176 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4 GEORGE V., A. 1914 



EXPERIMENTAL STATION FOR CENTRAL SASKATCHE- 

 WAN, ROSTHERN, SASK. 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, WM. A. MTJNRO, B.A., B.S.A. 



WEATHER CONDITIONS, 1912. 



The season opened under normal and favourable conditions, and seeding was 

 begun on April 10, and all crops made good growth until early in June, when dry- 

 weather set in and crops that had not a goodly supply of soil moisture suffered greatly, 

 and even those under the most favourable conditions suffered to a very large extent. 



Showery weather prevailed until nearly the middle of. May and hay crops espe- 

 cially were very promising, but with the continued dry weather until late in June the 

 meadows of two years' standing, or longer, became yellow and did not fully revive again 

 all summer. In the months of July, August and September, there was more than 

 average precipitation, which had a peculiar effect upon the grain crops. The plants 

 had adapted themselves to the dry weather conditions of June by growing very little, 

 and with the heavy rains in July the plants developed, and at harvest time there was 

 the peculiar circumstance of several stages of development in the plants of one plot, 

 and in many cases in the heads of grain of one plant. Some of the wheat was ripe 

 while other heads in the same plant were in blossom. This condition of irregular 

 growth worked to the disadvantage of the farmer at every stage. In the first place 

 there was no means of determining the best time to cut; after cutting, the green straw 

 delayed the drying of the grain; at threshing a great deal of the undeveloped grain 

 blew out with the straw which very materially lowered the yield as compared with the 

 yield promised from the stand, and, at marketing, the immature grain with the good 

 grain lowered the grade. 



Another unfavourable weather condition of 1912 was the unusually high precipita- 

 tion in August, September and October. The continued wet weather in the latter 

 part of July and August delayed the ripening of the grain, and then the wet weather 

 of September and October prevented drying, and in many cases caused sprouting in 

 the shocks. 



The redeeming feature was the delay of very cold weather until December which 

 made it possible to continue threshing throughout the month of November. 



Following are the meteorological records for the past year : — 



