34 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



64 VICTORIA, A. 1901 



* A piece of sandy loam, more or less mixed with clay, which was originally covered 

 with hea-\-y timber, chiefly white pine, was chosen for these tests. The timber was cut 

 many years ago, and among the stumps still remaining when the land was purchased, 

 there had :?prurg up a thick second gro^vth of trees, chiefly poplar, birch and maple, 

 few of which exceeded 6 inches in diameter at the base. Early in 1887, this land was 

 oleaied by rooting up the young trees and stumps and burning them in piles, on the 

 ground from which they Avere taken, the ashes being afterwards distributed over the 

 soil as evenly as possible, and the land ploughed and thoroughly harrowed. Later in 

 the season it was again ploughed and harrowed, and most of it got into fair condition 

 for cropping. 



' The plots laid out for the exp«'imental work with fertilizers were one-tenth of an 

 acre each, 21 of which were devoted to experiments with wheat, 21 to barley, 21 to 

 oats, 21 to Indian corn or maize, and 21 to experiments with turnips and mangels. It 

 was not practicable to undertake work on all the plots the first season. The tests were 

 begun in 1888 with 20 plots of wheat and 16 of Indian corn, and in 1889 all the series 

 were completed excepting six plots of roots, Nos. 16 to 21 inclusive, which were avail- 

 able for the work in 1890.' In all cases the plots in each series have been sown on the 

 same day. 



'In 1890 it was found that all the grain plots had become so weedy that the 

 growth of the crops was much interfered with, and with the view of cleaning the land 

 one-half of each of the wheat and oat plots was sown with carrots in 1891, and one- 

 half of each of the barley plots with sugar beets. In 1892 the other half of each plot 

 in each of these series was sown with carrots. In 1893 it was thought desirable to con- 

 tinue this cleaning process, and carrots were again sown on the half of the wheat and 

 oat plots occupied with this crop in 1891, and also the half of the barley plots cropped 

 with sugar beets that year.' In 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898 the one-half of the 

 oat plots were sown again with carrots and the half of the plots devoted to wheat and 

 barley were planted with potatoes. 



TREATMENT OF SOIL. 



' The treatment of the soil on all the grain plots has been to gang-plough soon 

 after haivest, and after the shed grain and vreeds have well started to plough again 

 later, about 7 inches deep. In spring the plots have been gang-ploughed once before 

 applying the fertilizers, which are then scattered over the surface and harrowed with 

 the smoothing harrow before sowing. On those plots where barn-yard manure has been 

 used, the manure has been lightly ploughed under as soon as possible after it has been 

 spread on the land and just before sowing. Wherever barn-yard manure is spoken of, 

 it is understood to be a mixture of horse and cow manure in about equal proportions.' 



A summary of these permanent fertilizer plots is given each year, taking the aver- 

 age yield of the whole previous period, adding the results of the current year, and 

 then giving ihe average yield for the full time. 



OBJECTS IN VIEW IN CONDUCTING THESE EXPERIMENTS. 



It should be distinctly understood that in establishing and conducting this series 

 of experiments, the object in view ha^ been to gain as much information as possible 

 as to the actual effects of certain fertilizers and combinations of fertilizers on 

 particular crops. These experiments were nevor intended to serve as model test plots 

 such as farm'^rs could copy to advantage in their general practice. On the contrary, 

 to gain the information desired, it has been found necessary to use some fertilizers 

 in extravagant quantities, and in other instances to more or less exhaust the soil by a 

 succession of crops of the same sort, practices which in ordinary farming would be 



