2 GEORGE V. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 A- 1912 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR MANITOBA. 



REPORT OF JAS. MURRAY, B.S.A., SUPERINTENDENT. 



Brandon, Man., March 31, 1911. 



Dr. Wm. Saunders, C.M.G., 



Director, Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottawa. 



Sir, — I have the honour to present herewith the twenty-third annual report of the 

 Experimental Farm for Manitoba at Brandon, giving the results of experiments under- 

 taken during the past year. 



The spring of 1910 in Manitoba opened up unusually early. "The snow was all 

 gone in March and work on the land had commenced in a few districts before the first 

 of April. Seeding was quite general by April 2, and the weather up to that date was 

 warm and bright. On the 13th, 14th and 15th, rain interrupted the work and on the 

 10th nineteen degrees of frost was recorded. This was the commencement of a series 

 of vicissitudes which continued throughout the season and made a record for unfavour- 

 able conditions in many parts of Manitoba. 



Sharp frosts which occurred at intervals during April and May did considerable 

 damage to early-sown grain and garden crops. The injury was accentuated by persis- 

 tent high winds which drifted the soil and left the tender plants exposed. An unusu- 

 ally light rainfall in May made the winds the more destructive. Considerable areas 

 of wheat had to be resown as a result of the blowing and freezing. 



The last frost of the spring was recorded on June 6, and after that date a period 

 of extreme heat set in and continued with slight interruptions until the middle of 

 August. During June, subsequent to the 10th of the month, the temperature was over 

 SO on eighteen days, over 90 on nine days and over 100 on four days. On June 20. 

 102.2 was recorded. To accentuate the effect of the extreme heat, practically no rain 

 fell before the 30th, and a strong wind from the southwest prevailed. Crops of all 

 kinds were practically ruined by these conditions in some districts, and in all parts 

 they were very seriously injured. 



July brought little change. The highest temperature of the season, 104.5 was 

 recorded on the 14th. The daily maximum temperature for the month exceeded 70 

 every day and was over 80 on eighteen days. The rainfall during this period was only 

 two inches and as most of this fell in light showers, its effect was scarcely noticeable. 



Harvest was earlier than usual and the crop was quickly and cheaply secured. 

 Good weather prevailed during the threshing season, the only interruption being 

 showery weather in the first week of September. 



The northern part of Manitoba had a considerably heavier precipitation than the 

 southern portion and the temperatures, while higher than usual, were not so extreme 

 as farther south. The crops of all kinds in the north were therefore a fairly good 

 /average, and in many instances were unusually good. In the extreme south on the 

 other hand there were thousands of acres of crop not worth harvesting that were pas- 

 tured off or cut with the mower for hay. Where the crops were harvested the yields 

 were very light. This was true even on farms cultivated according to the most 

 approved methods. In the central part of the province, crops varied greatly, but the 



