59 



experimental plots of oats are exceptionally large, showing that the season has been 

 very favourable at Nappan for this grain. Some large yields of barley have also 

 been obtained, although most of the samples are deficient in weight. 



The tests conducted with a number of different sorts of corn indicate that 

 the growth of this useful crop for ensilage purposes in the Maritime Provinces is 

 likely to be attended with success. The experiments with mangels, turnips and 

 carrots have also been very successful. 



The advantage resulting from the draining of so large a part of the land under 

 cultivation begins now to be apparent in the increased crops. 



The useful breeds of daiiy cattle which have been provided at this experimen- 

 tal farm for the Maritime Provinces will, it is hoped, aid in the improvement of the 

 stock of these provinces for dairy purposes, and will doubtless prove of special value 

 to those farmers who are near enough to Nappan to avail themselves of the facilities 

 for improvement which the presence of these animals will give. 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BRANDON, MANITOBA. 



In the report of the superintendent of this farm, Mr. S. A. Bedford, there will 

 be found a large array of useful facts, the results of much careful work, which will be 

 valuable to the settlers in Manitoba. The many tests with wheat, oats and barley, 

 showing the length of time required to mature the different sorts, the varying results 

 obtained by sowing on different classes of soil, by cutting the grain at different 

 periods of ripeness; comparisons of the results of the use of the disc harrow with 

 spring ploughing; of different methods of treating summer fallowed land ; the use of 

 different quantities of seed per acre; the relative returns from the use of the ordinary 

 drill, the press drill and the broadcast seeder, and the yields from fall and spring 

 ploughing, will all be read with much interest by tbe farmers of that province, as 

 well as by those of the North-West generally. The results of experiments with 

 smudges are also given in this report. 



One of the most important series of results which Mr. Bedford has reported 

 on relates to the growing of mixed grain, and cutting and curing it in the green 

 state as hay for the winter feeding of cattle. The problem of supplying a sufficient 

 quantity of winter food for the rapidly increasing herds of stock in the North- West 

 was a pressing one, and the practical way in which it has been solved by the tests 

 made at the experimental farms will have an important bearing on the stock and 

 dairy interests of the future in these fertile portions of the Dominion. Mr. Bedford 

 has shown that by sowing a mixture of oats and tares more than five tons per acre 

 of nutritious hay can be produced in a favourable season, that such a crop can be 

 sown after the grain is all in, and hai'vested before the grain harvest begins, and 

 thus ample provision may be made by the use of comparatively few acres of land 

 for the winter sustenance of a large herd of cattle. 



The successful growing of fodder corn and the making of ensilage therefrom 

 will prove another useful factor in developing the dairy interests of Manitoba, while 

 the experiments with native and hardy imported grasses and clovers promise 

 eventually to provide improved pasturage for the summer months. The satisfactory 

 crops reported of mangels, carrots and turnips indicate that there need be no lack of 

 variety in the food which can be stored for the winter feeding of cattle if farmers 

 will only avail themselves of the advantages which the country offers. 



The strains of dairy and beefing breeds of cattle which have been introduced 

 during the past year at the Brandon experimental farm will it is believed ofler good 

 facilities for improving the stock in that part of the province. The use of frozen 

 wheat and the coarser grains for feeding pigs and steers will also it is hoped show a 

 more profitable way of disposing of these low-priced products at home than by ship- 

 ping them out of the country. 



Further reports on the tests of large and small fruits are also given, which are 

 on the whole encouraging; so also are the results of further experiments with forest 



