158 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. ^ 



Early in October by the kind permission of the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, 1 

 had the great advantage of attending the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, 

 where 1 not only acquired much information of value to my department by ex- 

 amining the many excellent collections of insects there displayed in illustration of 

 the value of applied entomology, but was able to be of service in reporting upon 

 certain pests of stored grain, which just at that time had been noticed to be des- 

 troying the cereals exposed as samples or used in ornamentation of the various 

 courts in the Agricultural Building. From the fact that very few connected with 

 the exhibits knew the life histories of the pests concerned, there was a good deal 

 of unnecessary anxiety at the time of my visit, which I was pleased to be able in a 

 measure to allay. The entomological division of my department was represented 

 at Chicago by a collection of 20 cases of insects systematically arranged. In the 

 preparation of this collection I was materially assisted by Mr. J. Alston Moffat, of 

 London, who arranged the cases of moths, and by Mr, W. Hague Harrington, of 

 Ottawa, who prepared two beautiful cases of Hymenoptera. I have also to gratefully 

 acknowledge donations of insects from the Entomological Society of Ontario, the 

 Eev. C. J. S. Bethune, of Port Hope, Messrs. H. S. Saunders and W. Rennie of 

 London, Ont., and Prof. W. Saunders, of Ottawa. When finished, the collection pre- 

 sented a very creditable appearance and, when returned, will form the nucleus of a 

 reference collection at the Central Experimental Farm. Such a collection for 

 reference has been much needed in the past. I hope during the coming winter to 

 much increase this collection from the large amount of material which had accumu- 

 lated previous to the appointment of my assistant, Mr. Guignard, and which could 

 not be arranged, owing to pressure of other work. 



DIVISION OP BOTANY. 



In the Division of Botany the experiments with grasses, native and foreign, have 

 been continued and have attracted much attention from visitors to the farm. The 

 increased importance of the dairy industry during the last decade, has naturally 

 drawn much attention to the subject of fodder plants. The experimental grass plots 

 covering about 1^ acres are situated on a piece of moderately good land, lying to 

 the west of the main road to the office and between the road and the poultry house. 

 The ground is varied and provides the different kinds of soil and degrees of moisture 

 necessary for the testing of grasses of various habitats. The method which has been 

 followed in furnishing these beds has been to obtain seed by exchange, purchase or 

 collection in the field, and cultivate the plants until a sufficient quantity were on 

 hand to set out a plot of one square rod to each species. There are about 130 of 

 these plots now in use. It is considered that plots of this size are large enough to 

 give a correct idea of the value of a grass from its habit of growth and weight of 

 product per acre. In addition to the whole plots of 1 square rod are half plots 

 where grasses are grown which are of known value or have been tested and which 

 raa3' be of interest to visiting farmers. Grasses of botanical interest only are grown in 

 mixed beds, about 4 rows being given to each species. A bulletin {G.E.F., No, 19.) having 

 been lately issued entitled : " Grasses, their Uses and Composition," treating of the work 

 of this department in that line, it is not thought advisable to devote much space in 

 this report to that subject. Experiments have been carried on, but are not yet 

 completed with permanent pasture and hay and lawn mixtures. Samples of the 

 best mixtures offered for sale by seedsmen were secured and sown, and although on 

 the whole these mixtures were satisfactory, there were several points in which it 

 was thought they could be improved. Some of the grasses which form a large pro- 

 portion of the mixtures were not suited to our climate, and others came to maturity 

 at seasons so different that the gi'asses could not all be at their best when mown for 

 hay. Careful notes have been kept of the time of flowering of all the different 

 varieties year by year, and these have been made use of in some trial mixtures for 

 hay which have been sown in 6 large plots of 2V ^^''® each, lying to the north of 

 the road leading to the poultry house and beyond the row of birch trees shown to 

 the right of the illustration. In addition to the true grasses about 15 plots have 



