12 



(2) The Decrease in Yield per Acre. In a season like that of 

 1902, when all kinds of pea crops were partial failures, it is difficult 

 to estimate correctly the loss due to the weevil alone. The average 

 yield of peas for the past year was about five bushels per acre less 

 than the average yield for the past twenty years ; and it should be 

 understood that the returns sent to the Bureau of Industries are 

 given in measured bushels and not in weighed bushels of 60 pounds. 



(3) The Decreased Market Value of Weevilly Peas. This is very 

 marked in the south-western part of Ontario where the weevils have 

 done so much injury for a number of years past. As there are large 

 areas in Northern Ontario, however, where peas of excellent quality 

 and free from weevil are still grown, Ontario's reputation as a pro- 

 ducer of seed peas of high quality should be maintained. More than 

 half of the territory of Ontario is practically free from the weevil ; 

 and with care, our foreign trade in seed peas of superior quality 

 should be increased rather than diminished. 



(4) The Decreased Value of Weevilly Peas for Feeding Pur- 

 poses. As a result of a number of examinations, it is found that 

 where weevils have infested all the peas and have afterwards escaped, 

 the seed weighs on an average about 45 pounds instead of 60 pounds 

 per measured bushel, or in other words, the weevils have eaten one- 

 quarter of the peas. In the case of the small peas, such as the Chan- 

 cellor variety, the injured seed weighed only 37.7 pounds per measured 

 bushel ; and in the case of the large peas, such as the Black-Eyed 

 Marrowfat and the New Canadian Beauty, the injured peas weighed 

 from 48 to 52 pounds per measured bushel. 



(5). The Small Germinating Poiverof Weevilly Peas when Used 

 for Seed. On an average, only about 30 per cent, of the weevilly peas 

 will germinate. Farmers, however, try to secure sound peas, or use 

 an increased quantity of weevily peas for seed purposes. 



The average annual yield of peas per acre for twenty years (1883- 

 1902) is 19.3 bushels, while for the last five years (1898-1902) it is 

 17.6 bushels. This gives a decrease of 1.7 bushels per acre ; and with 

 an area of 532,639 acres in peas in 1902, it represents a loss of over 

 900,000 bushels, worth over half a million dollars. These amounts 

 do not represent the actual loss in yield, due to the weevil ; they 

 simply mean that the loss in 1902 was $500,000 more than it would 

 have been on the same acreage during an average year of the twenty ; 

 but the weevil was more or less injurious during all of these years ; 

 so the real loss in 1902 due to decrease in yield per acre, would 

 probably be upwards of $1,000,000. 



If we group the losses due to the last three factors, we may get 

 a rough estimate, by supposing that one-quarter of all the peas pro- 

 duced in 1902 was destroyed by the weevil and hence made less 

 marketable, less valuable for feeding, and less germinable. The total 

 yield in 1902 was 7,664,679 bushels, worth in round numbers only 



