EEPOBT OF THE SOCIETY It 



THE PROTECTION OF PLANTS. 

 By Prof. W. Lochhead, Macdonald College. 



In this first joint meeting of the Canadian Phytopathological society and 

 the Quebec Society for the Protection of Plants, I ma}' be permitted to say a 

 few words, first, with regard to some Canadian pioneer botanists and entomolo- 

 gists who "blazed the trail'' and made it possible for us to meet here to-day 

 as plant-protection societies; and second, with regard to the special nature of the 

 task of phytopathologists and economic entomologists. 



Botany as a distinct department of Canadian University instruction has 

 been late in coming into its own. This was largely due to the fact that Botany 

 for man}' years was considered of importance only in so far as it related itself to 

 medicine. Queen's University was perhaps the first to appoint a Professor of 

 Botany, but Dr. Fowler had practically no assistance. I can recall the appoint- 

 ment of Prof. Penhallow to the chair of Botany in McGill University in 1883. 

 Prior to that time the instruction in Bot any was very meagre, and was done as a 

 subsidiar}' enterprise by some member of a stronger Natural History Depart- 

 ment. In the UniveTsity of Toronto, Botany was linked up with Zoology, and 

 did not function as a separate Department until some years later. 



These were the days of the systematist and the morphologist. Histology 

 had been introduced from Europe by some of the newer workers and its effect 

 was to broaden and deepen Morphology. Physiology had not reached the 

 status of a separa^te sub-division, and little or no experimentation was done. 

 Mycology was in its infancy and the fungi as a group were given but little atten- 

 tion. 



As might be expected, then, our pioneer botanists were systematists, but 

 confining their attention mainly to the flowering plants. To their efforts we 

 are indebted for the fairly complete list of Canadian plants and their distribu- 

 tion. Dr. John Macoun was an indefatigable collector, and his position as 

 Botanist of the Geological Survey enabled him to travel extensively in all the 

 provinces. His collections form the basis of the National Herbarium at Ottawa . 



Another man who had an important influence on Canadian Botany was 

 Dr. James Fletcher of Ottawa, Dominion Entomologist and Botanist. Althouh 

 his interests were mostly with insects, yet he devoted much time to the ecologi- 

 cal study of plants. His knowledge of plants was of a macroscopic nature, and 

 he was practically unacquainted with the newer phases of Botany, such as his- 

 tology, physiology and the culture of fungi. However, Fletcher was a fluent and 

 popular lecturer, and wherevre he went (and he travelled widely in Canada) 

 he left an indelible impression on the people, so that they became interested in 



