REPORT OF TEE DIRECTOR 77 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



farm laid out from the river to the Canadian Pacific railway track. There was some 

 work done on the construction of the road. Cedar posts and woven wire were bought 

 and a portion of the roadside levelled for fencing. 



During the winter, from four to five men were kept at work cutting bushes ana 

 wood, and digging and hauling gravel for road purposes. The nearest gravel pit 

 from which a supply could be obtained was across the St. John river, on the property 

 of the Fredericton and Grand Lake Coal and Railway Company. Two hundred and 

 ninety yards of this gravel were bought, and hauled to the Station. As there was 

 quite a demand for the wood growing on the land which it was desired to clear, it 

 was possible to sell it for what it was worth standing, and the purchasers have cut 

 the land clean, piled the brush and removed the wood. It is hoped to be able to burn 

 this land over, and use for sheep pasturage what it is not possible to break up this 

 coming season. 



As no barns suitable for Experimental Station purposes are on the place, a com- 

 plete outfit of new buildings will have to be erected, as well as a residence for the 

 Superintendent, and several houses for the staff. 



Four Clydesdale grade mares were sent from Ottawa, and worked throughout 

 the fall and winter. Two of these mares were bred on the 4th of December to a 

 Clydesdale stallion. 



Some manure has been purchased in the city and hauled to the farm. 



Ornamental plants and trees have been ordered, and will be set in 1913 in nursery 

 rows. 



No stock other than the horses above mentioned have been bought with the 

 exception of a small flock of fowls. These fowls, comprising eleven Barred Plymouth 

 Rock and six Rhode Island Red pullets with a cockerel of each breed, were put in on 

 the 1st January. They laid, during January, 184 eggs; during February, 84; and 

 during March, 287; a total of forty-six and a quarter dozen for the three months 

 from the seventeen pullets. These birds were kept in a shed, which, while dry, was 

 as cold as out-of-doors. The only provision made for protection from the cold was 

 an enclosed roosting pen, across the front of which a curtain was dropped at night. 

 An ample supply of litter was given, and kept dry by frequent renewal. The whole 

 grain part of the ration was scattered through the litter, and the hens kept at work 

 scratching. On fine days, the flock had the run of the barnyard. While the ther- 

 mometer was above zero, no inconvenience from cold seemed to be felt, but when 

 it fell lower, and especially when the wind was high, egg production shrank, the birds 

 seemed to be rather mopy, and the combs of the cockerels were frozen somewhat. 

 Small wheat and screenings formed a considerable portion of the ration, and it was 

 aimed to supply a moderate quantity of everything necessary for health and egg 

 production. Raw turnips were provided, and apparently much relished. Cut green 

 bone was mixed with mash consisting of boiled potatoes and cracked oats. Some 

 coarsely cracked corn was scattered in the litter with the wheat. The eggs sold at 

 thirty cents per dozen. 



Some repairs were put on the buildings to make them comfortable for horse 

 stabling, and two small houses on the farm, occupied by the foreman, teamsters and 

 some of the extra men working on the farm, were also repaired to some extent. An 

 office building of one story, 12 feet wide by 30 feet long, was built. Implements and 

 tools needed for the fall work were purchased and a portion of the equipment for 

 1913 ordered. 



