REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 25 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



FENCING. 



In the month of June the farm was enclosed with a woven wire fence. Fir posts 

 were planted 20 feet apart. Tamarack corner, anchor and gate posts were set four 

 feet deep, securely braced and weighted; wire was firmly stapled to posts. A wide 

 gate provides access to the barn from the west side. Two 10 and two 3^-foot gates 

 give entrance to the house and farm from the east. This makes a strong, substantial 

 fence, nearly five feet high, which is sufficient to turn the most unruly range stock. 



BARN. 



During the season, a combination barn, stable and granary was built, size 46 x 

 30, with 20-foot posts. This accommodates four horses, two tied and two loose in 

 boxes, with space in a third box for a couple of cows. The stable is 22 x 30. The 

 drive-in and carriage house is 24 x 30. The second story includes storage room for 

 hay, granary and a commodious sorting room, which has been fitted up and is used 

 as a temporary residence for the foreman. 



In the fall of 1911, a contract was let to clear, chop, lop, burn, stump, plough and 

 double-disc 35 acres. This work was finished in the early spring of 1912, and was 

 so well and satisfactorily done that, after the stump holes were filled and the land 

 levelled, a few strokes of the smoothing harrow were sufficient to prepare a fairly good 

 seed-bed. 



CROPS. 



Twenty-six acres were sown to oats, and seeding was finished on the 12th of May. 

 The crop was harvested in the end of August, was cut a little on the green side, as the 

 straw was required for fodder. Sheaves were set up in round stooks and, though the 

 harvest weather was wet and showery, with re-stooking the crop several days before 

 hauling, and drawing only in the afternoons, both oats and straw were saved in good 

 condition. About 10 acres were seeded to -red clover and 4 acres to alfalfa. Although 

 care was used in sowing the nurse crop thin, the young clover plants in the late fall 

 looked rather delicate. 



POTATOES. 



Nearly two acres were planted with potatoes, with a view to keeping the land in 

 summer tillage preparatory for experimental work next season. However, there was 

 a nice crop of clean, good quality potatoes. After being harvested they were left in 

 temporary pits for two weeks, when they were carefully selected with the aim of 

 saving the very choicest seed for next year's planting. 



The potatoes were stored in pits over winter, trenches being dug 3 feet wide, 2 

 feet deep and 16 feet long. The potatoes were filled in, not quite up to the level of 

 the land, cross pieces of wood were laid across the trench, old lumber was laid on the 

 cross pieces and about 8 inches of earth was piled on the lumber. If the weather got 

 very cold, a few loads of horse manure acted as a protection in zero weather. With 

 a couple of small ventilators on each pit and two or three inches of air space left 

 between the potatoes and the lumber there will not be much danger of the potatoes 

 rotting from over-heating. As last season was extremely wet, raining almost continu- 

 ously from the latter part of June to the end of August, no irrigation was required. 



TEAM AND IMPLEMENTS. 



In the end of May a carload was bought and shipped from Calgary, including 

 team of five-year-old horses, weighing 3,000 pounds, harness, wagon, several soil work- 

 ing implements, also hay and feed. 



