18 



EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



6-7 EDWARD VII., A, 1907 



FIELD WORK. 



The varioTss lines of work carried on here on the area devoted to field crops may 

 be summarizeci as follows : — 



1. Exjoeriments to determine best methods of growing various crops. 



2. Cost of production experiments. 



3. Stock bearing capacity of land, ' The 40-acre lot.' 



4. ' The 200-acre farm.' 



5. Rotations, 



On account of lack of space only the very briefest kind of a summary of the 

 conclusions drawn or the results obtained in each line may be given. 



1. As to methods of growing crops our work points to the absolute necessity of (1) 

 early seeding, (2) thorough cultivation, (3) sufficient and good seed (4) not growing 

 similar crops many years in succession on same area, (5) barnyard manure, (C) 

 clover as a fertilizer if good results are to be obtained. 



2. As to cost of production the average of a few results show the cost per acre 

 of various crops including rent of land at $3 per acre, manure at $3 per acre, manual 

 labour $1.50 per day, teams $3 per day, and single horses $2 per day, to be as follows : — 



COST OF PRODUCTION. 



Crops. 



Corn for ensilage 



Roots 



Oats 



Barley 



Peas 



Horse besms 



Rape 



Pumpkins 



Hay (average of all sorts of hay) 



Mixed grain for hay 



Rye for green feed 



Sunflower ... 



Cost per Ton 

 of Feed. 



$ cts. 



1 50 



1 69 

 12 03 

 11 95 

 16 51 



2 21 



93 



1 43 



3 52 

 6 46 

 3 13 

 6 30 



Cost per Acre 



stored ready for 



Consumption 



in 



each case. 



$ cts. 



25 53 

 41 68 

 13 53 

 13 45 

 13 85 

 25 16 

 12 71 

 25 50 

 9 23 

 16 20 

 15 65 

 23 59 



3. An experiment to determine the possibilities in the way of keeping cattle on a 

 given area of land was carried on for five years, from July 8, 1891, to July, 1896. 

 This was known as the ' Forty-acre lot experiment.' 



The results obtained show that sufficient food was grown on the forty acres during 

 the course of the experiments to carry stock as follows : — 



For the first year, 1891-92 14 cows. 



" second year, 1892-93 23 " 



" third year, 1893-94 (Experiment interrupted) 



" fourth year, 1894-95 25 cows. 



" fifth year, 1895-96 24 " 



The straw used for bedding was not grown on the ' Forty-acre lot.' 



4. In 1899 about 200 acres of land was taken to be used as a farm, and a five-year 

 rotation introduced thereon as well as a system of shallow cultivation. 



The rotation introduced was as follows : — 



