REPORT or Tin-: director 83 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



The following- crops were grown fur ^tufk-feecliiig: — 



Tons. JAiS. 



Corn silase. 211 710 



Clover silage 124 



Mangels S4 1.450 



Turnips 6 155 



Carrots ."5 1.520 



Sugar beet.s ■1.S20 



Potatoes 9 1,200 



Mixed t?; a: n.-^ 15 753' 



Barley ' 1 356 



Oats - 1 782 



Pea.= 1.200 



Clover h.ay ; . 82 800 



A large l)l()ck of land lia.s been carefully prepared for permanent cultural and 

 fertilizer experiments, and has been divided into 205 plots. Part of these will be 

 devoted to a four-j-ear rotation, the- rest to experiments with the various fertilizers, 

 natural and artificial. This land has been under preparation since 1911, and is now 

 in fit t'ondition for experimental work. \ 



A considerable amount of labour has been devoted to fencing' and draining. 

 Nineteen hundred feet of new fence.has been erected. The main ditch at the back 

 of the Farm has been cleaned out and put into good condition. 



Some 14 acres of land have been cleared and prepared for crop. The figriires on the 

 cost of these operations and the methods employed are useful, and will be found in the 

 speciiil report on Field Husbandry. 



During the whole year the force of working horses has been kept busy, either at 

 the ordinary field work or at fencing-, land clearing, etc. Work horses alone are 

 ke]it on this Farm, so there is no experimental work to report. Figures have been 

 collected, however, on the cost of keep of heavy and light draught horses. Two of the 

 old horses, which were worn ont. were destroyed, and three heavy draught colts were 

 ])urehased at the close of the year. 



With the Holstein-Friesian herd, the breeding work has been continued with the 

 same ol)jects as hitherto. Some of the older grade cows have been culled out, as falling 

 belov; the improved standard of the herd. As a result of the high prices of food, the 

 profit per cow was low as compared with last year, though the .yield vvas a little larger. 

 Of the calves born, 68 per cent w.ere heifers, as compared to 50 per cent last year. The 

 cows have kept healthy, and there have been no losses from death. 



Some feeding experiments were conducted with the ob.iect of testing the relative 

 values of certain foods for cows and calves; also with clover silage for dairy cattl(>. 

 The results of these will be found in the special report on dairy cattle for this Farm. 



In the breeding herd of Yorkshire hogs there are no-w thirty-three head: two stock 

 boars, tv.-enty-live mature sows, and six young sows. The performance of the sows was 

 quite lip to standard, and the litters produced were strong and healthy. 



Figures were collected on the cost of up-keep of boars (aged and young) for one 

 year, and also the cost of raising young brood sows to one year of age. Since the price 

 of foods is relatively higli, these figures should constitute a safe estimate. 



Last year some experimental work on rice meal, as a food for swine, was reported. 

 Tlu^ work has been continued on a large scale this year, with good success. It would 

 appear from the results of a large number of trials, that the injurious effects of rice meal 

 can be counteracted by -the addition of phosphorus to the ration. 



The fiock of Dorset Horned sheep has shown considerable improvement, in perform- 

 ance during the past year, following the severe culling- and the addition of new blood 

 in Iho hli-iue of an imported ram. Lambing is at present in progress and so far the ewes 

 have given 200 per cent lambs, all of which are strong and healthy. 



The poultry work has been increased, and some useful results have been obtained in 

 the experimeiit-d work. As heretofore, only two breeds of fowls have been kept, viz.: 



16— GJ 



