[1] Cayley was especially interested in plant disease and soils and entered the board of education's examination in horticulture which gained her first-class honours and a medal while in Reading.

She also took a first class in the Royal Horticultural Society Examination and was appointed as the superintendent of the gardens that belonged to the Botanical Department at Reading.

[1] Between 1914 and 1918 she contributed to the war effort by work such as cutting bracken in Savernake Forest for army horse bedding and tool setting for Vickers airplane factory.

Cayley assisted the Royal Army Medical investigations into tetanus at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London.

[3] Tulip enthusiasts who wanted "true colours" were pleased as the research showed that "breaking" could be prevented by stopping infection of the bulbs (for example, by aphids).