition of the specimens is largely governed by the oxidation state of the iron, and that the Soret effect has caused the marginal rock to be enriched in basic elements. Hydrothermal veinlets composed largely of chlorite occur in both the dolorite and the country rock, and evidence suggests that veins of both residual material and mobilised granite occur in the upper finer-grained dolorite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1953