REPORT OF THE DT RECTOR " 79 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



as it is now practically complete, nothing- remains but to await the development of the 

 trees and shrti.bs. When they have had two or three more years of growth the grounds 

 should present a very creditable appearance. 



ROTATIONS. 



The rotation work is providing interesting information. The six-year rotation 

 known as rotation " K " is giving very satisfactory results, and is being used in a 

 modified form on the larger fields of the new farm. Here this rotation runs as 

 follov.-s: Hay, manure in winter, twelve tons per acre; pasture; pasture till Julj-- 

 and August, plough 6 inches deep and fall work; wheat or oats; oats; barley and 

 seeded down. 



This rotation produced a profit last year over all operation costs of $7.&0 per acre, 

 or interest at 7 per cent on the land capitalization of over $100 per acre. 



SOIL CULTURAL EXPERIMENTS. 



Work in this connection is being carried on with the 500 plots as originally 

 planned. Results now known to be of value have been secured in the " depth of 

 ploughing " experiment, " summer-fallow," '' stubble treatment," and '" seeding to 

 grasses and clover." It may also be possible when additional results have been obtained 

 to secure informative material from other of these experiments. 



POULTRY. 



This Station has 253 hens, 2-2 ducks, 9 geese, and 22 turkeys. 



Experiments have 'been conducted during the year as to the comparative merits 

 of the different types of houses: First, for warmth; second, for q^^ production; 

 third, as to hatchability of chicks from eggs produced therein. _ The results are not 

 as yet conclusive, but indicate that the least expensive house may prove quite equal 

 in efficiency to the more elaborate types. 



BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 



A new office building was erected which provided much-needed accommodation 

 for the rapidly increasing office work in connection with this Station. 



Over 2 miles of wire fence was erected, and alterations were made in a number 

 of the buildings. The cattle barns v.-ere painted inside, the horse barn was sheeted 

 inside, and the windows in the straw poultry house altered and adjusted to permit of 

 better ventilation. A new corral was built to accommodate a larger number of feeding 

 steers, and a number of colony houses were erected in which to winter the brood sows 

 and to carry on feeding exrperiments. 



FAIRS. 



This Station assisted in putting on an exhibit illustrative of the work of the 

 Experimental Farms s;^stein at the following exhibitions : Cargary, Lethbridge, Medi- 

 cine Hat, Red Deer and Lacombe. 



?i!EETINT.'S ATTENDED. v 



The Superintendent addressed a Farmer's Convention held by the Board of Trade, 

 North Battleford. He spoke on the subjects " Grading up a Dairy Herd " and " Food 

 Stuff available for Alberta Dairymen," at two sessions of the short course in agricul- 

 ture held by the Board of Trade, Calgary. He was one of the speakers at seventeen 

 meetings held in central Alberta in connection with the '" Patriotism and* Produc- 

 tion " campaign. He spoke before the Provincial Dairymen's Association at Olds on 



