88 REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



7. Cost of Feeding 



Cost of feeding should be carefully studied as the experience 

 at the experimental farm shows that saving or improvement is 

 frequently possible, individuals being often fed too heavy or too 

 light a ration for the milk that is being produced or that might be 

 produced at a given time. 



Sheep and Pigs 



Sheep do not receive very much attention in Canada, and al- 

 though represented at the experimental farms, little experimental 

 work has been undertaken with them so far. But swine as might 

 be expected from the importance of the bacon trade with Great 

 Britain have been the subject of valuable and interesting experi- 

 ments. So much has been done by the Dominion experiment 

 farms, the agricultural colleges, and other agencies to improve 

 the breed of swine and demonstrate the best type of bacon pigs, 

 that in Canada swine of exceptional commercial merit, and of 

 greater uniformity are met with, than can be seen in our home 

 markets. All the leading breeds are represented at the experimental 

 farm at Ottawa and experiments are continually under way to 

 determine the breeding and the feeding at the lowest cost of hogs of 

 the most suitable type. The swine, particularly the breeding stock, 

 are kept out of doors in summer, usually in pens on grass or other 

 forage. Portable houses and shelters from the scorching of the sun 

 are provided. By this means they are maintained in robust healthy 

 condition and need little attention. The bulk of the experimental 

 feeding has ranged around such problems as the effect of housing, 

 feeding pigs on pasture as compared with feeding in pens ; feeding 

 whole versus ground grain ; cooked versus raw food ; soaked versus 

 dry food ; boiled versus soaked wheat ; and the value of frozen 

 wheat in pig feeding, an experiment which has shown that the 

 misfortune of frozen wheat need not be so calamitous as it is some- 

 times depicted, as its value for pig-feeding with pigs at 3d per lb. 

 live weight varies from 30 to 60 cents per bushel. Space forbids 

 even a summary of these results ; but an excellent review of this 

 work has been recently published in bulletin form. To it the in- 

 terested reader must be referred. There will be found valuable 

 information on the management of pigs, etc., much of it of wide 

 interest and general application. 



The Horticultural Division 



This division of the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa was 

 organised in 1887 when experimental work was begun. 



Briefly, a few of the main features of the experiments may be 

 indicated. Testing varieties has received a great deal of attention. 

 The variety is at the foundation of successful horticulture ; for 

 without the most suitable variety the grower cannot compete 

 successfully with his fellow-growers. Varieties have been sought 

 for in many quarters by the Department and tried until the number 



