22 ' ■ V EJI'ERniEJTAL FARMS 



* 6 GEORGE V, A. 10 16 



will be appreeirted when it is stated that within five months the staff has lost no less 

 than four of the five assistant chemists upon whom, naturally, the major part of the" 

 analytical work falls. 



Notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, much has been accomplished. The 

 larger number of investigations in course for some time past have been proceeded 

 with and some new ones, occasioned by conditions brought about by the European 

 war, have been instituted. 



As far as has been possible, the many and ever-increasing requests from farmers 

 for analytical work and advice have been attended to, but owing to the circumstances 

 already referred to there has resulted a large accumulation of these matters, and the 

 Division asks for the exercise of patience on the part of its correspondents, who may 

 rest assured that their reqoiests will be dealt with at the earliest possible moment. 



The " Patriotism and Production " campaign recently carried on throughout the • 

 Dominion has added greatly to the labours of the Division in many ways. Sprcial 

 articles, circulars, and bulletins have been written and issued on subjects of vital' 

 importance to a greater and more economical production of crops. The campaign also 

 awakened a more lively interest in farming matters and resulted in a very la^ge 

 increase in the number of correspondents and of the samples of soils, feeding stuffs, 

 etc., sent in for examination. Of these samples the record book of the Division shows 

 that nearly 4,000 v/ere received during the year — more than 1,000 over the number of 

 the preceding year.- 



The investigation undertaken in 1912 to ascertain the influence of various cul- 

 tural systems upon the moisture content of the soil has been continued on several of 

 the branch Farms and Stations of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Through- 

 out the growing season, soil samples are collected on the plots under experiment with 

 a view of deterriiining the amount and distribution of the moisture to a depth of 6 

 feet. The results of the analyses should show the extent to which the ?oil moif;ture 

 has been conserved by the several cultural operations. So far they have affo-ded 

 evidence of the value of early and fairly deep ploughing on summer-fallows; of the 

 subsurface packing of light soils and of frequent cultivation of fallows in order to 

 check surface evaporation. 



The examination of soils from districts under irrigation in Alberta has been 

 continued, and a considerable addition to our knowledge of these areas has been 

 gained. The more immediate objects of this work are to define the areas in which 

 injurious alkali occurs and to ascertain the suitability of the districts in question for 

 the carrying on of successful farming operations under irrigation. The progress of 

 the analytical work has been much hindered by the loss of the assistants v\dio had 

 gained considerable skill in its conduct, but the prospects are' now good for the more 

 rapid prosecution of this wide and important investigation. 



The Europc^an war entirely cut off the Canadian supply of potash compoundg 

 used in fertilizei's. The sole source of these compounds for the world has been for 

 many years the extensive miiies at Stassfu-r-t, Germany- With the view of supplying 

 this deficiency, inquiry has been mnde as to our natural supplies of potash and, - 

 among several researches to that end, analyses have been made of the varieties of sea- 

 weed occurring more abundantly on the Pacific and Atlantic seaboards. IMany of 

 these seaweeds have been found rich in potash and nitrogen and evidently of .great 

 value for fertilizing purposes. 



In this connection a practical trial is being made at Clark's Tl;,rbour, N.wS., in 

 the preparation of dried, ground seaweed for use as a fertilizer, and t'ne prospvts at 

 'the time of writing are good for the success of the undertaking. 



The .influence of environmental condition on the composition of wheat is the 

 subject of a research commenced some years ago. It has already yielded results of 

 national importance in showing that climatic conditions may profoundly modify the • 

 protein content of the grain, and incidentally tluit high temperatures accompanied by 



