14 PROTECTION OF PLANTS, 1917-18 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



The Protection of Plants^ 



Our Society has now been in existence for ten years. Organized in 1907 with 

 the cordial support of the Department of Agriculture of this province, it has car- 

 ried on, without flourish of trumpets, a work whose scope is well described by the 

 full title of the Society — The Quebec Society for the Protection of Plants from Insects 

 and Fungous Diseases. At this decennial meeting it seems to me a fit and proper 

 time and place to review not only the work of our Society but also the progress of 

 economic biology during the past ten years. 



Our Society was organized with two or three definite objects in view: First, 

 it hoped to bring together annually the biological workers in the province who are 

 interested in the study of economic entomology and fungi. It is a well-known 

 fact that much inspiration, encouragement and help are gained at such meetings 

 where workers have an opportunity of listening to papers and talking over matters 

 of common interest. New viewpoints are presented, valuable information is 

 frequently obtained, concerted action and mutual help are more likely secured, and 

 fresh enthusiasm is aroused. While our active membership is not large, we feel 

 that our meetings have been exceedingly helpful in many ways. Personally, I 

 have been greatly benefitted by the association with my fellow members from all 

 parts of the province, and I value very highly the new friendships that have been 

 formed with my French-Canadian co-workers. 



Second, the Society desired to spread abroad among the people the new 

 gospel of insect and plant disease control so that larger crops might be harvested 

 and greater profits secured by the farmer. That there was an urgent need for 

 such a propaganda is evident from the large annual losses from the attacks of 

 insects and fungi, which could have been prevented to a larger extent. For exam- 

 ple, smut causes annually a loss to the oat crop of Quebec of over two million 

 dollars; "blights" to the potato crop of over three millions and perhaps very much 

 more; "spots" to the bean crop of over two millions; scab and worm to the apple 

 crop of over half a million — not to speak of dozens of other pests of other crops, 

 causing a very large aggregate loss. Inasmuch as it was impossible for the 

 Society with the limited means at its disposal to undertake propaganda work 

 among the Quebec farmers themselves, it adopted from the outset a plan to furnish 

 reliable information to those who came into direct contact with the farmers. It 

 therefore prepares an Annual Report which is published in both languages by 

 the Department of Agriculture, containing both popular and technical articles 

 relating to the pests that cause loss. The popular articles were intended for the 



