ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | JUNE 20, 1912 | THE FARMER'S ADVOCATE
Leafy June, when all the plant kingdom reaches the zenith of its summer glory, is chosen as the month in which to show the rural population of Ontario the beauties and the uses of the Ontario Agricultural College and Experimental Farm in Guelph. The Farmers’ Institute excursions for 1912 are now in full swing, and great crowds are conducted daily to places of greatest interest. While things look much the same each year, there is always something fresh to be learned, and the person who makes it a point to gain some new information which will be of value to him on his farm at home is never disappointed. The unobservant, disinterested person may get away without learning anything but those who attend with a purpose are never turned away empty. As an outing combining pleasure and education, a trip to the Agricultural college is hard to duplicate. President G. C. Creelman is at present holidaying in Europe, and G. E. Day leaves for England shortly in quest of dairy Shorthorn cattle. Prof. C. A. Zavitz has charge, in the absence of the president.
No part of the work at the College is of more interest and more direct value to the country’s agriculture than the experimental plots. Fifty acres are now devoted to this work alone, and twenty-five more will be added next spring. Although not as forward as they are some years of earlier seasons, they are looking well, indeed, and some of the best object lessons in variety times of sowing, kind of seed, etc., are in evidence.
Few people realize what the number of plots and the extent of the work means. There are over five miles of wide drives between sections of plots, and upwards of twenty-two miles of footpaths around the plots. Imagine, if you can, what this experimenting means to the crops of our country.
The oat plots are looking fine, especially the plots of O.A.C. No. 72, which now heads the list in yield per acre. This new oat originated from a selection of an extremely promising head of the Siberian variety, and results have proven the selection valuable.
Barley looks well, but shows a little frost injury, the tips of the leaves being a trifle yellow. Prof. Zavitz does not anticipate any appreciable falling off in yield on this account. The plots of O.A.C. No. 21 and Mandscheuri give promise of holding their place at the top of the list.
Winter wheat shows considerable evidence of the injury of the past winter, but many of the plots look very well, especially a few of Dawson’s Golden Chaff. A wheat known as the Virginia Miracle, introduced in Virginia some five or six years ago, did not show too promising, having been badly winter-killed. Many of the tender varieties were hard hit, but some of the hybrids are doing fine, and some promising new varieties are likely to result.
Winter rye came through in fine condition , and is looking its best, standing five feet high, and all out in head, proving its hardiness and ability to withstand all kinds of weather.
A few of the more uncommon crops are worthy of note. Winter barley and winter emmer almost entirely succumbed to the cold weather, indicating that these crops are very risky for the farmer, and generally not profitable. Spring emmer is looking well. This crop has an advantage in late or wet seasons, in that it does well with comparatively late sowing, and gives good yields under favourable conditions.
More space is required to grow the seed for the Experimental Union plots throughout Ontario, and the extra twenty-five acres to be added to the plots at the College will help in this direction. This latter work is gradually growing. For instance, it has been found that nitrate of soda is the most economical single fertilizer ingredient to use with mangels, and 160 pounds of this per acre increased the yield 200 bushels; or, in other words, the increase was made at an average cost of approximately two cents per bushel. At the present time, fertilizer experiments are being carried on with potatoes. Four different kinds of complete fertilizer are used, and 30 experiments with each, or 120 experiments in all, are under way on as many different farms in the Province. They are sown in lots of 320 pounds, 640 pounds, and 960 pounds, respectively, per acre, and check plots with no fertilizer and with barnyard manure, are also used. The results of this work should be very valuable and far reaching.
Perhaps the most striking feature in the plots is the alfalfa experiments. The best object-lesson with regard to the kind of seed sown is here illustrated. Four-year-old plots of the variegated variety are standing fine, while the common variety under the same conditions has almost entirely disappeared. So important is this to growers at present that it will be made the subject of a special illustrated article, to appear in our issue of June 27th. The Southern and Western grown seed which is so often sold in this country is not as as the variegated variety, and the plots prove the point.
It has been stated, and it is still believed that, in sections where the land is extremely heavy clay underdrainage is not satisfactory. In order to demonstrate with this class of soil, the Physical Department is endeavouring to secure some of this land in some of the outlying counties, and intend to put in a thorough system of underdrains, and carefully note the result. The drainage staff now consists of fourteen men, who will spend the entire summer taking the levels and mapping out the drains for farmers, at no cost other than traveling expenses.
The experimental and other work carried on at the O. A. C. is of more value than many are inclined to believe, and it was a good move that the Government recently made in adding more land to extend operations. It is proposed, during this summer, to erect a new dining hall, a new dairy stable, and a new agronomy building. All of these and others are urgently needed. Classes at the College increase in numbers yearly. Class rooms and laboratories in several of the buildings are inadequate to cope with the growing demands upon space. The new dining-room will leave more space for dormitories, and every student should have the privilege of residence life for an important part of his education is gained from contact with his fellows outside class hours. Up-to-date stables ares are a necessity, and the new dairy barn is needed at once.A new agronomy build will relieve considerable congestion. At the present time there is no proper agronomy class-room. The veterinary and live-stock class-room is situated in the agronomy building. The bacteriological laboratories and class-room are there, also, and the agricultural museum, besides several offices. The short-course classes in seed-judging are taken to the manual-training class-room in the machinery hall, thus encroaching on other professors space, and the horticultural building, being without a short-course class-room, these students use the agricultural museum. The new building will solve this difficulty. The bacteriological class-room and laboratories can be enlarged, and also the veterinary and live-stock class-room, giving sufficient space in these departments, while the new building will accommodate all classes, regular and short-course in agronomy, without having to use the manual-training department’s space. These buildings are urgently needed, and should be completed before the next college term opens, the middle of September. At present writing, not a sod has been turned and unless a move is soon made, another college term, with larger classes than ever before, will have to be put in under existing conditions.
The college officials and professors should not be hampered by inadequate accommodation either for their stock or students. We look for the best possible work to be done, but it cannot be accomplished unless facilities are provided to cope with the demands. The government cannot be too strongly urged to hasten these buildings to completion and to look over some of the others, keep in touch with the needs, and place the men in charge in a position to do their best work.