DIVISION OF CEREALS 773 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



experienced. The major part of the early-sown grain was harvested in good condition, 

 biit as the wet, cold spell in the spring delayed seeding, a very large acreage was still 

 unfit to cut to this date. The highest temperature recorded for September was on the 

 2nd, 78° F., and the lowest on the 16th, 31° F. Slight frosts were recorded on two 

 days, the 6th and 16th. The total precipitation for the month was 2-70 inches. Out 

 of a possible of 376 hoiirs sunshine only 165 '95 hours were recorded. 



October for the greater part was a very unseasonable month. Rain fell on thir- 

 teen different daj^s during the month, giving a total precipitation of 7-83 inches, which 

 was the heaviest by far recorded at this Farm since October, 1907, during which month 

 8-42 inches were recorded. Owing to the lateness of the season, much grain was still 

 unharvested, consequently inestimable damage resulted, as it was ruined for seed, and 

 hardly^fit for feed. 



While the records for the month of November show quite a variation of tempera- 

 ture at times, on the whole it may be called rather a seasonable month. The roots 

 were harvested during the first part of the month, and the great damage caused by 

 the enormous rains of the previous months was then realized. These rains did not 

 alfect the crops only, but also the land, putting it in such a condition as to render 

 autumn ploughing impossible. The first half of the month was unusually fine for 

 November. The highest temperature, 65° F., was recorded on the 10th. The latter 

 part of the month was somewhat colder, and on the 29th the temperature dropped to 

 10°, which was the lowest for the month. Snow fell on the 26th and 27th, and this 

 together with the rain which fell on five other -different days, viz., 4th, 10th 15th, 

 20th, and 23rd, made the total precipitation 2-03 inches. November was rather dull 

 throughout, and only 115-45 hours of sunshine were recorded. 



December, though rather mild for that month, nevertheless displayed some of its 

 natural characteristics, in that it brought the first appearances of winter. Until the 

 13th the weather was somewhat broken, with alternate rain and snowfall. Following 

 this from the 14th to the 20th some 4 inches of very light snow fell. On the 24th 

 snow again fell, this time to a depth of 7 inches, and on the 26th a very heavy cold 

 rain fell. The weather turned very cold and clear on the 27th, which weather con- 

 tinued throughout the remainder of the month. The snowfall of the month gave us 

 a precipitation of 1-60 inches and the rain a precipitation of 2-65, making a total 

 of 4-25 inches. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING WHEAT. 



Eleven varieties of spring wheat were sown in uniform test plots of one-fortieth 

 of an acre. The land was a medium heavy clay loam, with a sandy loam subsoil to a 

 depth of 9 inches, which had been ploughed in the fall of 1912 and well cultivated in 

 the spring of 1913 to get a good seed-bed. Seed was, sown at the rate of 1 bushel 3 

 pecks per acre. 



Owing to the low temperature of the ground the seed w.as from eleven to sixteen 

 days germinating, and did not show above the ground until the eighteenth or 

 twentieth day. 



Considerable weeding had to be done in order to keep the plots clean. After the 

 middle of June the grain made very rapid growth, and at the end of the season an 

 excellent stand was realizerl. All plots were free from lodging and rust, but a few 

 of the plots had a.s high as from 2 to 3 per cent smut. This was all hand-picked out 

 as soon as it appeared. 



Nappax. 



