364 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



July, 1922 



hard, pioneer work for the incoming Ex- 

 ecutive; and still, as always, the impera- 

 tive need exists for the united support of 

 the entire membership. 



In expressing my deep, personal appre- 

 ciation and thanks to those members who 

 have been most closely associated with me 

 during the past year in carrying out the 

 Executive and administrative duties of the 

 Society, I am performing a pleasant task, 

 not discharging a pureh' perfunctory duty 

 because it is a recognized part of formal 

 procedure. 



Ordinarily, no further words of appre- 

 ciation would be necessary, but simple jus- 

 tice requires that special mention be made 

 of the services rendered by the General 

 Secretary-Treasurer. During the past two 

 years this officer has developed a eapacitj^ 

 for affairs which has been of the greatest 

 assistance to your Executive. Initiative, 

 resourcefulness and an almost passionate 

 devotion to work have characterized all 

 his relations with the Society. To him was 

 given the task of following every trail, of 

 exploring every by-path, of turning every 

 stone and of looking into every suggestion 

 which gave promise of furthering the best 

 interests of the Society. How well he has 

 succeeded in this difficult undertaking I 

 confidently leave to your judgment. 



Previous programs of the Society's con- 

 ventions have been of a high order and keen 

 indeed would be the disappointment if each 

 succeeding one did not register a definite 

 and demonstrable advance. The program 

 for this convention, you will agree, regis- 

 ters such an advance. During three days 

 of the convention, we shall have the oppor- 

 tunity of hearing and discussing the con- 

 sidered addresses, papers and reports which 

 will be presented ; and for an equal lengtli 

 of time it will be our privilege once more 

 to become students and to attend the lec- 

 tures given by distinguished specialists 

 whose presence with us has been made 

 possible through the co-operation of the 

 Dominion Department of Agriculture. 



These regular and special features, to- 

 gether witli the consideration of resolu- 

 tions, of proposed changes in the constitu- 

 tion, of business in connection Avith de- 

 termining the policy of tlie magazine, of 

 consideration of the question of member- 

 ship fees and of other important matters 

 of business on the program, give promise 

 of sessions of more than usual interest 



and value. 



One of the chief benefits arising from a 

 convention such as this, quite aside from 

 the papers read and the addresses given, 

 lies in the interchange of ideas and in the 

 comparison of experiences. Contact with 

 men of widely different training, and with 

 equally widely divergent points of view, 

 helps to overcome the effects of enforced 

 isolation, makes vital contributions to our 

 knowledge and, by stimulating the enquir- 

 ing mind, enables us to give fresh inter- 

 pretations to old and long-familiar facts. 

 Under these conditions, points of diver- 

 gence prove a no less fascinating study 

 than do points of similarity or of actual 

 coincidence. From the younger members 

 we, who are older, gain something of ori- 

 ginality, enthusiasm and energy. We are 

 not unconscious of the fact that we are apt 

 to be deficient in these qualities; neither 

 are we unmindful of what, to the younger 

 members, must not infrequently be a still 

 more obvious fact, that progress is often 

 more rapid than we change in our attitude 

 towards it. Those of us who have reached, 

 shall I say forty, are, therefore, glad of an 

 opportunity once a year to fall in step with 

 the 3^ounger workers and, for a fcAv days 

 at least, try to march abreast of the times. 

 Gladly we accord to these members this 

 deserved recognition and in all modesty 

 express the hope 'that the free exchange 

 of ideas may be mutually beneficial. 



This personal contact of man with man 

 not only enkindles enthusiasm, but helps us 

 the better to realize the magnitude of our 

 task and the imperative need of planning 

 for the future as well as of working for 

 the present. Sueli contact, while emphasiz- 

 ing the urgent necessity' for greater speci- 

 alization, also makes us more conscious of 

 our dependence on each otlier. The com- 

 mon cause, we are reminded once more, 

 can only be advanced by concerted action. 

 The task is too great to be carried out in 

 isolation ; it must be done co-operativelj'. 



This opportunity for unofficial exchange 

 between men engaged in the same or close- 

 ly allied Avork, enables us to learn the prob- 

 lems of our contemporaries and to study 

 their methods of attack. It does more than 

 tliis: It shows lis tiiat the writers of bulle- 

 tins, blue books and official reports are 

 themselves human beings — sometimes very 

 human. As a result of this discovery, the 

 barriers of official reticence are broken 



