Meteorological Summary for the month ending February 28th. 



December. Jamiary. February. 



Mean temperature, 28.21° 22.73° 15.17'' 



Highest temperature, 57.00" 57 00° 39.00° 



Lowest temperature, —20.00° —18.00° —15.00° 



Mean Relative Humidity, 81.70 per ct. 81.65 per ct. 



Total Eainfall or melted snow. (in. J, 4.85 3.78 3.88 



Total Snow fall, (in.), 14.75 13.80 7.88 



Prevailing Winds, Northerly; Northwesterly; Northwesterly. 



No. of days on which 0.01 in. or more \ „ ^q - 



of rain or melted snow fell, / ' 



No. of days on which cloudiness) , . . „ „ 

 averaged 8 or more on scale of 10, J " 



During the three mouths the " cold wave" flag has been displayed 

 teu times, in accordance with notice received from the Signal Service, 

 and only once has the warning failed to be justified by a marked fall 

 of temperature during the succeeding twenty-four hours. 



FODDER AND FODDER ANALYSES. 



On a previous occasion, attention has been called "to the circum- 

 stance that experiments have been instituted at an early date at the 

 Station, to study the adaptability, to our soil and climate, of some 

 reputed forage crops of the valuable family of plants, Leguminosae, 

 of which the clover, the peas, and the beans are so conspicuous rep- 

 resentatives. Some observations during 1883, with Cow Peas, Vetches, 

 and Serradella have been reported during the past year in Bulletins 

 8 and 9 ; others of a more recent date, with Common Lucern, (Al- 

 falfa), Horse Bean and Lupine, will be briefly described within these 

 pages. The early stage of our experiments obliges us, however, to 

 confine ourselves for the present, to a mere introduction of the sub- 

 ject, by describing the quality of the crops we raised. 



A successful introduction of a greater variety of valuable faim 

 crops tends to improve our chances for economical rotations of crops. 

 The cultivation of valuable fodder crops maturing at different periods 

 of the growing season, assist in the compounding of economical fodder 

 rations. The best interests of the dairy business and of stock feed- 

 ing in general, call for a more efficient protection against the serious 

 influence of dry seasons. To meet the shortcomings of hill pastures 

 and dry meadows, by feeding a half-matured fodder corn, is decidedly 

 Avasteful. The nutritive value of one and the same variety of fodder 

 corn may be impaired, ton for ton, from fifty to seventy and more 

 per cent, in consequence of a too early cutting for green fodder or 

 for ensilage. 



A more liberal choice of fodder crops growing successfully upon 

 different kinds of soil, and maturing at different periods of the season, 

 will prove, as it has proved elsewhere, most beneficial in the interest 

 of an economical farm management. 



