in the work that they are doing- service which is not only of advantage to 

 themselves but to the country as a whole. It is impossible to estimate 

 the value and the influence of this work in connection with the agricul- 

 ture of our Province. The experimenters deserve great credit for their 

 work in successfully conducting the various experiments, and the farmers 

 as a whole owe much to these men who are recording the results of their 

 carefully conducted investigations from year to year. The summary 

 results of these co-operative experiments, which are to be pre- 

 sented and discussed at the different sessions of this annual meeting 

 of the Experimental Union, are submitted with a good deal of confidence 

 as to their value in furnishing information which should prove very 

 serviceable as a general guide in connection with the practical agriculture 

 of Ontario. 



"As there are probably some in attendance at the meeting and 

 many others who will read the annual report who are not familiar with 

 our system of co-operation along the various lines of agricultural experi- 

 mental work, we give a brief outline of the Experimental Union in con- 

 nection with the Agricultural College and of the co-operative experi- 

 mental work in connection with the Union. The experimental work at 

 the Agricultural College was commenced in 1876, just two years after the 

 establishment of the College itself. These experiments have been in- 

 creased from year to year, and now include work along the various lines 

 of agriculture. In the experiments with farm crops, upwards of 2,000 

 plots (see p. 7) are used annually in growing grains, fodders, grasses, 

 clovers, roots, and potatoes, with the object of obtaining information 

 regarding the best varieties, the most productive selections of seed, the 

 best dates of seeding, the most improved methods of cultivation, the 

 most economical ways of increasing the fertility of the soil, etc. 



"Five years after the College was started, the officers, students, 

 and ex-students formed themselves into an association, under the name 

 of the 'Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union.' The objects of the 

 association, as formulated at that time, were as follows : 'To form a 

 bond of union among the officers and students, past and present, of the 

 Ontario Agricultural College and Experimental Farm ; to promote their 

 intercourse with the view to mutual information ; to discuss subjects 

 bearing on the wide field of agriculture, with its allied sciences and arts ; 

 to hear papers and addresses delivered by competent parties ; and to 

 meet at least once annually at the Ontario Agricultural College.' In 

 1886 the members of this association appointed a committee to confer 

 with the officers of the College, with the object of establishing a system 

 of cooperative experiments throughout the Province. Letters were 

 written to members of the Union, and twelve consented to conduct ex- 

 periments with fertilizers and field crops on their own farms in the year 

 1886. From that time to the present, the work has gradually branched 

 off along different lines until it has touched on several phases of agri- 

 cultural work. 



"In the spring of each year, circulars, outlining the co-operative 

 work, are distributed by the agricultural committee appointed by the 

 Experimental Union. Those asked to take part in the scheme of co-oper- 



