46 DOMINION EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



outline, some of the more important of these may be spoken of 

 briefly as follows: — 



Canadian Soils. 



In every province of the Dominion, save that of Prince 

 Edward Island, there yet remain large areas of unoccupied land. 

 It is desirable to learn how far these tracts of virgin soil may be 

 suited to agriculture, and, to supplement the surveyor's reports, 

 typical samples of their soils and sub-soils are collected and 

 examined as to their constitution and composition. 



The problem of the economical restoration of fertility of 

 lands which have been irrationally farmed, is one constantly 

 submitted to the Division, and our work upon it is making very 

 clear that humus-forming material must be furnished, in barn- 

 yard manure, in the ploughing under of green crops (preferably 

 a legume), or in the adoption of a rotation which calls for the 

 formation of a sod to be ploughed down at short intervals, if 

 fertility is to be restored. In this connection, our experiments 

 with clover and other leguminous crops have yielded valuable 

 results in showing how a poor soil may be built up by the accu- 

 mulation of humus-forming material and nitrogen. 



The improvement of muck soils has proven a problem of 

 extreme difficulty, the final solution of which we have not as 

 yet reached. While some have yielded to treatment, others 

 have remained, from some unknown cause, obstinate. Never- 

 theless, the lines upon which improvement are to be sought 

 have been established and, while investigatory work must yet 

 be pushed forward, we have learnt that drainage, the correction 

 of acidity by liming, the furnishing of the lacking phosphoric 

 acid and potash and the initial dressing of manure to supply 

 immediately available plant food and to inoculate the soil with 

 those bacteria which will bring about the further decay of the 

 soil-constituents, are the basic means of bringing about their 

 amelioration. 



Conservation of Soil Moisture. 



The infiuence of various cultural systems on the conserva- 

 tion of soil-moisture — a question of the utmost importance to 

 districts subject to a sparse rain-fall — is a matter that is engag- 

 ing our attention. These experiments are being conducted on 

 the Experimental Farms in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and 

 Southern Alberta. >' 



Cereals. 



Under this head, investigations have been carried on for 

 some time past with wheats and flours. Among other objects, 

 it has been thought to establish some chemical basis for determ- 



