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AGRICULTURAL SURVEY, 1910

A beginning was made in 1910 on the work outlined in the first report of the Lands Committee of the Commission of Conservation." An effort was made to find out the state of agriculture in Canada by means of an agricultural survey of representative areas in each province. The inquiry was carried out under the supervision of the officers of the Provincial Departments of Agriculture and the Agricultural Colleges. In every province except Ontario, in which the survey was made by the representatives of the Seed Branch of the Department of Agriculture, special men were employed to visit one hundred or more representative farms. The information thus obtained was entered upon printed forms and has since been tabulated. The results are considered fairly representative of the actual conditions in each province in regard to the preservation of soil fertility, the inroads of weeds and insect pests, and the practice of wellplanned farming as shown by systematic rotation of crops, the practice of sowing selected seeds and the application of manures or other fertilizers.

The following is a summary of the reports received from the field men who did the survey work in 1910. The facts and figures are taken from the condensed summaries of the sheets filled in by them, and from the general summaries and notes handed in with their complete reports.

Prince Edward Island

Of the area visited in this province seventy-four per cent. was under field crops, three per cent. in unbroken pasture and twenty-two per cent. in woods.

Rotation of Over ninety per cent. of the farmers claim to be following Crops a systematic rotation of crops; but it can not be called systematic when the course extends over an indefinite period of from seven to ten years, with hay and pasture extending over five or six years of the course. Only three per cent. follow a rotation as short as four years. The fact that red clover, alsike and timothy to a large extent make up the pasture mixtures, results in scant pasturage after the first two years and the increase of noxious weeds. Those farmers who have adopted shorter rotations are very enthusiastic over the results. They report fewer weeds, increased fertility from use of clover and a higher crop production from the farms.

a See First Annual Report of the Commission of Conservation, 1910, page 191.

Seed

Only two per cent. use hand selected seed, while ninetySelection eight per cent. use seed either exchanged or purchased and graded with the fanning mill. Every year thousands of dollars have been spent in buying imported seed grain, grass, root and vegetable seed. Very few farmers are growing seed under their own conditions of soil and climate or trying to improve it on their own farms. The few who are doing so claim excellent results, and thanks to the Canadian Seed Growers' Association, some others are now beginning to hand select and grow their own seed.

Manures and Fertilizers

One hundred per cent. use manure at the rate of from thirty to fifty cart loads per acre on roots and potatoes. Thirty per cent. use artificial fertilizers on roots and potatoes. Very diverse are the opinions as to their value, many having given them up as unprofitable. In many cases the farmer invests without understanding the first principles of the use of chemical fertilizers. There is a great need for more knowledge in the care of barnyard manure, as many have their manure piles under the eaves on sloping ground, thus allowing the very essence to flow away and be lost.

Weeds

There were twenty-eight varieties of weeds reported and many complaints were made of impurities in purchased grass and clover seeds. The consensus of opinion is that more rigid inspection should be enforced; but if farmers were better trained in inspecting the seed, and were able to identify weed seeds and harmful weeds, they would refuse to buy impure seed.

Insect

Pests and
Plant
Diseases

Every farmer visited reported trouble with the potato beetle, the loss ranging from five to ten per cent. of the crop; but in most cases it was kept low by the use of Paris green. Over fifty per cent. reported smut on oats with a loss of from five to ten per cent. Forty per cent. reported rust on grains with slight loss. About forty per cent. reported ten to fifteen per cent. loss from potato rot, which was perhaps the most serious of the diseases reported. A number reported loss of from twenty to thirty per cent. from club root on turnips. There is a great lack of knowledge concerning these foes, consequently the total loss is large. Many have not the slightest conception of the amount of damage done by insect pests and plant diseases. There is a great need of more scientific knowledge being disseminated among the farmers regarding methods of combatting these enemies.

Water
Supply

Ninety-seven per cent. obtain water from wells. All carry the water by hand. A number of wells were too near sources of contamination and were very poorly protected from surface

drainage. Others, in barns, were too near the seepage from the stables to be considered pure.

Fuel

About sixty per cent. use wood for fuel, six per cent. use coal and thirty-four per cent. wood and coal. Seventy-two per cent. have wood lots on their farms; sixteen per cent. have a perpetual supply of fuel; while the others estimate that the supply will last at the present rate of consumption, for twenty years. Very little, if any, attention has been given to the principles of forestry and many are now beginning to view with some concern the lessening wood supply. Forest fires have done considerable damage in the past. There is need here for information and encouragement among the farmers to assist them in conserving what is left and in adopting principles of reforestation which will insure a future supply.

Typhoid

Stock

No typhoid fever was reported on any of the farms within the last ten years.

Great interest is taken in the production of the famous Island horses; but too little attention is given to the laws of breeding. Some seem to think they should sell their best mares and keep the inferior ones for breeding purposes. If more attention were given to this particular, fewer misfits would be in evidence. The dairy industry has been the salvation of the agriculture of Prince Edward Island. There is still great room for improvement. There is a lack of individual testing, and the mixing of breeds is too frequent. Sheep are likely to increase in numbers in the future as they are very much appreciated as weed destroyers and the present high prices are attracting attention.

Considerable intelligence is displayed in the breeding and care of hogs; but many have given up winter feeding owing to bad results from rheumatism and the hogs going off their feet. The importance of dry beds, ventilation and proper foods, are being more fully recognized in the winter management.

Grain

Oats, wheat and barley are the principal grain crops grown. Many sow too much seed per acre for good results, which makes it difficult to obtain a stand of grass or clover. Joint worm has played great havoc with wheat growing in many districts and has led to the discontinuing of that crop in some sections. The old two-rowed varieties of barley are grown almost entirely, with the result that lower yields are obtained than would be the case if some of our best six-rowed varieties were sown. The farmers of Prince Edward Island say "We want some capable person to visit us on our farms that he may study our conditions and then be in a position to advise us. Better still, we want some one to practise the best methods right here in our own locality. Illustration farms are what we must have for our most rapid advancement."

Nova Scotia

Of the area visited, thirty-one per cent. was in field crops, twentyeight per cent. in unbroken pasture and forty-one per cent. in woods.

Rotation of
Crops

Sixty-two per cent. follow no systematic rotation of crops, nineteen per cent. practise a fairly good four or five year rotation. The balance of the farmers visited follow what they consider to be a rotation; but hay entering into the course for so many years, it can scarcely be termed such. Hay in many instances runs on indefinitely until it yields such a light crop that it does not pay to keep the land in grass any longer. Then it is plowed, sowed to grain and reseeded. Clover is not often enough used in the rotation to be of very much value in supplying root fibre and nitrogen to the soil.

Seed Selection

Ninety-five per cent. do no seed selecting whatever. Three per cent. hand pick a little wheat; but this seems to be about the only crop which receives any attention. Two per cent. report the use of fanning mill on their own seed grain. The majority of the farmers buy their seed. This is not because a good quality of seed grain cannot be grown in Nova Scotia; but largely on account of the farmers having fallen into the habit of buying it, in order to save themselves the trouble of selecting and cleaning it for their own use.

Manure

One hundred per cent. use farmyard manure. The number of tons used per acre varies greatly, ranging from four to sixty. The average application is from twenty-five to thirty tons. Where the amount is small, it is on orchards, being applied every two or three years. The heavier applications are used on roots and grain. Seventy per cent. use artificial fertilizer, from three hundred to a thousand pounds per acre, on potatoes, roots, hoed crops, and on grain when seeding down to grass of clover. A certain amount of marsh mud or mussel mud is used on the land. Much might be done in the way of demonstrating to the farmers the advisability of using clovers to enrich their soil in place of using so much artificial fertilizer.

Weeds

Thirty-nine varieties of noxious weeds were reported, couch grass, lady's thumb, pigweed, sow thistle and ox-eye daisy being among the worst. From this it will be seen that much remains to be done in instructing the farmers in the identification and eradication of these pests, and in starting and carrying on a vigorous campaign for the purpose of their extermination or, at least, their control. The causes given for weeds increasing are impure seed grain, allowing weeds to go to seed, buying manure and other common causes. Where weeds are being

kept in check, cutting, hand pulling, good cultivation, and short rotations are practised. Shorter rotations and unremitting watchfulness are much needed in combatting weeds in Nova Scotia. Some attribute the spread of weeds to the fact that they keep no sheep, while others state that they keep sheep on their waste or unbroken land largely for the purpose of keeping it clean and preventing the spread of weeds.

Pests

A smaller number than in some of the other provinces report potato beetle, there being only thirty-five per cent. reporting this pest; but about twenty-five per cent. sustained a loss of twenty-five per cent. of crop, which is a very heavy one. No doubt this could have been avoided had proper precautions been taken in spraying at the right seasons. Eighteen per cent. report potato blight with the loss not heavy in many cases. There is need for more knowledge concerning spraying for insect pests and blight, the loss from which could be materially lessened if intelligently attended to at the proper time. This is also the case with apple scab and codling moth which have done considerable damage. Fifteen per cent. report smut on oats; but state that the loss is hard to estimate. Very few in the province are treating their seed oats for smut. Many other pests are mentioned. In all there is a great field for work in educating the farmers to recognize these pests and to employ methods to combat them.

Seventy-four per cent. obtain water from wells and twentyWater Supply one per cent. from springs. Six per cent. of the wells are in the house, and twelve per cent. within ten feet of the house. Many are poorly situated and contamination is almost inevitable. The majority carry the water to the house by hand. Only two per cent. have it piped. A few have arrangements made so that water can be pumped directly into the house.

Fuel

Ninety-two per cent. use wood only, forty-three per cent. have a continuous supply. The average time for the noncontinuous wood lots to last at the present rate of consumption is thirtyseven years. If they will last thirty-seven years under ordinary conditions, the application of the simplest principles of forestry might make the supply a permanent one. There is need for more knowledge along this line.

Typhoid

Two per cent. report typhoid in the last ten years. Five cases occurred on one farm where the water supply was

taken from a bored well in the stable.

General

Dairying is one of the important branches of farming in the Pictou district. The proper system of rotation is by no means followed. The general rule is after seeding down a field to top dress

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