EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR MANITOBA. 



Brandon, Man., 31st October, 1894. 



To Wm. Saunders, Esq.. 



Director, Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottawa. 



Sir, — I have the honour to submit herewith my seventh annual report of the 

 experiments undertaken and work accomplished on the Brandon Experimental Farm 

 during the past eleven months. 



Last spring opened quite late and the April rainfall was heavier than usual, greatly 

 delaying seeding ; the first grain was sown on the Experimental Farm on the 20th 

 April, ten days later than the average date, and the first experimental plots were not 

 sown until 30th April, and even then many low spots in the fields were miry and 

 germination of grain in them was delayed, allowing the weeds in these spots to get a 

 good start which they kept throughout the season. 



After the middle of May the weather remained unusually dry and the rainfall was 

 only 5-1 inches from 1st April to 30th September, or 1-8 inches less than during the 

 same months last year. 



Some of the favourable features in the past season was the almost total absence of 

 severe wind storms and the long open fall, the first injury from frost occurring on the 

 17th September, by which time all grain was either threshed or stacked. 



Owing to the light rainfall the yield of all farm produce in the western and south 

 western parts of the province was below the average of other years, but owing to the 

 excellent harvest weather and open fall the sample of grain of all kinds was much better 

 than usual and the only losses sustained have been through injury by smut, for in the 

 face of the very conclusive results obtained from the use of bluestone as a smut pre- 

 ventive it is to be regretted that a number of farmers still either refuse to treat their 

 seed wheat or do it so carelessly, that considerable loss has again resulted from this 

 cause. Parties who had escaped for a number of years were heavy sufferers this year and 

 owing to the abundant supply of good wheat, there was very little demand for smutty 

 grain and it had to be sold at a sacrifice. 



A noticeable feature of the past summer is the large exports of beef cattle from the 

 province ; it is to be regretted, however, that many of them were only thin stockers sold at 

 a sacrifice and which should have been fed over winter and sold in spring as fat cattle 

 at good prices. 



The returns from all fodder plants have been less than usual, but farmers are every- 

 where learning to utilize the straw, chaff and other by-products instead of burning 

 them as in former years and no scarcity of winter feed is anticipated. 



Owing to the prevailing low price of wheat, experimental tests have been made 

 this year with special crops, among them flax, millet seed, and pease for the purpose of 

 comparison the money value per acre of each crop is stated ; the values given are based 

 on the wholesale prices prevailing at the farmers' market, Brandon. 



Variety test of Wheat. 



Rio Grande, the most productive variety in this year's test, has also made one of 

 the highest average yields for the past four seasons, although a fairly good wheat, it is 

 not considered equal to the Red Fife for milling purposes. 



Dion's is a newly introduced wheat, of uncertain origin, has this year equalled the 

 Red Fife in productiveness and matured four days in advance of that variety. Dion's 



