194 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS, 
63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 
consequence of the above mentioned circumstances, the fields were exceptionally clear of 
weeds last spring, a satisfactory state of affairs which lasted until the end of the season. 
The following extracts from letters of men who can speak with authority illustrate 
this point. 
iM r. H. McKellar, who as Chief Clerk of the Department of Agriculture meets farmers 
from all parts of the province and receives reports throughout the season on the con- 
dition of the crops, says as follows :—‘I have made reference on two or three previous 
occasions to the absence of weed seeds in this year’s crop. The fact that the grain is 
much cleaner this year than it has been for several years is commented upon by every- 
one who handles grain. In fact, I might say that this year one hears nothing about 
dockage for weed seeds. This merely bears out the excellent appearance of the fields 
which we noticed in driving through them together last June and July.’ 
Mr. Charles Braithwaite, who as Provincial Weed Inspector travels continously 
over the province, inspecting crops and advising farmers how best to treat their land 
and avoid loss from weeds, writes: ‘This is without exception the cleanest crop the 
West ever reaped. The climatic conditions were favourable ; last summer and fall there 
was moisture enough to germinate weed seeds, and then again this last spring there 
was a good growth of weeds before the land was fit to seed. The weeds germinated and 
and were destroyed in the cultivation at seeding time, and the grain came right away.’ 
The following report is from Mr. G. H. Greig, of the Yarmer’s Advocate, who has 
good opportunities of judging :— 
‘ Winnipeg, Oct. 11—The crop generally speaking through Manitoba and the West 
is very much cleaner and freer of weeds than it has been for some years. The assump- 
tion is that, owing to the excessive moisture in the soil last spring, seeding was not 
started as early as usual, and consequently a great many weed seeds would germinate 
before any cultivation was given the land ; the seedlings were afterwards killed by the 
cultivation at seeding time. At all events, the season has not been favourable to weed 
growth, and crops are cleaner than they have been for years. No doubt, very much 
credit for. this desirable state of affairs is due to the excellent work done by local 
department of agriculture in holding meetings during the past three years, at which the 
nature of weeds and the best way to fight them were explained.’ 
The following report by Mr. F. T. Shutt, Chief Chemist to the Dominion Experi- 
mental Farms, will be read with interest by those seeking information as to the reme- 
dial treatment of mustard with sulphate of copper and sulphate of iron. The applica- 
tion of these solutions may be found useful in small areas in the East or in British 
Columbia, but is not a practical nor advisable method to recommend on the large farms 
in the drier regions of the West. 
SPRAYING FOR DESTRUCTION OF MUSTARD. 
By Frank T. Suurr, M.A., Coemist, Dominion EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 
One of the most persistent weeds that farmers in many parts of Canada have to 
contend with is mustard, commonly known in EuropeasCharlock. Though an annual, 
it is most difficult to eradicate from fields in which it has become established, owing to. 
the fact that the seed—of which a large number is formed—are endowed with a strong 
vitality and are preserved from decay by the oil they contain, until favourable condi- 
tions for sprouting occur. 
Pulling the mustard when it appears among the grain, or keeping the weed from 
seeding by working the land (as under a hoed crop), are the two methods which have 
hitherto been in vogue to exterminate this pest, and when the work is done thoroughly 
they may be considered satisfactory and efficient. The former, however, is always 
costly, and the latter is sometimes not convenient. When, therefore, it was announced 
in the agricultural press that spraying with certain solutions of sulphate of iron and 
