WHEAT 135 



T. Shutt, the government chemist at Ottawa, of 

 samples of Red River valley soil gave an organic 

 matter content exceeding 26% in black, heavy 

 loam taken near Morris, and over 11% in black 

 sandy loam taken at Brandon, Manitoba. Six 

 other Red River valley samples gave an organic 

 matter content varying from 11.44 to 21.54%. 

 In Saskatchewan twelve typical samples from 

 various parts of the province gave an organic 

 matter content varying from 5.54% in heavy clay 

 loam near Maple Creek, to 14.23% in grayish- 

 black loam near Tisdale. The other samples gave 

 percentages varying from 10.20 to 13.93%. 



In Alberta the organic content of the soil is 

 more variable but averages nearly as high as in 

 Saskatchewan, the variation for nine typical 

 samples being 5.89% in a dark-gray sandy loam 

 at Lethbridge, to 17.83% in a black sandy loam 

 at Lac la Nonne. The percentage of phosphoric 

 acid, potash and lime averaged very high in all 

 of the soils.* 



Portions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan abound 

 in lakes and ponds. Some areas are too flat and 

 need drainage before the land can be farmed suc- 

 cessfully. The soil is of glacial origin, and as pre- 

 viously stated it is usually very fertile and of great 

 depth. It will not "wear out" with a few years 

 of cropping, but there are other factors of un- 

 certainty which may greatly reduce production 

 in unfavorable seasons. The greatest of these are 

 drouth and early frosts. The damage from early 

 frosts may be in part overcome by planting early 



*Department of Agriculture of Canada Bulletin No. 6. 



