July, 1922 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



369 



Report of the General Secretary-Treasurer 



Presented at the Second Annual Convention, June 26, 1922 



The following report will outline, as 

 briefly as possible, the work of. the Society 

 during the past year, the difficulties that 

 have been met and the progress that has 

 been made. It will also contain certain re- 

 commendations and suggestions for the 

 serious consideration of this Convention. 



The several lines of work that have been 

 carried on through the central office are so 

 closely related that it is necessary to em- 

 body several reports in one. These reports 

 cover the general operations of the Society, 

 including a financial statement, as well as 

 the editorial, advertising and circulation 

 work in connection with the official organ. 

 This main report will be supplemented by 

 more detailed information at appropriate 

 times during the Convention. 



At the Winnipeg Convention the establish- 

 ment of a Bureau of Records was proposed. 

 The preliminary work occupied considerable 

 time and it was not until November that 

 questionnaires were mailed to the members. 

 These questionnaires were prepared in 

 French and English. Only a small number 

 were returned promptly and several fol- 

 low-up notices had to be mailed subsequently. 

 By March loth 75 per cent of the members 

 had responded and on that date notice of the 

 establishment of the Bureau was mailed tt» 

 Federal and Provincial Departments of 

 Agriculture, Agricultural Colleges and Ex- 

 perimental Farms. A number of enquiries 

 were received and the usefulness of the Bu- 

 reau was generally admitted. Before giving 

 it any further publicity, and notifying 

 other employing agencies of its estab- 

 lishment, further discussion of its operating- 

 policies is necessary. Provision has been 

 made for such discussion in the programme 

 of this Convention. There is no question 

 that, with proper development and effi- 

 cient operation, and provided that the co- 

 operation of all parties concerned can be 

 obtained, the Bureau of Records can be of 

 great service to the members as well as to 

 the various employing agencies seeking 

 trained men. It is apparent from the en- 

 quiries so far received, however, that the- 

 demand for men with special training is in- 

 creasing, that the old channels in which 



graduates formerly found employment are 

 closing up, and that either new fields for 

 employment have got to be developed or 

 many graduates will have to pursue their 

 studies further before finding employment 

 at adequate salaries. The C. S. T. A. can 

 do not better service than to encourage ad- 

 vanced studies and, if possible, to facilitate 

 the taking of such studies by qualified mem- 

 bers. 



Early in April last negotiations were made 

 with a number of publishing houses in an 

 effort to obtain, for the members, the priv- 

 ilege of purchasing agricultural text books 

 at a reduced price. It was felt that this 

 would be a distinct service. The outcome 

 of these negotiations was the formation of 

 an Agricultural Text Book Club in the of- 

 fice of the General Secretary, through which 

 any member could obtain these books at a 

 discount of 20 percent from list prices. 

 Twelve of the largest publishing houses in 

 Canada and the United States agreed to this 

 arrangement. It was announced in the May 

 and June issues of Scientific Agriculture, 

 but as yet few members have taken advant- 

 age of the privilege. Unless further interest 

 is taken in it the publishers will probably 

 discontinue the arrangement, since its per- 

 manency depends upon volume of business. 



During the year the Society has lost 75 

 members. Of these 26 were in the form of 

 written resignations and 49 were struck off 

 the list for non-payment of dues. In the 

 latter cases at least three letters were sent 

 to these delinquents without acknowledge- 

 ment before they were considered as resig- 

 nations. 



In this connection some reference must 

 be made to the $10.00 annual fee. There is 

 no doubt that, with its present membership, 

 or even with a membership considerably 

 larger, the Society would now be iji debt 

 if a lower fee had been adopted during the 

 past two years. It is equally certain that 

 the $10.00 fee has been the direct cause of 

 90 per cent of the resignations, that it has 

 kept a large number of eligible members 

 from joining and that a fairly large propor- 

 tion of our present members paid the fee last 

 vear with reluctance and criticism. It seems 



