AGRICULTURAL WORK IN ONTARIO 13 



1. To promote rural telephone service throughout the riding; 



2. To carry on co-operative buying of clover and grass seed 

 through local seedsmen in order to secure purity and No. 1 quality; 



3. To import seed corn on the ear; 



4. To import tile in carload lots; 



5. To establish one variety of potatoes as the representative 

 variety for this section; 



6. To run an excursion to Macdonald College in August, 1909; 



7. To inaugurate an annual ploughing match, October, 1910. 

 We have now two cow testing associations in the south riding, 



both doing good work. Since the inauguration of the first one three 

 years ago, we have looked after the secretary's duties in this office. 



Certainly nothing undertaken by the Department through us 

 has increased our sphere of influence so materially as the holding of 

 Short Courses, conducted by such men as President Creelman, Prof. 

 G. E. Day, Prof. C. A. Zavitz, Dr. Reed, T. G. Raynor, C. M. McRae 

 and L. H. Newman. Perth, Carleton Place, Almonte and Lanark 

 village have already been favoured with these, the two latter in the 

 spring of 1910. At the present time, we are organizing one in 

 Smith's Falls. Each event brings us in touch with anywhere from 

 300 to 800 farmers. The direct benefits have been noted in innu- 

 merable ways in subsequent seasons. 



In June, 1910, we held four very successful Weed and Seed 

 Meetings at Almonte, Middleville, Macdonald 's Corners and Maberly, ' 

 addressed by Mr. Simpson Rennie. 



In Lanark county, we have some 90,000 acres of swamp and 

 slash land, much of which is now being brought under cultivation 

 with the opening up of municipal and award drains. In a great 

 many instances, this muck land has not given satisfactory results 

 after the first few years. For three seasons we have been conducting 

 extensive fertilizer experiments on different types of muck with a 

 view to rendering these areas profitably productive. These experi- 

 ments have been conducted at different points throughout the 

 county and have been under our direct supervision. On the whole, 

 the results have been most encouraging. As all of our experiments 

 this year are with root crops some of which have not been harvested, 

 I am unable to give figures for this year's results. In one case 

 where oats were grown, the yield was increased from 15 bu. to 40 bu. 

 per acre, at a cost pf about $5 per acre. At the same point, the in- 

 fluence carried over from the preceding year made possible an in- 

 crease of 15 bu. over the unfertilized. Equally good results were 

 obtained last year with millet, rape and mangolds at other points. 



During the past season, we have concentrated on underdrain- 

 age work. In the county as a whole, and particularly in South 



