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REPORT OF TEE DIRECTOR 43 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



NEW BRANCH EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



Two new branch experimental farms have recently been established, one at Leth- 

 bridge to serve the purposes of Southern Alberta, the other at Lacombe for Northern 

 Alberta. The experimental farm for Southern Alberta is situated about 2i miles from 

 the town of Letbbridge on the Lethbridge and Crowsnest section of the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway. It consists of 400 acres of land, 100 acres of which can be irrigated. 

 The other 300 acres lie too high to admit of this and will be devoted to experiments 

 in dry farming. On the irrigated portion the effect of water in the raising of crops 

 will be studied, the quantities which should be applied under certain conditions, the 

 number of applications needed, &c. All such problems will be investigated and re- 

 ported on and in this way information likely to be of the greatest value to those grow- 

 ing crops on irrigated land will be obtained. On the higher land which cannot be 

 irrigated, the various problems connected with dry farming will be studied and ex- 

 periments will be conducted along lines of general farming to find out what crops can 

 be grown and what treatment of the land is host to reach success with a scanty rain- 

 fall Many experiments under both these conditions will be carried on with fruits, 

 vegetables, forest trees, &c. 



The experimental farm chosen for Northern Alberta is a quarter-section of land 

 adjoining the town of Lacombe and about a mile from the railway station. Lacombe 

 is a busy town about 70 miles south of Edmonton and the centre of a good agricultural 

 district on the line of the Canadian Pacific' railway from Calgary to Edmonton. It 

 has also a branch line running east to Stettler, 51 miles distant, a line which will 

 probably soon be extended to Moosejaw. The farm site has a good soil representative 

 of the district and lies in a commanding position overlooking the railway and the 

 surrounding country. 



Mr. W. ri. Fairfield has been appointed Superintendent of the farm at Lethbridge, 

 and Mr' G. H. Hutton, Superintendent of the farm at Lacombe. Both of these officers 

 have had excellent training in the lines of work they will have the responsibility 

 of conducting in this important western province. 



CHANGES m THE STAFF. 



It is with regret that I have to record the loss to our service of two long tried 

 and faithful officers, both of whom have left the experimental farms to engage in 

 more remunerative work. Mr. S. A. Bedford, so long and favourably known as sujwr- 

 intendent of the experimental farm for Manitoba, has resigned his position on the 

 farm at Brandon to enter into business. Mr. Bedford was the first of the superinten- 

 dents appointed on the western farms and has had charge of the experimental farm at 

 Brandon from the outset. In his management he has been most successful. In his 

 work he has been careful and accurate and his reports have been interesting and valu- 

 able. The suggestions and recommendations he has made from time to time have 

 been followed with profit by many farmers in Manitoba. The experiments conducted 

 have covered a wide range in agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture and have 

 been of great value to the country. Mr. N. "Wolverton, B.A., has been appointed as 

 his successor. lie has had considerable experience and success in farming in ^fani- 

 toba. His report of the operations conducted at Brandon during the past year will 

 be read with interest. 



Mr. John Fixter joined the experimental farm staff as farm foreman at the Cen- 

 tral Farm, Ottawa, during the first year of its existence and has filled the position 

 ever since with much satisfaction. He was a capable and efficient officer, thoroughly 

 reliable and painstaking in all the work which devolved on him. He resigned his 

 position at Ottawa to accept a more remunerative one at the Macdonald College, at 

 Stc. Anne de Bellevue. Que. Mr. J). D. Gray has been selected to fill the vacancy and 

 ia discharging the duties of the office satisfactorily. 



