president's address — SECTION G2. 521! 



My justification for bringing these matters so forcibly under 

 your notice, and of making those suggestions with regard to them. 

 is, first, because I feel that it comes within the scope of our work 

 to take action with regard to them, and, secondly, on account 

 of the urgency of the case. The solution of several of these has 

 been delayed far too long. For example, " Take-All " was one of 

 the subjects reported on by a commission on diseases in cereals 

 as far back as 1868. Since' then the disease has been thoroughly 

 estab'ishing itself in our Australian soils, while nothing has been 

 done in regard to it, but to trace the cause as being due to a specific 

 fungus. It would almost appear as if science could do nothing 

 in this matter. That is far from the case. No real attempt has 

 been made. What we want is not a Royal Commission to report 

 on it, but a body of trained workers to tackle it on systematic lines. 

 It is only in this way that satisfactory results can be obtained. 

 Moreover, such action has been taken by organisations similar to 

 ours. I need only mention the case of one or two such. 



The Agricultural Education Association of Great Britain. — 

 This Association has a series of committees appointed to organise 

 and carry on certain investigations, the results of which are ulti- 

 mately reported to the Association. They have, for instance, a 

 committee which organises schemes of experimental work to be 

 carried out at different centres throughout the length and breadth 

 of Great Britain, and the results of these are collected, tabulated 

 and reported upon to the associations and ultimately published.. 

 The members do not confine themselves to the reading of papers 

 on various topics, and their discussion ; they undertake work of 

 a practical kind, and co-operate with one another in this work. 

 Whatever experimental work they undertake, and indeed the same 

 applies to any investigation work carried out in this way, is con- 

 ducted on a uniform basis under supervision of the special committee 

 in charge of it, and the results, as a matter of course, carry very 

 considerable weight. The members consist of University professors, 

 teachers of agriculture, science lecturers, experimenters, chemists, 

 biologists, practical agriculturists, and others interested in the 

 advancement of British agriculture, and undoubtedly they are 

 doing useful work. So, too, from America, let me instance the case 

 of the " Breeders' Association." From their report their special 

 object is as follows : "To study the laws of breeding and to promote 

 the improvement of plants and animals by the development of 

 expert methods of breeding." And how do they proceed to do 

 this ? They appoint committees to deal with special phases of the 

 subject. General problems were assigned to 30 of these ; 15 under- 

 took the study of special problems relating directly to animals, while 

 15 others dealt with problems of plant breeding. The membership of 

 these committees included many of the foremost investigators of 

 the country. Of course, from time to time, I am aware that the 

 various sections of this Association recommend the appointment 

 of special committees, but wish to quote examples of associations 

 outside the one with which we are connected. If by our action 



