6-7 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 A. 1907 



REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 



J. II. GRISDALE, B. Agr. 



Ottawa, March 31, 1906. 

 Dr. "Wm. Saunders, C.M.G., 



Director Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottawa, Out. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit herewith my report for the period of four months 

 from December 1 to March 31, which consists chiefly of a brief review of some of the 

 conchisions drawn or information gained from some of the most important work that 

 has been carried on in this department since the inception of work here in 1887. The 

 amount of work to be considered prevents anything more than bare conclusions or very 

 succinct summaries being presented in the space at my disposal. 



I have the honour to be, sir. 



Your obedient servant, 



J. H. GRISDALE, 



Agriculturist. 



Results obtained or conclusions reached in field or cultural as well as in live 

 stock work must necessarily be subject to continuous revision. Where factors so vary- 

 ing as soil peculiarities, climatic vagaries and animal individuality are to be reckoned 

 with it is only from the average results of long series of experiments that any really 

 safe conclusions may be drawn. The field work and the live stock work here must 

 therefore be looked upon by farmers seeking for guidance as being approximately rather 

 than absolutely correct. Further, each farmer who would benefit must be prepared to 

 modify methods to suit his own conditions. 



SOIL AXD SOIL CULTIVATION. 



The soil on that part of the Central Experimental Farm devoted to the growing of 

 general farm crops varies from clayey ha/rdpan to yellow sand including black muck 

 or peaty soils of various degrees of peatiness. While such variety of character in the soil 

 adds to its value as an experimental farm area by permitting a study of methods of 

 cultivation and of systems of rotation best suited for the various soils, it also detracts 

 somewhat from the value of most crop growing and cultivation experiments by render- 

 ing results always or practically always subject to an uncontrollable and a not easily 

 to be eliminated factor, that is, very varying areas as to character of soil. No two 

 fields, one might even say no two adjacent acres on the farm may be said to be quite 

 similar in character. 



Since, however, very few farms consist of soils quite uniform in character, our 

 results obtained on large areas of such varied soils as are included in this farm may 

 be held to be fairly comparable with those obtained on the average farm. Further, 

 since it would be folly for any farmer to try to crop or cultivate according to the varj'- 

 ing character of his soil where from 3 to 10 distinct varieties of soil may be found in 

 a 10 acre field, it is evident that any work that goes to determine what system of rota- 

 tion or cultivation gives the best average results on all soils is of no small value. For 

 the above reasons results obtained here as to cost of crops, amount of labour required 

 for different crops, yields to be anticipated and rotations to be followed may be con- 

 sidered valuable, and even more valuable for the reason that they are average results. 



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