DIVISION OF FIELD HUSBANDRY 199 



SESSIONAL PAPER No- 16 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR MANITOBA, 

 BRANDON, MAN, ' 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, W. C. McKILLICAN, B.S.A. 



WEATHER CONDITIONS AND CROP NOTES, 1913. 



The season of 1913 opened up with a very rapid disappearance of snow. Winter 

 weather had continued to the end of March, hut once warm weather began, spring 

 came on apace. Work on the land commenced on the Experimental Farm on April 14, 

 and the first seeding was made on April 16. On the higher part of the Farm, condi- 

 tiojis for work were ideal, and seeding was finished early, but the lower lands were 

 flooded by an overtiow of the Assiniboine river. The river rose about May 1 and covered 

 about 200 acres of the Farm, some of which had been seeded. The water remained on 

 this land for about ten days at the highest level, and then gradually withdrew. It was 

 nearly a month before any of the flooded fields were in condition to work, and some 

 ponds remained for the greater part of the summer. With the exception of hay, crops 

 already sown on this flooded land were badly injured, or destroyed entirely. Crops sown 

 after the flood were very late and gave poor results. Seeding of grain was finished on 

 May 8, on the unfloodetl land, and on June 11 on the flooded land. Planting com waa 

 commenced on May 18 and finished on June 7. The weather during the early part of 

 the summer was very dry, the total rainfall up to the end of July being only 5-33 inches. 

 As a result, crops of all kinds suffered considerably and yields were not as large as 

 would be expected in a normal season. Alfalfa haying began on June 20, and a good 

 crop was harvested despite injuries from the flood in the lower places. The second 

 cutting was commenced on July 31, and was only a fair crop, being reduced somewhat 

 by the drought. The first grain to be cut waa barley, on July 28. Cutting wheat 

 commenced on August 13. The last cutting was oats for green feed on the flooded 

 land, on Septemeber 13. Threshing began on the experimental plots on August 25, 

 and was completed on September 29. Gutting com commenced on September 12, and 

 silo filling was completed on September 23. Fall ploughing was commen'^ed on Sep- 

 tember 15 and was completed just before the ground froze up on October 27. 



