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THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS 



Gentlemen : — 



This is the fourth time I have had the pleasure of welcoming you to our Annual 

 Winter Meeting at Macdonald College. Our previous meetings have been well 

 attended, and the papers presented have been interesting, thoughtful and instruct- 

 ive. Our three Annual Reports, published by the Department of Agriculture, and 

 containing the papers presented at the meetings, have been much appreciated by 

 those most interested in the care and preservation of cultivated plants. 



SUMMER FIELD MEETINGS 



According to the Constitution of our Society, a Summer Field Meeting is held 

 every year. For the past two years this meeting has been held at La Trappe, and 

 on both occasions it has been very successful. Those of us who were present will 

 not soon forget the pleasant excursions about the gardens, orchards, and the fields 

 of the lands of the Trappist Fathers; the kind hospitality of our hosts; and the 

 enthusiasm of the students at the gatherings in the hall where the collections were 

 discussed. Such meetings have, in my judgment, a far-reaching effect. They 

 awaken enthusiasm in those persons already interested in the study of insects, 

 fungous diseases, and weeds; and they often arouse an interest which had 

 remained latent on account of the lack of a proper stimulus for development. Our 

 Reports also have a similar stimulating effect upon young workers who found it 

 difficult heretofore to get information helpful in their work. 



Since our last meeting here two or three most useful works have appeared. 

 The Report of the Seed Commissioner for the period from January, 1905, to March, 

 1911, contains a very complete illustrated description of the weeds classed as nox- 

 ious under the 1911 Order in Council. The farmers are indeed fortunate in having 

 at their disposal a number of excellent bulletins dealing with the weeds of Canada. 

 The Seed Commissioner in particular must be congratulated on the most valuable 

 " Farm Weeds of Canada " and the lately published Report. 



THE WEED PROBLEM IN QUEBEC 



The weed problem is a serious one in the Province of Quebec, and every bulletin 

 and report that helps the farmer to deal more effectively with the weeds is heartily 

 welcome. 



It is not difficult to explain the present situation. The factors that have been 

 operating for many years are : — 



(1) The sowing year after year of grain and timothy seed that contained large 

 numbers of noxious weed seeds ; 



