^ THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



"but it belongs to the Genus Lathyrus. The pea is a Pisum. Lathyrus is another plant alto- 

 gether, and that is the reason probably why the Grass Pea is free from the attacks of the Pea 

 Weevil. It is a very late maturing pea, and I am sorry to say that those who planted it 

 "this year, owing to the late season, were disappointed in its growth, because it is a plant which 

 -comes from India ; for that reason this damp moist season did not mature it, and it was not 

 « paying crop. Vines which bore ripe peas in September, had as much of the vine covered 

 with green leaves and flowers, as there was with the ripe peas. In the St. Catharines and 

 Niagara Districts it has been grown to some extent. Most of the seedsmen are not in favor 

 of the Grass Pea. I would not say, " Do not grow it," because, where the Pea Weevil prevents 

 the growth of the proper peas, the Grass Pea forms a substitute which is comparatively valuable. 

 There are difficulties in harvesting it, and the seeds are thought to be very hard, therefore, 

 some farmers do not like it, but that can be overcome by crushing them with machinery. 



I shall not take any more time now, but I shall be very much obliged if any one else 

 would give us their ideas, either on what I have said or upon matters which I have left 

 uumentioned. I have letters here from some of the leading seedsmen in Canada, saying they 

 would have liked to be at this meeting, if they could have made arrangments. I am pleased 

 that Professor James is here with us, and that Mr. Smith is here from Toronto, for the 

 Weekly Sun, and Mr. Black from the Farmers' Advocate. 



Prof. LocHHEAi) : Mr. President. The Pea Weevil is one of the greatest enemies of 



the farmer of Ontario to day. Before coming here I secured from Professor James the diflfer- 



• ence in the amount of seed grown in the year 1891 and 1902. The crop in Ontario in 1891 was 



eighteen and one half million bushels ; in 19C2 eleven and one half million bushels. That 



shows a decrease of seven million bushels in ten years ; that itself is sufficient to direct serious 



-attention to the subject. 



Dr. Fletcher : What is the average value of a bushel of peas, Mr. Pearce ? 



Mr. Pearce : It is now about 60c. for field peas. 



Dr. Fletcher : I average it from 70c. to $1.00 taking the common peas and the high 

 class. 



Mr. Pearce • That would be about right for the high class. 



Dr. Fletcher : It is a loss, at any rate, of between $5,000,000 and $7,000,000. 



Prof. LocHHEAD : The pest is known in the northern counties and all along the shore 

 of Lake Ontario. This summer I visited North Grey, and I found that the farmers in that 

 district were seriously disturbed over an enemy that was new to them — so new that they did 

 not know what it was. This was the Pea Weevil. I was travelling through the County on 

 Farmers' Institute work and I gave two lectures a day on the Pea Weevil. This summer I had 

 the pleasure of going up through Manitoulin Island and as far as St. Joseph's Island ; no Pea 

 Weevil exists there, and we saw beautiful crops. I have no doubt that Manitoulin Island is 

 well adapted for pea growing, and I told the people up there that they had a great opportun- 

 ity of making their island as famous for seed peas as the Jersey people had made theirs for 

 Jersey cattle. If they would keep the Pea Weevil out, they might make it a reserve for grow- 

 ing pea seed. On St. Joseph's Island I found a good illustration of the fact that the Pea 

 Weevil does not exist there. I spent one morning going through pea fields. One farmer told 

 me he had imported some seeds and when they came the bag was literally alive with the Pea 

 Weevil ; however, he sowed the peas but took the precaution to sow about five times the 

 .normal amount per acre, and he had a good field of peas, I could not find a single weevil in 

 the whole morning's examination of the growing crop. It showed conclusively that this year, 

 .at any rate, the pea weevil does not thrive in St. Joseph's Island. 



With regard to the point which Dr. Fletcher emphasized veiy strongly, that the pea- 

 ■^weevil does not reach its full size when the pea is harvested. I was unable to make an exam- 



