204 EXrEIilMEyTAL FARMS 



5 GEORGE v.. A. 1915 

 DOTATION OF CROPS. 



Tlie year hm been aliviost lost so far iis experimental work in the rotation o(£ 

 crops is concerned. The flood was the cause which so invalidated our results. 

 The land on which several of ilie rotations are located, was inundated, other areas 

 a^ain, were partially flooded, and some escaped entirely. This means that the condi- 

 tions under which the crops in the various rotations were grown, were not com- 

 parable. It is thus impossible to be sure whether any differences observed are due to 

 the character of the rotation or to the effect of the flood. 



ROTATION "d" (FOLR YEARS' DURATION)' 



Flr^t year. — \Yheat. 



Second year. — Wheat. Manured preceding fall at rate of 3 tons per acre. 



Third year. — Oats. 



Fourth year. — Summer-fallow. 



Four fields of 3J acres each are used for this rotation. The soil varies from a 

 sandy to a clayey loam. It was started in 1910, and has been in full operation since 

 1911. 



Rotation '*D '' may be considered a typical grain farming rotation, except that 

 .manure is applied to the land once every four years. An adjoining rotation, " E," has 

 exactly the same order of crops as " D," but differs in that it receives no manure. The 

 manuro applied to '" D " is charged at the rate of $1 per ton (spread over the rotation). 

 In 1911 and 1912, the increase in crop more than paid for the cost of the manure. 

 This year the immanurcd rotation showed the greater profit. 



Rotation "D" was not alfected by the flood, but did, however, suffer from tlie diy 

 weather. Field " D 1 " in particular, being rather light sandy soil, did not give the 

 yield that can usually be expected from summer-fallowed land. 



ROTATION "e" (four YEARS' DURATION). 



Fird year. — Wheat. 

 Seeond year. — Wheat. 

 Third year. — Oats. 

 Foil rill year. — Sunnncr-falloAV. 



Rotatinn '■ E " receives no manure at any time, this being the only difference 

 between it and " D ". It is probably used by more of the successful grain farmers of 

 -Manitoba than any other rotation. 



It consists of four fields of 3J acres each, lying contiguous to tlie corresponding 

 fields of " D ". The soil varies from a sandy loam to a clay loam. The rotation was 

 started in 1910 and has been in full operation each year since that time. 



One striking result ali'cadj' observed in rotations "D" and '"' E " is the great diffi- 

 culty in keeping wild oats in check. The three successive grain crops give this weed 

 a splendid o])portunity to multiply, and the summer-fallow is not i\n entirely effective 

 inoans of eradicating it. This result bears out the observation of many farmers in 

 Manitoba, who find that in growing grain exclusively, it is impossible to keep the 

 wild oats in check, no matter how tlioroughly the work of summer-fallowing is done. 



Brandon. 



