.lulv, 1922 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



355 



sumer direct. They are i-eaching the men 

 to whom the purchaser or consumer goes 

 for advice. They must not therefore ex- 

 pect direct results. T doubt wlietlier there 

 is any way of tracing the results obtained 

 through advertising in Scientific Agricul- 

 ture. Recently I have been told by adver- 

 tising agencies, who use ke}^ numbers to 

 trace results, that Scientific Agriculture is 

 not "pulling" enquiries. How do they 

 know it isn't? I know for a fact that many 

 of our members are recommending firms 

 and products that are advertised in Scien- 

 tific Agriculture, but the advertiser wnll 

 never learn that fact from the purchaser. 

 He must take it for granted. All the adver- 

 tisements in Scientific Agriculture should 

 be addressed to the professional men, the 

 type of men who are here this morning. 

 Keep that announcement — in a small space 

 if you like — before these men all the year 

 round, and rely on receiving their influ- 

 ence as your return. 



An exclusive policy is vital. That has 

 already been made plain. If we can keep 

 our magazine self-supporting that is all we 

 should expect. Additional revenue should 

 be put into the magazine by improving its 

 appearance, increasing its size, publishing 

 more photographs, etc. The more attract- 

 ive the magazine the greater its value to 

 the advertiser. 



We have had a wonderful experience in 

 the past 3'ear. We are familiar with the 

 men we have to deal with. They are a 

 good lot of fellows. Some of them are here 

 this morning. We want them to know our 

 members, to appreciate the work our or- 

 ganization is doing, and to take a personal 

 interest in it. The development of agricul- 

 ture in Canada is just as important to the 

 manufacturer as it is to the professional 

 W'Orkers. Surely it is possible to form a 

 bond of union between them. Perhaps 

 some of the advertising we have obtained 

 has been given through sentiment — we do 

 not believe so. And we believe that more 

 and more our advertising policy, regard- 

 less of circulation outside of the Society, 

 will become fully appreciated. It takes 

 time to "put it across". This much is 

 certain, if co-operation within the Society 

 is developed, we can make a great success 

 of our magazine ; if it cannot be developed 

 and maintained the danger of failure must 

 be faced. We have done remarkably well 

 already and we can do better. Once the 



reputable manufacturers realize that we 

 are not a commercial institution but an or- 

 ganization attempting to advance the agri- 

 cultural industry, they will come in with 

 IS and support us". 



The discussion on the official organ, in 

 which both advertisers and members took 

 part, indicated that some changes were 

 needed in the editorial policy. It was 

 thought that the magazine should function 

 mainly as a mouthpiece for tlie society. As 

 such, it should keep the members fully in- 

 formed concerning the operations of com- 

 mittees, the activities of local branches, 

 the movements of individual members and 

 so on. Strictly technical articles should be 

 published in a special section of the mag- 

 azine. 



Regarding the advertising policy there 

 was no difference of opinion. Advertisers 

 themselves considered that the restrictive 

 or selective policy so far adopted was the 

 key-note of success and must be continued. 

 A resolution to that effect was strongly 

 endorsed by the Convention. 



Bureau Of Records 



The General Secretary introduced the 

 discussion on the Bureau of Records in the 

 following words : 



"Some reference was made to the Bu- 

 reau of Records in my annual report. 

 From present indications, based upon the 

 comparatively small period during which 

 the Bureau has been operating, there is a 

 great need for it in professional circles. 

 Its value, however, has not yet been prov- 

 en. The number of enquiries so far receiv- 

 ed from employers has been very small 

 and in almost every instance these enquir- 

 ies have called for a man with special, or 

 graduate, training. On the other hand the 

 number of enquiries from registrants seek- 

 ing positions has been much larger and al- 

 ways from men who have no training be- 

 yond that leading to the B. S. A. degree 

 plus subsequent professional experience. 

 For this reason the value of the Bureau 

 has been minimized. The men seeking 

 positions could not be placed ; the employ- 

 ers seeking men could not find them, at 

 the salaries offered, among our regis- 

 trants. 



In spite of this, it is unfair at this early 

 date, to say that the Bureau will not prove 

 to be an important and valuable institu- 

 tion in course of time. 



