Homesteading 



made, and you have only to keep on sowing seed 

 grown from the same ; but it seems to want con- 

 stant selection of the best kernels and also change 

 of ground to keep it up to the mark. Then 

 there's weeds. We have been bothered with them 

 a lot in our part, and as your country gets more 

 broken up and cultivated, you're pretty certain 

 to get 'em. One dirty field will infect a whole 

 district. It's all very well to pass laws about 

 the cleaning of separators, and to have good 

 weed inspectors, and summer fallowing to get 

 rid of 'em, but in my opinion clean seed is half 

 the battle ; prevention is better than cure." 



Arrived at the Experimental Farm, I was very 

 kindly received by the worthy superintendent, 

 who showed me round, though, of coiu'se, in the 

 winter there was not as much to be seen as would 

 have been the case in the summer. He pointed 

 out the effect of rust on some samples of stra\^ 

 I had brought, and gave me the names of som< 

 men who had " Marquis " wheat and " Banner ' 

 oats seed for sale. The weather had again turnec 

 bitterly cold, and I was glad to return to th< 

 hotel ; but the telephone enabled me to get int< 

 communication with one or two, and as the dis 

 tances were considerable, I hired a cutter am 

 team, and set out to interview my men, at firs 

 driving through the wintry streets, flanked b; 



242 



