938 



EXPERIMEN'TAL FARMS 



SUGAR BEETS. 



5 GEORGE v., A. 1915 



Four varieties were sown May 10 on stubble land, manured the previous fall, and 

 were pulled October 13. They were sown in rows 28 inches apart and the plants were 

 thinned to 6 or 8 inches apart in the rows. The area of each plot was. %s of an acre. 

 They were irrigated July 24, and again on September 30. 



Sugar Beets. — Test of Varieties. 



ALFALFA. 



The acreage of alfalfa on irrigated lands in the province is increasing rapidly 

 from year to year as the importance and value of this crop is better appreciated by 

 the farmers. It has been grown successfully in the Lethbridge district for the past 

 dozen years. The total acreage now well exceeds 10,000 acres. On the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway Company's irrigated lands in the Strathmore and Gleichen districts 

 it is being introduced more slowly. Everything indicates, however, that it can be 

 profitably raised there, provided care is exercised in ascertaining the source of the 

 seed so that only hardy types are used, and proper cultural operations in the manner 

 and time of irrigation are employed. 



Alfalfa is peculiarly adapted to irrigation. It produces large crops each year and 

 owing to the fact that a stand will last for many years after it is sown, it Hs very 

 profitable there being no expense attached to it except irrigating and harvesting the 



crop. 



To get the best results the land should be irrigated for each crop or cutting. The 

 yield depends entirely on the care exercised in irrigating, that is, no parts of the field 

 should be missed and no parts over-irrigated sufficiently to injure the crop. In this 

 connection it must also be mentioned that, according to reports in the spring of 1914, 

 fall irrigation is not a safe practice in all districts. 



The average yield per acre on the Station since 1909 (the first fields were sown 

 in 1908) of field-cured hay has been just a little over 5 tons per acre. 



Some tests have been made to ascertain the best quantity of seed to sow. The 

 results obtained are given in the following tables. The plots were all sown alone, no 

 nurse crop of grain being used. 



The Station recommends using from 15 to 20 pounds of seed per acre. If con- 

 ditions are very favourable, i.e., if good rains come just after the seed is sown, less will 

 do, but as it is a crop that will remain a long time on the land and one that will not 

 thicken but rather is apt to become thinner as it becomes older, a liberal supply of 

 seed is usually true economy. The hay from a thick stand has finer stems and so is 

 better in quality. 



Lethbridge. 



