to look into the matter to see what could be done to improve the 

 industry. Consequently, in 1884, the House of Commons appointed 

 a select committee to inquire as tc the best means to adopt to encour- 

 age and develop the agricultural interests of Canada, in the prosper- 

 ity of which all classes of the community were so deeply concerned. 

 The report of the committee showed that agriculture in Canada 

 at that time was in a lamentable and discouraging condition. It 

 was shown that there was no lack of fertility in the soil and that 

 climatic conditions were favourable for the production of good crops, 

 but the prevailing depression, it was claimed, was due mainly to a 

 widespread condition of ignorance among large portions of the 

 farming community. This lack of information led to defective 

 farming and the adoption of wasteful methods. 



The committee recommended the establishment of experimental 

 farms where experiments should be conducted with all sorts of farm 

 crops and fruits to find out the best methods to adopt in order to 

 bring more profitable results. It was further recommended that the 

 information gained should be published from time to time and dis- 

 seminated freely among the farmers of the Dominion. 



During 1886 an Act was introduced and passed almost unani- 

 mously authorizing the Dominion Government to establish a Central 

 Experimental Farm and four Branch Farms. 



The work to be undertaken, as set forth in the Act under which 

 these Farms were established, covered all the most important branches 

 of agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture. Having before him 

 the conditions of the industry and the work to be undertaken in its 

 behalf, the Hon. John Carling, Minister of Agriculture, plainly saw 

 the direction of the Farms must be in charge of a man trained in the 

 sciences that underlie agriculture, a man possessing fine discernment 

 and enthusiasm for the work. There were plenty of strong, honour- 

 able men who were good farmers as understood in those days, but 

 there was needed a man ahead of the time, who, by his work, would 

 be likely to lead the people out from old fashioned methods to the 

 better way that has now come to be so generally followed throughout 

 the length and breadth of the Dominion. 



APPOINTMENT OF DR. SAUNDERS. 



In October, 1886, the Minister chose for Director Mr. William 

 Saunders, then a chemist, fruit grower and general farmer at Lon- 

 don, Ontario. He had identified himself prominently with the 

 sciences of horticulture, botany and entomology, and by his accom- 



