74 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4 GEORGE V., A. 1914 



work room attached, 25 by 18 feet. These buildings were all built of wood and, with 

 the exception of the barn, which was clap-boarded with pine siding, were shingled 

 with cedar shingles. 



EXPERIMENTAL ORCHARDS. 



As no mature orchards are growing on the farm, it has been considered advisable 

 to lease 5-acre blocks of mature orchard at Berwick, Kings county, Bridgetown, 

 Annapolis county, and Falmouth, Hants county. These orchards are to be devoted 

 to experimental work in spraying, fertilizing, thinning of fruit, etc. In this way it 

 is hoped that information of greater value to the orchardist will be secured than is 

 possible with the young orchard just planted at the Station. 



ORCHARD PLANTED. 



Eighteen and one-half acres of orchard, made up principally of varieties com- 

 mercially grown in the Annapolis valley, were planted in the spring of 1912. These 

 •trees have made excellent growth. 



STOCK. 



One driving horse and three pair of team horses are kept at this Station, Three 

 pair of working oxen for breaking up stump land are also used. 



Nineteen steers were fed during the winter. These were put in to make manure 

 for field work and to use up rough feed and some 1,500 bushels of roots grown during 

 the year. The steers were an uneven lot and no experiments were conducted with 

 them. One cow is kept for milk. 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR NOVA SCOTIA. 



Nappan, N.S. 



The spring of 1912 opened dull and cold with some frosts during April. No 

 snow fell, but there was a rather heavier precipitation than usual. May was also cold 

 and, for the first three weeks, dry, just enough rain falling to retard seeding opera- 

 tions. Seeding was general about the 15th of the month. During the last week of 

 May, the rainfall was heavier than usual. Although no great amount of rain fell 

 during June, showers were frequent, and the month was cool. Grain and roots did 

 fairly well during the month, but corn was at a standstill. 



July was a warm, dry month until the 22nd, from which date until the end of 

 the month, 6-62 inches of rain fall. Hay and grain did well during this month, but 

 roots made only a poor growth. 



From the 22nd of July until the end of August, rain was practically continuous, 

 making haying almost impossible, lodging the grain and having a most disastrous 

 effect upon the root crops, it having been impossible to do any cultivation during all 

 that period. As a result, unusually small crops of roots and corn were harvested. 



From this time onward, the season was quite favourable for harvesting and the 

 usual fall work. There were no extremes of drought, wet, heat or cold until the last 

 day of November, when 18 degrees of frost were registered. 



December and January were unusually mild, with very little zero weather and 

 not snow enough falling at any time to make sleighing. 



February was very cold, the extreme being -15 degrees on the 7th. Seventeen 

 inches of snow fell, making good sleighing during the latter part of the month. 



Fine, typical winter weather prevailed during the first week of March, gradually 

 getting warmer toward the middle of the month, which ended with high winds and 

 snow squalls. 



