80 



REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



was divided into the two great farming provinces of Saskatchewan 

 and Alberta. But the Department of Agriculture of the Dominion 

 has been equal to the occasion. Indian Head falls to Sas- 

 katchewan, and there are already two fully equipped branch 

 experimental farms in the four year old province of Alberta. 

 One at Lethbridge, with a considerable area already under irrigation, 

 is grappling with problems of growing crops by irrigation and the 

 difficulties of " Dry " farming, which are of such importance to 

 the thousands of settlers who are trooping into the new country and 

 rapidly bringing its rich, though somewhat arid land into subjection. 

 The other is in the northern part of Alberta at Lacombe, about 

 70 miles south of Edmonton, where the conditions differ consider- 



THE COMMISSION AT EXPERIMENTAL FAKM, MACDONALD COLLEGE 



ably from those around Lethbridge, and a different set of problems 

 confront the settler. But the new branch farm at Lacombe gives 

 good promise of help in solving them. 



In choosing the sites of these farms, the purpose in view was to 

 have them fairly representative, both as to soil and climate of the 

 larger settled areas in the provinces in which they are placed ; and 

 in arranging the work the first consideration was to have experiments 

 and demonstrations that were most likely to be beneficial to the 

 larger number of settlers. 



Another factor of great importance in connection with the 

 experimental farms is the organisation for conveying information 

 to farmers. The experimental farms and the staff are really 

 bureaus of information available to every farmer. Evidence of 

 their usefulness in this way is furnished in the rapid increase of 

 correspondence carried on with the farmers in all parts of the 



