November. 1921 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



: EDITORIAL : : 



I.MPOKTAXCE OF RESPLVRCH. 



The iiupoi-tance attacluHi to agricultural 

 education and reseaieli in En<j:land is in- 

 dicated by an announceineiit recently made 

 l)y the Right Hon. Sir A. Griffitli-Bosca- 

 wen. Minister of Agriculture. In abandon- 

 ing the policy cf guaranteed prices and 

 control of cultivation, it was stated that 

 the (Tovernment was "determined to pur- 

 sue the policy of education and research 

 as the most permanent method of improv- 

 ing agriculture." 



In Canada at the present time there are 

 scores of prcblems confronting the farm- 

 er — ; and for many years these and new 

 problems will present themselves — which 

 the research worker is attempting to solve. 

 Tpon the extent to wliich agricultural re- 

 search and education are encouraged and 

 a.ssisted, the rate of pi-ogress in the deve- 

 lopment and improvement of Canadian ag- 

 riculture will largely depend. At the pre- 

 sent time there is too little appreciation on 

 the part of the public, either of the import- 

 ance of agriculture to the country or of the 

 relationship of science to the industry. 

 This condition will require to be remedied 

 and, in addition, more direct assistance will 

 iiave to be given to agricultural education 

 and research, before a desirable rate of 

 progress can be attained. 



In any organized industry, and part- 

 icularly those industries which draw upon 

 the natural resources of the country, two 

 di.stinct divisions must be recognised : the 

 scientific or technical, and the commer- 

 cial. The details connected with the de- 

 velopment of the former division, because 

 they do not come to the direct notice of 

 the public, are not generally known, and 

 for that .reason the commercial phases of 

 the industiy. liaving to do with the grad- 

 ing, marketing and selling of agricultural 

 products, are given most publicity. That 

 is probablj' unavoidable. But the import- 

 ance of research, and especially to such an 

 industry as agriculture, must not be over- 

 looked, and the preliminai-y training re- 

 (juired bj^ the man who is to carry on agri- 

 cultural research, must be more genei-ouslv 



appreciated. Thcic is a ciyiiig need in 

 Tanada for qualified research workers in 

 agriculture, but at the present time there 

 is little inducement offered to the man who 

 might wish to enter that field. 



The action taken by the Jiritish Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture is one to be highly 

 commended. When education and re- 

 search are recognised in' Canada as "the 

 permanent method of improving agricul- 

 ture", and when the required measure of 

 encouragement is given to research work- 

 ers, the present rate of agricultural de- 

 velo]nnent will be materially hastened. 



A CLASSIFICATION OF PROFES 

 SIOXAL AGRICULTURISTS. 



The decision, on the part of the Can- 

 adian Society of Technical Agrieultui-ists, 

 to establish a Bureau of Records, deserves 

 every commendation. Although this deci- 

 sion was made only last June, preliminary 

 plans have already been completed, and ft 

 is anticipated that tiie Bureau will be in 

 active operation by January 1st. 



There has long been a need in Canada 

 for some available index which could fur- 

 nish, to interested institutions and firms, a 

 record of the professional agriculturists in 

 this country: their academic standing, 

 their experience and training, and similar 

 information. Tliat such a record has not 

 l)een available is doubtless due to the fact 

 that the professional agriculturists were 

 not organized, and the C.S.T.A. has al- 

 ready justified its existence by establish- 

 ing a Bureau of Records. 



It i.s the intention of the Society to in- 

 clude in the active Bureau only the .names 

 of its members — regular aiid associate. 

 This is considei-ed only fair to those who 

 have shown faith in the Society, and to 

 those who contimie to give it their direct 

 support. It is anticipated that the mem- 

 bership li.st will increase rai)idly during 

 the next two months and tiiat by the end 

 of the calendar yeai- there will be compar- 

 atively few trained agriculturists in Can- 

 ada whose names will not })e recorded. 



