j„Q EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



2-3 EDWARD VII., A. 1903 



An examination of the ordinary farm roots (mangels, turnips, &c.), has again been 

 made determining their dry matter and sugar contents. The feeding value of many of 

 them'is far in advance of that obtained last year, largely due, we presume, to the favour- 

 able conditions of weather prevailing during September. Reference must also be made 

 to the so-called sugar mangels and their general superiority from the standpoint of com- 

 position for feeding purposes. 



AmonfT fodders, an account of Bromus arvensis, as grown in Manitoba, is furnished 

 and its feeding value contrasted with its near relation — the justly celebrated Awnless 

 Brome Grass. Upland and lowland hays from Assiniboia, sedge hay from the salt 

 marshes of New Brunswick have also been analysed. The principal feeding stuffs 

 examined comprise gluten meals and other corn by-products, oil cake, cocoanut cake, 

 cotton seed meal, bi-an, Blatchford's calf meal, and certain mixed feeds used on board 

 ship for cattle en route to England. 



Insecticides and Fungicidetf. — Analyses have been made of several brands of 

 ' cyanide ' upon the Canadian market. This, as is well known, is used largely in fumi- 

 gation for the destruction of the San Jose scale on nursery stock. The value of any 

 particular sam-ple of potassium cyanide is, of course, dependent upon its gas (prussic acid 

 "as) producing power, and our results show how far dependence can be placed on the 

 ordinary guarantee under which it may be sold and the causes for deterioration. 



The ' Lime, Sulphur and Salt Wash,' or so-called California Spray, is another remedy 

 used in the control and destruction of the San Jose scale, and very much in favour at 

 the present time for orchard treatment. Certain information, the result of experimental 

 work, is given with regard to the correct proportions of the constituents to be used. 



The new insecticide, Bug Death, for which so much has been claimed, has been 

 analysed and the results inserted in this report. 



Sugar Beets. — Though we have since the establishment of the Experimental Farms 

 stiidied the sugar beet as grown in various parts of the Dominion with a view of deter- 

 mining the suitability of our soils and climate for sugar production, there has been an 

 increase this season in the number of samples usually examined. The following pro- 

 vinces are represented : — Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and 

 the North-west Territories. The data thus supplied will no doubt prove especially valu- 

 able this year, when there is a more than usual interest being taken in the development 

 of the beet sugar industry in Canada. Speaking generally, we may say that our results 

 this year, as in the past, have shown that beets of an excellent quality and purity — and 

 quite suitable for factory purposes — can be raised over large areas in the Dominion. In 

 these favourable areas existing in a large number of our provinces, the beets, if from 

 good seed and properly cultivated, are quite equal to those grown in the United States 

 and European countries for sugar production. 



Flour. — The high standing of Canadian Baker's Strong Flour, as manufactured from 

 No. 1, Hard P^ed Fife wheat, has been brought out by a series of comparative analyses. 

 The data, it is expected, will prove valuable in developing a Canadian export flour trade 

 to the Orient, now largely served by flour from Oregon and Washington. 



Tuberculin. — In July of the current year the preparation and distribution of tuber- 

 culin was handed over to Dr. Higgins, Pathologist of the Veterinary Branch of the 

 Department of Agriculture. From November 1, 1901, to July 12, 1902, 3,025 doses of 

 tuberculin had been forwarded from the farm laboratory to Dominion Veterinary In- 

 spectors. 



Toxicological Work. — At the instance of the Chief Veterinary Inspector, we have 

 during the past year examined several cases of alleged poisoning, reports of the analyses 

 being made to that oflicer. 



Correspondence. — The letters received by this division from November 30, 1901, to 

 December 1, 1902, in addition to those referred to us by the other departments of the 

 farm, numbered 1,163 ; those sent out during that period, 1,233. 



