REPORT OF MR. W. H. FAIRFIELD 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Carrots (irrigated) — Test of Varieties. 



467 



y. 



Name of Variety. 



White Belgian 



Mammoth White Intermediate 



Half Long Chautenay 



Improved Short White 



Ontario Champion 



Yield per Acre. 

 1st Sowing. 



Tons. libs. 



6 

 3 

 3 



1 

 1 



1,860 

 930 

 930 

 070 

 970 



Yield per Acre. Yield per Acre. 

 1st Sowing. 2nd Sowing 



Bush. Lbs. 



231 



115 



115 



49 



49 



30 

 30 

 30 

 30 



Tons. Lbs. 

 2 1,148 



l',9S0 



Yield per Acre. 

 2nd Sowing. 



Bush. 

 85 



33 



Lbs. 

 48 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SUGAR BEETS. 



Three varieties of sugar beets were grown. The seed was sown in drills twenty 

 inches apart but such a poor stand was obtained that practically no thinning was 

 necossary. The first seeding was made May 4, and the second sowing two weeks later. 

 The roots were pulled October 5. The yield per acre was estimated from the product 

 of two rows, each sixty-six feet long. The crop was irrigated four times, on July 12, 

 21, 30, and August 11. 



Sugar Beets (irrigated) — Test of Varieties. 



u 



5 



Name of Variety. 



Klein Wanzleben 



Vilmorin's Improved . . . 

 French Very Rich .... 



Yield per Acre. 

 1st Sowing. 



Tons. Lbs. 



1G 1,060 



14 710 



12 750 



Yield per Acre. 

 1st Sowing. 



Bush. Lbs. 



561 

 478 

 412 



30 

 30 



Yield per Acre. 

 2nd Sowing. 



Tons. Lbs. 

 2 950 



Yield per Acre. 

 2nd Sowing. 



Bush. Lbs. 

 82 30 



EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 



One of the most satisfactory crops grown the past season on the irrigated farm was 

 the potato crop. On the summer-fallowed land on which they were planted there was 

 plenty of moisture in the soil below the first two or three inches, so, as they were 

 planted in moist ground, no difficulty was experienced in getting a good stand. 



There is an impression more or less general in the district that potatoes grown 

 with irrigation are apt to lack in quality; that when cooked they are inclined to be 

 soggy or watery and less mealy and dry than are potatoes raised without the aid of 

 irrigation. That there are grounds for this belief cannot be denied, for, if the crop 

 is irrigated in a careless manner and too much water is applied, the resulting crop 

 is almost sure to be poor in quality, as just pointed out. However, by using reasonable 

 care and intelligence, this trouble may be easily avoided. To begin with, the land 

 should be in good tilth. There is probably no better preparation than to summer- 

 fallow the land the season previous to when the potatoes are to be planted. If an 

 application of manure could be given before the land is ploughed for the summer- 

 tallow, so that it would have a chance to rot during the summer, the yield of the fol- 

 lowing crop would be materially increased. Another quite satisfactory method is to 

 manure the land in the spring and then raise a grain crop to be cut for green feed. 

 This will leave the land relatively clean for the potatoes. As soon as a farmer on rtn 



10—30* 



