WKy Not Cooperative Experiments WitK Vegetables? 



WHY should not the Experimental 

 Union of the Ontario Agricultural 

 College carry out cooperative ex- 

 periments with vegetables in different 

 parts of the province? I am convinced 

 that something should be done along 



Good Things from ihe Garden 



that line. I have looked up informa- 

 tion on the subject, particularly that 

 contained in the annual reports of the 

 union for the years 1904 and 1905. The 

 objects of the union and the manner in 

 which the work is carried on is outlined 

 " in the following quotation from the re- 

 port for 1905 : 



"I'lve years after the college was 

 started, the officers, students, and ex- 

 students formed themselves into an as- 

 sociation under the name of the 'Ontario 

 Agricultural and Experimental Union.' 

 The objects of the association, as form- 

 ulated at that time, were as follows; 'To 

 form a bond of union among the officers 

 and students, past and present, of the 

 Ontario Agricultural College and Ex- 

 perimental Farm; to promote their in- 

 tercourse with the view to mutual in- 

 formation; to discuss subjects bearing 

 on the wide field of agriculture, with its 

 allied sciences and arts; to hear papers 

 and addresses delivered by competent 

 parties; and to meet at least once an- 

 nually at the Ontario Agricultural Col- 

 lege.' In 1886 the members of this 

 association appointed a committee to 

 confer with the officers of the college, 

 with the object of establishing a system 

 of co-operative experiments throughout 

 the province. Letters were written to 

 members of the union, and 12 consented 

 to conduct experiments with fertilizers 

 and field crops on their own farms in 

 the year 1886. From that time to the 



present, the work has gradually branched 

 off on different lines until it has touched 

 on several phases of agricultural work. 



"In the spring of each year, circulars 

 outlining the cooperative work are dis- 

 tributed by the agricultural committee 

 appointed by the Experimental Union. 

 Those asked to take part in the scheme 

 of cooperation may be classified as fol- 

 lows: (1) The officers and students, 

 past and present, of the Ontario Agri- 

 cultural College, who pay an annual fee 

 of 50 cents, and have control of the 

 executive work of the Experimental 

 Union; (2) the experimenters of former 

 years who have done satisfactory work; 

 (3) leading farmers, gardeners, and 

 others, whose names have been suggested 

 by secretaries of farmers' institutes, 

 secretaries of agricultural societies, prin- 

 cipals of collegiate institutes, inspectors 

 of public schools, and others; and (4) 

 various persons who have seen the ex- 

 periments of other people, or have in 

 some way heard of the work and wish to 

 assist in the movement by conducting 

 experiments on their own farms. The 

 circulars are distributed in the order 

 here given, starting first by sending to 

 those who have been connected with the 

 college and are therefore trained for the 

 work, and finishing the distribution by 

 sending to those engaged in some branch 

 of practical agriculture who have not 

 conducted experiments previously, but 

 who wish to undertake the work." 



In seeking information regarding the 



work of the union, I was much pleased 

 to find that, in 1904, Prof. C. A. Zavitz 

 started conducting experiments in sweet 

 corn, with eight successful experiment- 

 ers, and this number was increased to 

 21 in 1905, and there are about 160 

 persons conducting experiments with 

 sweet corn this year. 



This year, also, Prof. Hutt is making 

 a series of experiments with a dozen 

 varieties of tomatoes, in half a dozen 

 canning sections. But, will the canning 

 factory make its decision from the sel- 

 fish, economical side; that is, from the 

 tomato that will give the least waste, or 

 from the standpoint of quality when 

 canned? Let us hope by all means that 

 it will be the latter. 



Outside of the under-glass crops, the 

 growing of vegetables is the highest 

 type of agriculture. It is plain that as 

 yet there has been comparatively little 

 done in conducting experiments with 

 vegetables throughout this province, 

 looking not only towards increased 

 yield, but to what is of more importance, 

 a higher standard of quahty. If we 

 can get that quality by fertihzation of 

 soil, or cultiv'ation, or by breeding up a 

 higher type, our labor will not be in 

 vain. Now that the vegetable growers 

 have a provincial association, I think it 

 would be fitting and proper for them to 

 appoint a committee to draft their 

 requirements, and present them to the 

 Experimental Union at its next annual 

 meeting in December. — A Truck Farmer. 



Exhibit of Onions at Canadian National 



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