248 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



April, 1922. 



colleges, co-operation between provincial 

 and federal departments, the manner of 

 conducting extension work, overlapping in 

 departments, and so on, are all suggestive. 

 Probabl}^ conferences and discussion 

 would be necessary before a solution is 

 reached, but surely the various branches 

 of the C.S.T.A. and itsi annual Convention 

 can facilitate such conferences. 



And what a far-reaching service can 

 be given bj^ the official organ of such 

 a Society! It will create and mould pub- 

 lic opinion, bind its members together, 

 serve as a connecting link with similar 

 movements throughout the world and 

 give needed publicity to what it is doing. 

 Being the tongue of the Society, it must 

 express opinions and offer suggestions 

 and criticisms.. It should also be the re- 

 cognized medium in Canada for publish- 

 ing the results of agricultural research, 

 extension, etc., etc. There is sufficient 

 original work being done in Canada to 

 warrant a monthly magazine of high 

 quality, and it is to be hoped that the 

 professional Avorkers will take full ad- 

 vantage of this new publication and make 

 it a creditable one. 



By holding an annual Convention, the 

 C.S.T.A. provides an opportunity for the 

 professional Avorkers to meet and discuss 

 tlieir problems together. That alone is 

 worth Avhile. The CouA'ention also en-, 

 ables prominent Avorkers in the United 

 States to meet their felloAv-Avorkers in 

 Canada and tell them something of the 

 Avork being done in our neighl)ouring 

 country. The problems confronting the 

 different branches of the Society are 

 giA'en an airing. A spirit of enthusi- 

 asm is created Avhich hasi not only a 

 local effect but is carried back to all the 

 provinces and thus stimulates new in- 

 terest and greater acti\4t3^ And there 

 are many matters affecting the operating 

 policies of the Society Avhich can be ad- 

 justed in no better Avay than by dis- 

 cussion in Convention. 



The criticism that there is no useful 

 work for the C.S.T.A. to do has been 

 made hy some professional agriculturists. 

 They are evidently not in very close touch 

 Avith their oaa'ii pi-ofession or Avith the 

 probleuLS confronting it. The greatest 

 results Avill be accompanied — by any 

 organization — only AA'hen everyone con- 

 cerned gets behind it, offers suggestive 



criticism and expresses his loyalty and 

 firm belief in the possibilities ahead of 

 it. Progress is not made (in the right 

 direction) by indifference or by hostility, 

 unless there are good grounds for both. 

 If an organization such as the C.S.T.A. 

 cannot find a useful service to perform 

 in Canada, AA'hen every other profession 

 has found it necessary to organize, it 

 reflects little credit upon the trained 

 agriculturists. 



TICK PARALYSIS. 

 A bulletin recently issued by the Health 

 of Animals Branch of the Dominion De- 

 partment of Agriculture gives for the ben- 

 efit of farmers and ranchers information 

 on the different species of ticks that haA-e 

 been found to exist in certain parts of Al- 

 berta and British Columbia. From this 

 IDublication we learn that the female of one 

 kind, known scientifically as Dermacentor 

 vemistus, maj' under certain conditions 

 cause paralj^sis, sometimes followed by the 

 death of the animal. Sheep are the chief 

 sufferers from its attack. In Montana it 

 causes what is knoAvn as Rocky Mountain 

 fcA^er or Spotted fever, but there are no 

 records of this fever liavjng occurred in 

 this country. The tick appears as an adult 

 early in tlie spring and attaches itself to 

 the skin of Avild and domesticated animals 

 and man. The female lays about four 

 thousand eggs. After a period of thirty- 

 six days or so, the eggs hatch into minute 

 six-legged larvae or "seed" ticks. These 

 ticks craAvl up on to grass or other sup- 

 ports, and Avhen the opportunity offers, 

 attach themseh'es to small animals such as 

 rabbits, squirrels, ground squirrels, field 

 mice, and other rodents. They progress 

 by stages of deA^lopment until larger ani- 

 mals become their prey. Mr. E. A. Bruce, 

 the Animal Pathologist, avIio is the author 

 of the bulletin, gives full particulars of the 

 life liistory and habits of D. venustus, with 

 methods for its destruction and for treat- 

 ment after attack. 

 (Publications Branch, Dept. of Agr., 

 O'.taAva) 



DISEASES OF THE POTATO. 



OAving to pressure of regular duties, 

 Professor B. T. Dickson has been imable 

 to prepare his article on the aboA^e sub- 

 ject this montli. The scries Avill l)e resum- 

 ed in the next issue. 



