54 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



2-3 EDWARD VII., A. 1903 



Stonewall, jNIan., and Miss E. Fowler of Headingly, Man. The whole exhibit was a 

 credit to the society and to the province. 



It has been my privilege, as official duties have permitted to attend other meetings 

 of farmers and fruit growers during the year where I have had the pleasure of address- 

 ing the meetings, and taking part in the discussions and contributing, I trust some 

 useful information. 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, NAPPAN, N.S. 



A visit was paid to this farm in October, from the 8th to 11th. Every thing wa' 

 found in good condition, although most of the crops had been harvested. This farm is 

 improving much from year to year, the area of land under cultivation has been conside- 

 rably enlarged and the quality of the soil improved by manuring, and the ploughing 

 under of pease and clover. The field roots on the newer portions of the upland were an 

 excellent crop. 



Indian corn was being harvested at the time of my visit and was yielding a fair 

 return notwithstanding the unfavourable season. 



Oats had given an unusually heavy crop, so also had wheat and barley The hay 

 had been well saved, the uplands having given excellent returns while the marsh land 

 had scarcely given an average crop. The yields on the experimental farm were said to 

 be fair indications of the crops in general throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunst^dck and 

 Prince Edward Island which have been highly satisfactory. 



Good progress is being made with the different sorts of stock kept on the farm and 

 a good dairy herd has been built up. In swine, sheep and poultry some progress has also 

 been made. 



In the horticultural division, considerable advancement is noticeable. The orchard 

 located on the main road is improving fast and most of the trees are making good growth. 

 Many of the apple trees are bearing well and there were good crops on some of the older 

 specimens. The smaller trees are making satisfactory increase in size but many of them 

 are not yet old enough to bear fruit. 



The orchard in the wooded inclosure is growing finely, the trees are vigorous and 

 are developing evenly and a few of the older specimens were heavily laden with fruit, 

 and some of the smaller trees, only four years planted, were bearing more or less. The 

 general fruit crop in Nova Scotia was much lighter than usual and was estimated at less 

 than half an ordinary crop. 



The hedges and ornamental trees and shrubs hate done well, making the lawns and 

 grounds about the buildings very attractive. The various sorts of perennial and annual 

 flowers grown here have furnished a succession of bloom throughout the season. 



INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLANT BREEDING. 



On September 30, and October 1-2. I attended under your instruction a very 

 important meeting in New York, held under the auspices of the Horticultural Society 

 of that city, namely an ' International Conference on Plant Breeding and Hybridization ' 

 in company with Mr. W. T. Macoun, horticulturist and Dr. C. E. Saunders, experi- 

 mentalist of the experimental farm. At this gathering we had the oppoi'tunity of meeting 

 many eminent men engaged in these useful lines of work from different parts of the 

 world. The sessions were most enjoyable and instructive and much information was 

 gathered from the papers read and the discussions which followed. A paper was 

 read by me on the ' Results of Hybridization and Plant Breeding in Canada,' illustrated 

 by specimens, in which the work accomplished by different experimenters in Canada in 

 this direction for the past 40 years was brought under notice. Prominence was also 

 given to the work in plant breeding and hybridizing which has been done with cereals, 

 fruits, &c., during the past 15 years, at the experimental farms. A paper was also presented 

 by Mr. W. T. Macoun entitled ' Notes on the Breeding of Beans and Pease ' and by Dr. 

 C. E. Saunders, on a * Study of the Variations in the Second Generation of Berberis 



