133 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS ' ■ 



2 G20RGH V., A. 1912 



MEETINGS ATTENDED. 



The most important meetings attended during the year were those held in Wash- 

 ington, D.C., in November, when a new society, known as ' The American Society of 

 Milling and Banking Technology ' was organized. The need of some standardization 

 of the methods employed in making milling and baking tests of wheat and flour and 

 in the processes of chemical analysis and mechanical examination to which wheat and 

 flour may be subjected is very great, and the objects of the new society are to devise 

 and promulgate satisfactory methods of investigation and analysis. Hitherto each 

 investigator has worked more or less independently, so that his results have been of 

 comparatively little use to other workers. It is believed that, by the employment of 

 standard methods of proved efficiency, not only will the accuracy of all such research 

 work be increased, but the labours of every investigator will be of service to the others. 



The first work undertaken by the new society was to send out six samples of wheat, 

 grown in different parts of the United States and Canada, to each member willing to 

 make tests of them. The results of these comparative tests will be used as a basis 

 for the determination of the value of the various methods of procedure and of the 

 unavoidable experimental errors involved in the work. This set of samples is being 

 analysed and tested at this Farm by the Chemist and Cerealist. . 



VISITS TO BRANCH EXPERIMENTAL FARMS AND STATIONS. 



In the month of August, as soon as the harvest at Ottawa was sufficiently far 

 advanced to allow me to leave, I visited the Branch Farm at Nappan, N.S., and the 

 Station at Charlottetown, P.E.I. 



At Charlottetown, the plots of cereals were in excellent condition, and the small 

 fields of grain were also very good. All gave promise of a large yield, which the thresh- 

 ing returns later fully confirmed. Considering that this was the first season for this 

 new Station, the appearance of the fields and plots was remarkably good. About two 

 days were spent in driving through some of the neighbouring parts of the Island to 

 become familiar with agricultural conditions. The general character of the district 

 was most attractive, -and very good crops were seen on almost every farm. 



The plots and fields at Nappan also gave every indication of large yields. Some 

 damage was being done to a few plots by birds; but this seemed unavoidable, though 

 much to be regretted, as it quite destroys the accuracy of the plot experiments. 



CROSSING AND SELECTION OF CEREALS, ETC. 



As the quantity of material now on hand which has been produced from the 

 crosses accomplished during the past few years is so large as to be almost unmanage- 

 able, no new crosses in cereals were made last season. Some work was done with flax, 

 however, using as parents the selected strains which are now being grown at Ottawa, 

 pnd of which the oil-content has been determined. Aside from the scientific interest, 

 the objeots of immediate practical importance in view are to combine as far as pos- 

 sible in one variety a large yield and a high oil-content with such height of plant as 

 may be most desirable. Most of the work undertaken is with a view to the production 

 of flax seed rather than of fibre, but the latter feature is not being overlooked. 



Attention is given every year to the selection of cereals not only as part of the 

 necessary procedure to fix the various types produced by cross-breeding, but also in 

 order to obtain improved strains of commercial sorts. The method employed is that 

 of propagating a series of separate strains each starting with a single mother plant. 

 The best strain is chosen after several years' study. This method, which the Cerealist 



