REPOTiT OF THE DT HECTOR 57 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



low tliat it is. not likely to become a commercial wheat in this portion of the province. 

 Out of the large number of varieties of oats grown, the Victory and Banner are among 

 the best. The Manchurian and O. A. C. No. 21 barleys were again among the highest 

 yielders of the six-row type. The two-row sorts did not yield as high, and have a 

 considerably weaker straw. Among these the Canadian Thorpe and Gold gave, good 

 results. Premost ilax was the highest yielder. Novelty, a new variety produced by Dr. 

 Saundei*s, gives promise of equalling, if not surpassing, Premost. Arthur and Soloi 

 peas gave best satisfaction, maturing much earlier than the other sorts. 



Forage Crops. — From the result of tests of different grasses, the Western r^'e seems 

 to be the best adapted for the production of hay, and Brome for pennanent pasture. 

 Among the legumes, alfaKa is best suited to conditions in southern Saskatchewan. At 

 Indian Head the Grimm and Baltic varieties have again given best results. \ bilo the 

 fodder corn was badly damaged by frost, it gave a large amount of fodder which was 

 stored in the silo. While, this was not equal to the silage produced in former seasons, it 

 supplied a large quantity of succulent feed during the winter. The Northwestern Dent 

 gave best satisfaction. Varieties of turnips, mangels, sugar beets and carrots were 

 tried out at Indian Head this .season. For soiling or early fall feeding the fall turnip 

 will give good results and produce a high yield, but for winter feeding only swedes 

 should be used, as they are good keei)ers and can be fed until the early spring. 



Horticulture. — A large number of the varieties of the different kinds of vegetables 

 have been under test for five years, and the inferior sorts will be eliminated this 

 season, giving more time and space for the conducting of cultural experiments with 

 vegetables. The perennial flowers which have proven perfectly hardy are being 

 increased in number, and the seed and roots will be distributed as soon as a supply 

 can be obtained. An endeavour is being made to acclimatize or originate a standard 

 apple that will produce in southern Saskatchewan. A large number of seedlings of 

 the hardj' varieties are being propagated, and it is hoped that some of these may pro- 

 duce an edible apple hardy in the West. 



Some of the plantations of forest trees which were set out some years ago were 

 cut out during the fall and made into cordwood. Besides the trees .in the avenue, 

 plantations, and windbreaks, a large arboretum is maintained. Many of the trees 

 being tried out are proving hardy, and will make magnificent lawn trees. Among the 

 deciduous specimens the Manitoba maple, green ash, and birch are proving most 

 satisfactory. Of the conifers, the Scotch pine seems to be most hardy. Caragana and 

 lilac are both hardy plants, and produce an abundance of bloom in the early spring. 



Field Husbandry. — ^While the season was unfavourable for the production of crops, 

 the results obtained from the field husbandry experiments were very satisfactory, 

 and quite a number of lessons in moisture conservation were learned. A large X)ortion 

 of the Farm is divided into small plots for the purpose of studying different methods 

 of cultivation and crop management and such problems as different methods of sum- 

 mer-fallowing, preparing stubble land for- crop, depth of ploughing, methods of pack- 

 ing and different crop rotations are being studied. 



Live Stoch. — The experimental work with horses includes the cost of producing 

 work horses from both pure-bred and grade mares, and different methods of feeding 

 the idle horses during the winter. The Clydesdale is the breed that is being used. 



A start was made to develop a dual-purpose herd of Shorthorn cattle. This season 

 all cows which freshened were put into the test, and the better milkers will be bred 

 to bulls from recognized milking strains. 



In the winter, a large amount of experimental feeding is conducted. 



This season, two carloads of steers were fed, and such questions as the most 

 profitable age, the best method of sheltering and different rations were investigated. 



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