Experimental plots at the Central Farm.
tests also. Altogether about a dozen varieties so far have been
introduced to the public, some of these only for special and peculiar
conditions. Of these varieties special reference might be made to
four which are now well known and are valuable to farmers who
cannot ripen the old standard varieties Red Fife and White Fife.
These four wheats are all Fife crosses. Three of them are of similar
parentage and fall into one group, viz. : Preston, Stanley and Huron.
These three varieties differ in certain respects, but are all of a
vigorous and productive habit and early in ripening. Preston and
21
Huron are both bearded, Preston having pale chaff, and Huron
reddish. Stanley is a bearless wheat. Preston and Huron are fully
equal to Red Fife in hardness and in depth of colour of kernel, but
Stanley is perhaps not quite so hard, as a rule. In nons of these three
is the flour quite equal from a commercial point of view to that made
from Red Fife. They make very good bread indeed but it is not so
pale in colour or so light in texture as that made from Red Fife or
White Fife. These new varieties are therefore at a disadvantage in
those provinces where much emphasis is laid on baking qualities.
The fourth sort is newer than these others and of different
parentage. It is derived from one of the crosses between Red Fife
and Hard Red Calcutta made on the Experimental Farms many years
ago. In the year 1903 an unfixed mixture of related types, descended
from this cross, was subjected to careful selection by Dr. Chas.
Saunders, the Dominion Cerealist. He isolated several types and
gave the name ' Marquis ' to the best of them. He propagated
this variety from a single plant of the year 1903. Except for earliness,
this wheat is almost indistinguishable from Red Fife in the field and
in its action in the mill, and in the bakery; so that it combines in
itself to a high degree all the advantages looked for. It retains
essentially the Red Fife quality in baking, and at the same time it
shows a distinct advance in earliness. It ripens with Preston, that
is to say, from five to ten days or more before Red Fife.
In yield it varies considerably in different provinces. In the
eastern parts of Canada and in British Columbia it has given good
results but has not as a rule shown any unusual productiveness. But
in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, it has pro-
duced remarkable yields, and the reports sent in by farmers who
have received samples have been almost invariably enthusiastic.
Not only does Marquis ripen earlier than Red Fife but it better with-
stands adverse conditions such as wind, wet and rust and produces
larger crops of heavier weight per bushel and better appearance. In
plot tests at Indian Head, Marquis gave 50 per cent, more grain than
Red Fife in the average of the first five years. At Brandon a four-
year test showed 10 per cent, greater yield from Marquis. The best
field records are those made in 1909 at Brandon, where a four-acre
field gave something over 200 bushels of crop, and in 1910 at Indian
Head where a five-acre field gave an average yield of over 53 bushels
per acre.
TRIUMPHS OF MARQUIS.
The Marquis wheat has created a remarkable sensation in thc-
West. Applications began to come in the autumn of 1909 in unusual
23
numbers, and ever since then the demand has been very great. It
was quite impossible for some years to meet the request for this
variety. Many farmers expressed themselves willing to pay any
price for a few bushels of the wheat. The highest specific offer made
was $50 for ten bushels, but large quantities have changed hands
at $3 and $4 per bushel. On account of its surpassing excellence
Marquis wheat is rapidly replacing all the older early maturing
varieties, especially in Saskatchewan, and is to a large extent supplant-
ing Red Fife also.
Perhaps the most noteworthy triumph of Marquis wheat was the
winning of the prize of one thousand dollars at the Land Exhibition
in New York City, in the Fall of 1911, for the best 100 Ibs. of wheat
grown on the continent of North America. The winning grain was
grown by Mr. Seager Wheeler of Rosthern, Sask., from seed supplied
by the Experimental Farms. This success is especially noteworthy in-
asmuch as the year 1911 was one of the most unfavourable seasons
known in Saskatchewan in a wheat-growing period of over 30
years; and the Rosthern district has sometimes been regarded as
unsuitable for the production of wheat of the highest quality.
At the Dry-Farming Congress, held at Lethbridge, in October,
1912, Marquis wheat again demonstrated its superior quality. In
competition with wheat grown in any part of the world, a bushel
of this variety won the championship prize of a farm engine valued
at $2,500. The winning wheat was grown on irrigated land by Mr. H.
Holmes, of Raymond, Alberta.
Red Fife being the standard high grade wheat in Canada, has
been used to a large extent for crossing to produce new varieties.
In addition, an effort has been made by applying the best methods
of selection to secure improved strains from it. In this way there
have been obtained two important types, Red Fife H. and Early Red
Fife. Red Fife H. is very slightly earlier than the ordinary Red Fife,
perhaps from one to four days on an average, and baking tests have
shown it to be absolutely of the highest standard. Early Red Fife
shows greater earliness (about five to ten days). It has been baked
several times and has proved to be the same as ordinary Red Fife in
baking strength as well as in most other respects. Its earliness is,
however, a distinct advantage. Unfortunately it has shown a greater
susceptibility to rust in most (but not all) districts in the Prairie
Provinces and its cultivation there is not now advocated. Marquis
has proved distinctly superior. In eastern Canada, however, Early
Red Fife succeeds very well and seems likely to prove a valuable
acquisition, superior perhaps to its great rival.
This work has been done more especially to meet the needs of
the Northwest, for earlier maturing varieties. Although good success
24
has been attained in selecting Red Fife for increased earliness and in
producing early ripening cross-bred varieties, some of which are
of very great value, nevertheless the work is being continued. About
fifty new cross-bred varieties of considerable promiss reached the
stage for baking tests in 1909 and over 100 in 1910, and the Cerealist
expects to have approximately one or two hundred more during the
next few years. Out of these three or four hundred new varieties,
this officer expects to be able to select a few sorts which will be in
advance of the best yet produced, from the point of view of those
districts where the summer is short.
OTHER GRAINS.
In the matter of producing new sorts of grain, the work has
been confined chiefly to wheat. Very important work, has, however,
been accomplished with other kinds of grains and field crops. As
with wheats, varieties of oats, barley, peas, rye, etc., have been
secured from every available source and tested in plots. Those that
fail to reach a certain standard of excellence are discarded while the
better sorts are submitted to further test on sufficiently large areas
to prove their worth. By the process of elimination only promising
introductions are retained, and the best of these are cultivated on a
large scale so as to admit of their free distribution for the use of growers
in different parts of the Dominion. In barley and oats, many new
sorts have been produced, special attention being paid to hull-less
and beardless kinds and to those varieties of very early maturing
habit. New cross-bred peas have been produced including a number
of varieties of the Crown type.
I or the past seventeen years, a special annual bulletin has been
issued giving the results obtained on all the Experimental Farms
from trial plots of grain, fodder corn, field roots and potatoes. In
this bulletin the varieties are arranged in tables in the order of their
average yield for a number of years. Through this medium, farmers
in all the provinces are able to learn of the sorts that yield best in
their respective parts of Canada, and if they are not able to readily
procure seed of these sorts for a large acreage they can at least pro-
cure samples from one of the Farms, from which they can very soon
produce a large stock. It is through this branch of the work of
the Experimental Farms that Banner Oats and Mensury barley became
so generally grown over the Dominion, a number of years ago. And
while attractive, new sorts, have been in more recent years brought
out, these two old kinds are still being adhered to in many parts of
Canada.
FODDER CROPS.
To the work of the Experimental Farms is due the introduction of
a number of the most valuable fodder crops now grown in Canada.
GRASSES.
At the time the Farms were organized, there was a serious
dearth of grasses suitable for the Prairie Provinces. When searching
for hardy wheats, Dr. Saunders was also on the outlook for fodder
crops that w r ould withstand cold latitudes. He well understood the
necessity for alternating grasses with cereals in the West in order to
maintain a productive soil. As early as 1887, there was received from
Riga, Russia, along with a shipment of Ladoga wheat, a supply of seed
of Awnless Brome grass. This was sown in plots under the charge of
Dr. Fletcher and it gave such promise as justified its trial on a more ex-
tended scale. It proved a heavy cropper and very hardy, not only at
Ottawa, but also at Brandon and Indian Head. On the two western
Farms, it proved a most persistent producer of excellent fodder and, as
its good qualities became known, it spread to all parts of the West until
it now ranks with the best grasses grown for pasture and for hay. Its
strongest rival apart from timothy in the Western Provinces, is west-
ern rye grass, a native perennial, that was discovered by Dr. Saunders
and one of his officers during the course of a drive in that country.
Seeds were gathered and sown at the Brandon Farm and at Ottawa,
where it gave excellent promise. Very soon both Rye grass and Brome
grass were being grown on a scale sufficiently large to make pos-
sible the distribution of seed to a large number of farmers. From that
period until now the area devoted to these crops has been constantly in-
creased until they occupy a position in the agriculture of the Prairie
Provinces similar to that held by timothy in the older provinces.
CLOVERS.
In the early years of the West, the growing of clovers was
despaired of because of the severity of the climate. Through the
persistent efforts of the Director and his officer, methods of success-
fully growing both Common Red Clover and Alfalfa have been discov-
ered at both Brandon and Indian Head and already these crops
are entering into the rotations of many western farms. If the Exper-
imental Farms in western Canada had done nothing more than lead
25
26
the way to the growing of clovers as a general crop in these provinces,
they would have fully justified their existence.
The extension of the employment of corn for fodder pur-
poses that has taken place in Canada during the last two decades
has been greatly helped by the work of the Experimental Farms.
Shoep pasturing on two-year old alfalfa.
In districts where a long summer season prevails, the growing of
corn is a comparatively simple matter, as almost any variety will
reach a stage of sufficient maturity to make good fodder, but in
many parts of Canada, in fact in practically every province, the
question of suitable varieties and of methods of cultivation are
of prime importance. In the Maritime Provinces and in Quebec,
very few of the heavy yielding sorts will mature, and this is doubly
true in regard to the Prairie Provinces. The location of the Central
Farm at Ottawa enables it to serve much of Quebec and northern
Ontario, while the Maritime Province Farms are able to settle
the questions of sorts and of methods of cultivation for these eastern
provinces. On certain of these Farms, as well as at the Brandon
and Indian Head Farms, silos have been in use for man}- years for
the storing of fodder for stock. The experience with these has been
of great assistance in determining the most suitable varieties for
growing in cool sections. The information that has thus been gained
and sent out to the country has been of great value to the stock
raising industry.
27
It is only comparatively recently that corn growing has been
taken up on the farms of the Prairie Provinces. As it becomes
known, it will be more generally grown. It is not a new crop in
these provinces because Indians grew it a very long time ago and it
has been on trial at the Experimental Farms for many years, where
it has proved its worth. To secure great bulk of crop, farmers
here and there have tried some of the late varieties. The Experi-
mental Farms have proved that earlier sorts, while producing less
bulk, yield a crop of infinitely better quality. By careful test,
varieties have been found that will yield from 12 to 15 tons per acre
of green crop that generally reaches the milk or dough stage by the
date the crop should be put into the silo. Longfellow, Compton's
Early, North Dakota White and Northwestern Dent have all proved
satisfactory in Manitoba, while Eureka, Angel of Midnight, Compton's
Early, Longfellow, and a number of others do well in Saskatchewan.
The information acquired at the Experimental Farms and spread
throughout the western provinces, in regard to the growing of fodder
corn and its conversion into silage will undoubtedly prove a strong
factor in developing the live stock industry, without which no country
can long continue to raise wheat profitably.
The Central Farm has taken a leading part in the extension of
the silo and the use of soiling crops more especially in Eastern Ontario
and Quebec, while the Nappan Farm has done much to popularize
the use of silage farther east. Whereas the silo was rarely seen in
these sections of Canada a dozen years ago, every dairying section
is now dotted with silos that are greatly appreciated. The Experi-
mental Farms have demonstrated over and over again beyond the
shadow of a doubt that cattle, especially, can be fed much more
profitably by the aid of silage than without it; that, w r hen suitable
varieties are planted and the crop is properly cultivated and handled,
a good crop can be assured every year on almost every kind of well-
drained land ; that all kinds of farm stock relish silage when properly
prepared, and that silage is an available fodder twelve months in
the year.
These facts have not only been demonstrated but preached
from the Farm in season and out of season, by bulletins, reports,
interviews, public addresses, the public press and by correspondence
until the name of silage to many a man who has proved its value is
at once associated with the Experimental Farms.
FARM FIELD WORK.
It has been observed from the very beginning of the Experimental
Farms that methods of cultivation are quite as important from the
crop standpoint as the varieties and qualities of seed planted. At
the Central Farm and at each of the Branch Farms year after year
experiments have been carried on to determine the very best methods
of growing the various crops. This work has had reference to crop
rotation, manuring, thoroughness of cultivation, thickness of seeding
as well as drainage and a number of other factors.
ROTATION.
While many factors necessarily unite to produce the most
satisfactory results in keeping up the condition of a farm, it has
been recognized by the Director and his officers that no single
practice can compare in importance with a proper system of rotation
of crops. It has been recognized that the rotation or rotations
adopted necessarily depend upon the system of farming followed
and to some extent upon the character of the soil and the physical
peculiarities of the farm as a unit. The work of the various Farms
has therefore varied to some extent according to the conditions of
agriculture prevailing in the province served by each respective
Farm. At the Central Farm rotations and systems of cultivation
have been worked out for conditions of mixed farming where live
stock raising forms a leading branch. At the Brandon and Indian
Head Farms, on the other hand, rotations have been studied chiefly
from the standpoint of the grain farmer. At each Farm, the work has
been carried on in the light of the food requirements of different
crops and to some extent, of the values of the residues from the
different crops included. It is understood that certain forage crops
such as corn, roots, potatoes and hay require an immense amount of
food for stem, leaf and root production that is, an abundance of
nitrates as found in the sod of clover and other crops and in well-
manured land. Other crops, such as cereals, can get along best with
a lighter supply of nitrates which, when present in excess, tend to
produce a superabundant growth of straw^ or vine to the delay of
ripening. These crops, therefore, need more phosphates, hence do
well after some forage crop has taken up the excess of free nitrates
found after sod. In the light of these points, it is evident that a
good rotation for a system of mixed farming will include (i) meadow
28
29
or pasture land, (2) roots or corn and (3) some cereal crop; and for a
grain cropping system, the growing of leguminous crops from time
to time to be turned under as green manure.
At the Central Farm, it has been demonstrated by Mr. Grisdale,
who was Agriculturist for twelve years, that various combinations
may be safely adopted. The natural aim of his experiments has been
to determine (i) the comparative values of rotations as soil impro-
vers, and (2) their relative suitability for different lines of farming.
Side by side, year after year, at the Central Farm, various
rotations have been followed in plots of equal size. From immediate
Harvesting oats at the Central Farm.
crop returns and for other reasons, Mr. Grisdale, after an experience
of twelve years, pronounces favourably upon the following five year
system :
First year. Land ploughed in August, well worked, ribbed in
October; seeded next spring to oats, and 10 Ibs. clover sown per
acre; allowed to grow one year and turned under as a fertilizer for
corn.
Second year. Manure, applied in winter or spring, 25 tons per
acre; shallow ploughed, corn planted.
Third year. Grain, seeded down, 8 Ibs. red clover, 2 Ibs. alsike,
10 to 12 Ibs. timothy per acre.
Fourth year. Clover hay, two crops expected.
Fifth year. Timothy hay.
Other rotations tested are almost equally valuable, particulars
regarding which are fully given in the Experimental Farms' Annual
Reports.
30
Then, again, rotations have been worked out for various systems
of farming, as, for example, with hogs as a leading factor or with sheep
as the chief stock kept. Then a number of three year systems
have been tested; the results from these as given in the Annual Reports
may be taken as authoritative.
l"p to the spring of 1899, tne rotation experiments conducted
at the Brandon and Indian Head Farms were of limited range. That
spring a series was commenced at these Farms to determine the
value of leguminous crops for turning under every third year as
compared with that of the usual bare summer-fallow, for main-
taining the fertility of the soil. At Brandon, seventeen, and at
Indian Head twenty-two, rotations or combinations have been under
test for a number of years. The average and total yield of each
variety of grain on each plot has been worked out for the number
of years each has been sown, and the revenue found from each plot
for a five-year period at Brandon, and an eleven-year period at
Indian Head. Wheat was valued at 90 cents, oats at 45 cents and
barley at 50 cents per bushel. The results were as follows :
At the Brandon Farm, the cropping system that gave the highest
return was, wheat, 1st and 2nd years; summer fallow 3rd year and
wheat 4th and 5th years. The return per acre was $143.62. The
next most profitable was wheat, 1st and 4th years, oats 2nd and
5th years, and peas ploughed down 3rd year; the total return for
grain was $131.26 per acre for the five years.
At the Indian Head Farm, the work with 22 systems was in
operation n years. The greatest return per acre during the period
was obtained from a plot that grew wheat for 8 years and oats for
three years and amounted to $223.54. The most profitable system
in which a leguminous crop was ploughed down was wheat, oats, soya
beans ploughed under, wheat, oats, peas ploughed under. It is pointed
out by Mr. Angus McKay, the Superintendent, that good results
obtained from continuous grain growing are possible only on com-
paratively new land and are obtained at the cost of the exhaustion
of the fertility of the soil. This is amply demonstrated in the report
of these experiments which show y s that w r here the growing of grain
has been continuous the crop on the average has been reduced.
The only exceptions were found to be the result of unusually favour-
able seasons.
MANURING.
The experience of Dr. Saunders, extending over a quarter of
a century, lead him to the conclusion that on the average farm in
Canada, barnyard manure in conjunction with a judicious rotation,
was the most economical and effective material for increasing crop
yields and the upkeep of soil fertility. There is no substitute for
farm manures, but there are cultural systems in which these may be
supplemented by commercial fertilizers with profit. Methods of
"intensive" farming call especially for large amounts of immediately
available plant food, and these can best be supplied by the use of
those more or less soluble compounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash found on the market as nitrate of soda, superphosphate,
muriate of potash, etc. In orcharding and market gardening more
particularly, fertilizers, in addition to stable manures, have been
found profitable and there is little doubt but that their use will
steadily increase in districts devoted to the more intensive forms of
agriculture.
It has been found that the most important material making
for soil fertility is humus. Increasing the decayed or rotten vegetable
The junior shepherd with his flock.
matter in the soil is worth infinitely more than adding any amount
of commercial fertilizer, or of plant food in the form of mixed fer-
tilizer. Getting this humus into the soil and following a suitable
rotation are the most important considerations. For instance,
a three-year rotation leaves a fine clover sod to turn under when
it is in its very best form. Experiments at the Central Experi-
mental Farm during the last few years have demonstrated that
such clover sod is worth from $10 to $12 per acre to the crop fol-
lowing it. If in addition to this clover there can be added a con-
siderable amount of barnyard manure, then we have very nearly
ideal conditions. The application of barnyard manure at short
32
intervals rather than in larger quantities at long intervals, is proved
to be the better plan.
CULTURAL OPERATIONS.
After the rotation has been fixed upon and the fertilizer has been
at least anticipated and arrangements made for its application, the
proper performance of all cultural operations at the right time that is,
the suitability, thoroughness and timeliness of cultural operations is
the next consideration. Many lose time in spring by slowness in
getting out on their land. It is possible, of course, to start operations
too early, but one must know enough of his business to be able to
judge when his land is ready for the application of fertilizers or when
it is fit for seeding, and then the great point is to get the seeding
done as soon after the land is ready as at all possible. Earliest
seeding will mean anywhere from five to ten per cent increase in
yield, as has been demonstrated over and over again at the Experi-
mental Farms. We cannot control the moisture content until we
begin to work, but we can provide for taking off the surplus surface
moisture and when we do that the temperature of the soil is raised.
Thoroughness of all cultural operations is an exceedingly im-
portant point. The man who harrows, or ploughs or cultivates,
in a half-hearted kind of way gets a half-hearted kind of crop every
time. This has been proven over and over again at the Experimental