October 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



41 



EDITORIAL 



SUGGESTED CHANGE IX EDITORIAL 

 POLICY. 



Ill A'iew of the fact that many of the 

 tjiibseribers to this magazine, as well as the 

 majority of the members of the Canadian 

 Society of Technical Agriculturists, are 

 mainly engaged in agricultuial work which 

 cannot be considered as strictly technical, 

 it has been proposed that articles be ac- 

 cepted and published Avliich bear more 

 directly upon the practical phases of the 

 industry. In contemplating such a step, 

 it is emphasized that such articles should 

 not conflict with those already appearing 

 in the agricultural press, but it is pointed 

 nut that there is a type of article which, 

 while being more or less popular to the 

 average reader, may be considered tech- 

 nical in its relationship to practical agri- 

 culture. 



The matter has been referred to the 

 publishers of the magazine, through the 

 Dominion Executive Committee, and their 

 judgment will be accepted and announced 

 in the next issue. Expressions of opinion 

 from the readers of the magazine are also 

 desired. 



The present issue is intended to repre- 

 sent the type of magazine under consi- 

 deration. It includes a description of a 

 ncAv machine for the separation or clean- 

 ing of seed, the results of experimental 

 work in fruit culture in Saskatchewan, an 

 article on the production of cucumbers 

 under glass, the first of a series of art- 

 icles on diseases of the potato, a descrip- 

 tion of a new disease of sunflowers, and 

 comparatively few articles that are strictly 

 scientific. At the same time we believe 

 that each of the articles published in the 

 present issue represents a contribution to 

 scientific agi'iculture, even if, in making 

 that contribution, it takes a practical form. 

 The different fields of effort into which 

 agriculture may be divided, as indicated in 

 the personnel of the Editorial Board, add 

 to the difficulty of covering the subject 

 fully with a technical journal. In nearly 

 every division the practical or commercial, 

 as well as the technical or scientific, play 



an important part, although all may be 

 considered to be scientific in their applica- 

 tion. 



To maintain the interest of every mem- 

 ber of the Society, and every subscriber to 

 the magazine, and at the same time pro- 

 duce a publication that is distinctive and 

 non-competitive, is very difficult, but every 

 possible effort will be made to do so. Above 

 all we should try to ensure the sjonpathe- 

 tic support of the agricultural press. We 

 believe that Scioitific Agiiculture can be 

 of great assistance in furthering the work 

 which the agricultural press is doing, b..t 

 the assistance should be supplementary or 

 additional rather than a duplication of 

 effort. 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRV 

 AREAS. 



Lack of adequate moisture is the most 

 serious obstacle to successful crop produc- 

 tion and. per coittra, abundant moisture 

 is of far more benefit to a growing crop 

 than any of the artificial methods em- 

 ployed to improve quality and yield. Any 

 progress made towards the improvements 

 of conditions or the introduction of new 

 varieties in localities commonly known as 

 "dry districts"' will not only benefit the 

 farmers in those districts but, by increas- 

 ing the crop-producing areas of Canada, 

 will be of great national importance. 



It is estimated that there will be about 

 850,000 acres of fall planted rye in South- 

 ern Alberta and Western Saskatchewan 

 tliis year, which represents an increase of 

 185 per cent over the acreage planted last 

 year. Based on an average crop yield and 

 present prices this represnts an increased 

 revenue to the fa: mers in those districts of 

 between three and four million dollars. 



The agency responsible for this move- 

 ment is the "Western Canada Colonization 

 Association which, in co-operation with 

 other agencies, recently conducted an en- 

 quiry in the drouth-stricken areas of Sas- 

 katchewan and Alberta. The results of 

 this enquiry and /he steps taken to in- 



