DiriSIOy OF nORTICULTLRE 



711 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, NAPPAN, N.S. 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, W. W. BAIRD, B.S.A. 



HORTICULTURE. 



The unsettled nature of the winter of 1914-15 was very disappointing to horticul- 

 turists. For the greater part of the winter the ground was quite bare; this combined 

 with the extreme fluctuations in temperature made the season more than ordinarily 

 severe on such crops as strawberries, perennials, etc. The spring continued unsatis- 

 factory, cold wet weather prevailing until the end of May. 



June started in with fine warm days, but the nights continued cool, preventing 

 any outside work of any consequence being done. On the night of the 3rd a reading 

 of 2° Fahr. of frost was recorded. This was rather disastrous in that it ruined the 

 foliage of those shrubs which had started growth, and even the large shade trees 

 suffered severely. Following this, however, the weather became more favourable, per- 

 mitting the rushing of seeding operations. 



The cold wet weather of the spring was a great handicap to cultural experiments 

 in vegetables. The location selected for these experiments was so wet that no work 

 could be done upon it until the 15th of June. The result of the late start was noticeable 

 throughout the whole season and it prevented any results being obtained from many 

 of the experiments. The same applies to a new small fruit plantation started this 

 season. The young plants had to be held over so long before being set in their perma- 

 nent places that a large percentage of them never recovered. 



July and August were quite seasonable months. Good growth in trees and shrubs 

 and abundant bloom was the direct result. Notwithstanding the reorganization of the 

 perennial border and lack of bulbs, the bloom was abundant and received high praise. 



The balaiice of the season was quite unsettled, but by taking advantage of the 

 favourable weather, the greater part of the large fruits and potatoes were harvested 

 and stored in good condition. Bulbs were planted during a few fine days in November 

 under very favourable conditions. 



Speaking generally, the season was very disappointing in that the adverse con- 

 ditions prevailing during the spring months placed all horticultural crops under a 

 disadvantage from which they did not recover during the remainder of the summer. 



Some Weather Observations taken at Nappan Experimental Farm, 1915. 



Total for year ' 



Average for 5 years 



Total for 6 growing months, April to September 



Average for 5 years for 6 growing months, Apr. to September. 



16—49 



1,512-15 

 l,S.'^4-67 

 1,009-45 

 1,228-34 



