No description available.

No description available.

Three experiments were carried out to evaluate the applicability of the intensive management system to barley production in Quebec. In the first experiment, the effects of three levels of nitrogen fertilizer and ethephon (Cerone) on the performance of cultivars were tested. The aim of the second experiment was to test the effects of fungicide application and row width. In the third experiment, conventional and intensive management techniques were tested on three soil types. / High levels of nitrogen increased the grain protein content and thus improved the feed quality of spring barley. Application of ethephon reduced plant height but also reduced the number of grains per head. A fungicide by row width interaction resulted in a reduced seed size and weight in the narrow rows. The effects of intensive management on yield were inconsistent and were influenced to a large extent by the prevailing weather and soil conditions.

This study examines the impact of snowmelt runoff on nutrient transfer from the terrestrial to the aquatic (lake) portion of a subarctic catchment 6 km WSW from Schefferville, Quebec. / Statistically significant differences in snow chemistry were recorded among the tundra, woodland and forest snowpacks. Significant overland substantial scouring of nutrients from the organic horizons were recorded in the tundra, woodland and forest. A calculation designed to generate, on a daily basis, 70% of the meltwater from the terrestrial catchment to the lake indicates overland flow is a predominant route of meltwater during the spring. This calculation made possible the determination of daily nutrient mass transfer from land to lake. The daily nutrient mass balance of input and output to Elizabeth Lake during springmelt indicates significant retention of land source nutrients. Deuterium/hydrogen measurements aided in determining mixing of snowmelt and lake water. The data indicate snowmelt water is undistinguishable from lake water at depths greater than 1.0 m. / It is concluded that snowmelt runoff is an important event for nutrient transfer from terrestrial to aquatic systems in this environment.

No description available.

Labour relations in Montreal during the years 1830 to 1845 were characterized by flux. The encroachment of expanding industrialization brought with it new social phenomena and pressures, new technology, and a fundamental restructuring of employment relationships. Master-servant relations still contained elements of the deeply stratified and paternalistic labour relationships ingrained in the cultural and social fabric of earlier eras, but increasingly began to exhibit the rudiments of purely contractual relationships which would come to define the modern industrial era. Courts came to play an increasingly important role in resolving labour disputes between parties. While historically the law favored the strict contractual and socio-economic interests of masters, courts began to enforce the reciprocal duties owed by masters to their servants. Servants were accorded greater access to the courts to protect their interests, with the knowledge that they had recourse to extra-judicial means of protest if the law was not sufficiently responsive.

No description available.

Due to recent research suggesting that water table management (WTM) can significantly reduce nitrate (NO3") loads in agricultural drainage, a study was carried out in 2001 and 2002 in Coteau-du-Lac, 60 km west of Montreal, to investigate the effect of water table management on the migration of phosphorus (P) via tile drainage and surface runoff. The second main objective was to study the influence of WTM on grain corn yields. Two drainage treatments were compared: conventional free drainage and WTM (combined controlled drainage and subirrigation) with a design water table depth at 0.6 m below the ground surface. Tile drainage and surface runoff were monitored and sampled automatically. Increased outflow volumes and concentrations - and therefore increased P loads - were measured in drainage water from plots under WTM. Plots under WTM also generally exhibited higher P loads in surface runoff. Higher P concentrations in surface runoff from plots under WTM were observed in surface runoff, especially during winter. Phosphorus loads from combined tile drainage and surface runoff were low compared with literature data (<0.4 kg/ha/year). However, the mean P concentrations in tile drainage were above Quebec's surface water quality standard of 0.03 mg total P/L during both growing seasons in plots under WTM, but not in plots with conventional free drainage. Mean P concentrations in surface runoff water routinely exceeded the criteria, except in plots with conventional free drainage in winter 2002. Therefore, P from tile drainage and surface runoff could contribute to the eutrophication of surface water. Based on these results, WTM increases P loads from the field, both in tile drainage and surface runoff. However, the well water used for subirrigation was found to contain P concentrations above Quebec's surface water quality standard, and this could partly explain the higher P concentrations found in water from plots under WTM. Water table management increased grain corn yields by 35% in both years. The growing seasons of 2001 and 2002 were among the driest ever recorded in Canada.

Two studies were carried out in the Morgan Arboretum of McGill University to explore the agroforestry potential of some native tree species of Southern Quebec. In the first study, soil chemical characteristics under basswood (Tilia americana L.), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) and bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis Wang. K. Koch) in relation to sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were assessed in natural stands. Soil pH was highest under white ash and was lowest under bitternut hickory. Soil NO$ sb3 sp-$ was low under basswood compared to white ash. Soil pH and exchangeable soil Ca$ sp{2+}$ and Mn$ sp{2+}$ decreased with an increase in basal area and exchangeable soil K$ sp+$ decreased (p = 0.07) with an increase in the proportion of sugar maple relative to total basal area. / In the second study, the effects of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) on growth and nutrient content of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), kale (Brussica oleracea L.), parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) in an alley cropping system were determined. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with repeated measures. All vegetables survived in the black walnut plantation and in the open field. The order of sensitivity to growth under black walnut was Swiss chard $>$ kale $>$ lettuce $>$ parsley. Low light intensity in the plantation likely decreased plant dry weights and nutrient content. Generally plant N, P and K concentrations were higher in the plantation while Ca, Mg and Mn concentrations were higher in the open field, possibly due to an antagonistic effect of high soil K$ sp+$ content in the plantation and to inhibitory effects of black walnut.

The intercropping of corn with legumes is an alternative cropping strategy to corn monocropping which may help reduce inputs into the production of silage for livestock feed. The reduction of inputs will decrease costs to producers and potential damage to the environment. Two experiments were carried out at each of two sites in 1993 and 1994. The first experiment investigated the effects on silage yield and weed control of seeding soybean or lupin alone or in combination with one of three forages (annual ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam.; perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L.; and red clover, Trifolium pratense L.). The second experiment examined the effects on silage yield and weed control of seeding date (simultaneous with corn or three weeks later) and number of rows of large-seeded legumes (one or two) seeded between the corn rows. For both experiments intercropped plots received 90 kg ha$ sp{-1}$ less nitrogen fertilizer than monocropped plots (which received 180 kg ha$ sp{-1})$. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)