DOMINION EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 47 



ining the bread-making value of a flour that might accord 

 more closely than is now possible with the results from baking 

 tests. 



The influence of soil and climatic conditions on the gluten- 

 content is also being studied. This research is throwing much 

 light on the cause of the high quality of our northwestern grown 

 wheats. It has been found that, by varying the conditions of 

 growth, marked changes in the composition of the grain might 

 be brought about. Thus the harder, more glutinous wheat 

 produced under 'Mry-farming" conditions will, if sown ori land 

 under irrigation, give a softer, starchier grain and vice versa. 

 It would appear that the amount of available soil moisture 

 together with the temperature prevailing during the period in 

 which the grain is fill'ng are most important and active agents 

 in determining the quality of the wheat. Barley and oats are 

 under a similar investigation, but the work has not proceeded 

 as far as that with wheat. 



Forage Crops. 



Many points of practical importance have been brought 

 out by the chemical study of our grasses, roots and other for- 

 age crops. Thus from the analysis of some two hundred native 

 and introduced grasses at different stages of growth we have 

 accumulated data which, in the larger number of instances, 

 indicate a serious deterioration in nutritive value during the 

 latter stages of the plant's life. Cutting for hay before the 

 seed is fully ripe is a practice that receives emphatic support 

 from this work. Many native grasses of the Northwest were 

 found to be highly nutritious and the larger number of the 

 naturally-cured grasses on the prairie were shown to be possessed 

 of valuable feeding properties. 



As a result of our study of the Indian corn plant, it was 

 found that, for the silo, the best time to cut is when the kernels 

 are in the glazing condition — that at this period the crop contains 

 the largest amount of digestible matter and will make ensilage 

 of the finest quality. 



Similarly, the life-history of rape, of mangels, turnips and 

 many other forage crops has been followed up and much useful 

 information gained. 



The examination of the leading varieties of sugar beets 

 has demonstrated the influence of season, soil and culture on 

 the richness and purity of the root. In this work, carried on 

 for more than twenty years, beets grown at the various Ex- 

 perimental Farms throughout the Dominion have been analyzed. 

 The results have furnished ample evidence that beets 

 eminently suited for factory purposes, i.e., for the extraction 

 of sugar, can be grown in many widely distant parts of Canada. 



