January 3, 1895J 



NA TURE 



237 



Nothing can be adduced which is more creditable to the 

 system ol j^overnment in Canada, than the quietly persistent and 

 uninierrupitd support acorded to the Geolojjical Survey by 

 every political party; but it remains to provide such a 

 museum builrling and cntre for the work as that referred to, 

 and it may t)<- confiden'ly asserteil that nothing would lie more 

 favourably recfived by the general public. This museum should 

 be of a naiiiinal character, and there is every reason to hope 

 that when it is undertaken, its plan will include provision for all 

 the valuable collections which have been or may be made by the 

 several Govtrnitient departments, so that it may form in effect 

 a represcniaiiun of ihe sources, the history and the various lines 

 of activity of the whole country. 



Meteorological Service and Magnetic Observatory. 



Although ihe first scientific branch of the Government service 

 established by Canada, it must be noted that several years pre- 

 vious to its inception the Magnetic Observatory had been 

 founded at Toronto. It was established as the result of 

 representations made by the British Association at its 

 meeting in Newcastle in 1S3S, acting in conjunction with 

 the Rojal S"Ciety of England, and as a part of a system 

 of ma>;netic research on .si-a and in the colonial pos-essions 

 of Gieii B i'ain. The observations were actually liegun in 

 1839. Meteorological observati-ms had been made concurrently 

 with tho-e relating to magnetism, from the time of the establish- 

 ment ol the observatory ; bur it was not until 1871 that the 

 Canadian Government first made a grant of 5000 do's, for a 

 meteorrrlogical service. 



In 1876, the issue of daily weather forecasts and storm warn- 

 ings was bei;un, anr] since that time these have become so much 

 a pnrl of the every-day life of the country, ihat it is unnecessary 

 to enter into .iny explanriii -n of 1 heir character, or to present any 

 plea in their favour. They are equally imponantand necessary 

 to the farmer as to the navigator, and are, in addition, of value 

 in a hundrerl other ways. 



There arc at the present time over four hundred stations in 

 Canada reporting to the central office, of which tweniy-nine 

 make daily telegraphic reports, useful primarily in affording 

 data for the wea' her forecasts. The meteorological service thus 

 develo])ed naiurally from the M ignetic Observatory, and both 

 have become merged in a common organisation, the growth 

 of the nielei>rolt)i^ical work n "W perhaps overshadowing the 

 original luagiielic puipose of the observatory in its immediate 

 interest, thou.h the importance of the magnetic observations 

 has never ticen lost sight of. 



Respeciing majnetic charts of the Dominion, much also 

 remains 10 lie dime, for though scattered observations iT pre- 

 cision have been made, particularly in the west, no systematic 

 attemp' a' a magnetic survey has been un<lertaken since that 

 accomplished in an exieniled journey ihrough the northern parts 

 of the country in 1842 and 1843. hy Sir J. II. Lcfroy. It is 

 well to remember that the magnetic pole itself is situated wiihin 

 the limits nf Canaria, and that problems of the greatest import- 

 ance, both from a purely scieniific and from a praitical point of 

 view, call lor solu ion by a syste-rjaiic study of its secular move- 

 menr, as well as of any chang-s in intensity ami dip by which 

 this may be accompanied. These are all strictly domestic 

 problems, and they should not be left for solution to enterprise 

 from abro.ad. 



Experimental Farms. 



This branch nf ihe public service was established as the result 

 of the recommendation of a select committee of the Ilou^e of 

 Commons apfHiinted in 1884 to inquire into the best means of 

 encoura.dng and developing the agricultural resources o( Cana-'a. 

 The " Expi-rimen'al Farm System Act" was passed in 18S6, 

 and the orgnni-ati'm of the work began in the smie year 



It is iluis only about eight years since ihe initial steps in this 

 new scieniific t-ntfipnse of the Government wee taken, but in 

 that time, thanks to the energy anrl aluliiy of the director and 

 staff of the farms, great progress has been made, anrl the way 

 has been opened in many liirections lor -till furll er usefulness. 

 Besides the ceniiai 'arm at Oitawa, which was first undertiken, 

 branch (arms have lieen esialilished for the mariiime pro- 

 vinces, M mitoba and the north-west territories, and British 

 Columbia. 



If any line can be dra>«n between that which may be 

 lescribefi as siricily praciical and thai which may be called 

 purely scien'ific vv<irk, ii will he found to run through ihe 

 centre ol the field of operations of the experimental farms. An 



NO. 



I3I4, VOL. 51] 



inspection of the reports already published will show that the 

 work consits largely of sul>mitting actual observations in the 

 field to scientific tests, ami in the application in turn of Ihe 

 best results of scientific knowledge to matters of eveiy-day 

 importance on every farm throughout the land. 



The following are among the many lines of work undertaken 

 in this service : — 



One is the origination of new crosses or hybrids of cereals, 

 fruits, and other u-eful plants to meet the requirements of the 

 varied clima'es and conditions of different parts of Canada. 



Other branches d( the work involving much original research 

 arc : the investigation, by chemical analysis, of soils, in their 

 relaiion to fertilisers, and of grains, grasses, fodder plan's and 



her products of the farm, by which a fundamental knowledge 

 of their respective value and of the best and most profit:ibIe 

 methods of their treatment may be arrived at, and the study of 

 insects and parasitic plants injurious or beneficial to vegetation 

 and to stock, such as to enable the pests of the agriculturist to 

 be combaieil either by nieihods which may be classed as direct, 

 or hy means wh ch are indirect. The la ter implies a study of 

 the life-his'ory of the forms to be dealt with, including not only 

 those which are native to the country, but those also which may 

 be from lime to time introduced, such as the Colorado potato 

 beetle, the horn fly, and many others. It includes also the 

 study of the be t means of counteracting the attacks by all those 

 lower forms of vegetation, known as ru-t, smut, mould or 

 mildew, that prey upon the plants which are the special care 

 of the farmer. 



Even in connection with the familiar and almost wnrld-oM 

 operations of butler and cheese miking, the results of purely 

 scieniific investigations are now being proved to have a great 

 importance. The best mechanical methods of deal ng with the 

 milk from which these are made, are not here referred to. but 

 the fact that the nature of the vegetable ferments which act 

 upon this milk and upun the cheese, after it has been produced, 

 are now known to give character to the product ; that is to 

 say, the effect ot inoculation of the mass with some particular 

 species ol ferments is favourable, while the presence of others 

 is deleterious. Thus the results obtained in the whole licld of 

 bacteriology are being made contributory to the success of the 

 dairy. Already in Uenmaik " pure cultures " of certain kinds 

 of ferments are beginning to be regarded as necessary to the 

 success of the butt r-inaker, and essays of a similar kind are 

 actually in progress here. 



It is not possible to refer in detail to the numerous experi- 

 ments and tests, completed or in progress, of varieties of plants 

 and animals which may be already well known, but of which it 

 is desirable to asccr ain those best suited 10 the actual circum- 

 stances of the country. Nor is it possible to enter into (|uestions 

 such as the tests of fertilisers, the testing of the vitality of seeds, 

 or the propagation of irecs suited for planting on the plains of 

 the nori h-«esi. Though a part of the useful work of ihe farms, 

 these do not imply original research in the same measure with 

 those sul'jestsalrcady alluded to. Neither is this the time to dwell 

 upon the methods adop'ed of making the information gained 

 available to the public, such a- the publication of special 

 bulletins and repoits of progress, the <iistrii>ution of samples of 

 seed grain (which in 1892 reached the number of 30.000) and 



01 young trees for plantations. 



Befoie concluding this brief review of the several branches of 

 scientific research or work carried on by the Governmen', allu- 

 sion must be made to several comparatively late undertakings 

 of this nature begun under the auspices of the Departtneal of 

 Marine and Fisheries. 



Under the name of the "Geoiglan Bay Survey," a hydro- 

 graphic survey of the Canadian portion of the Great Lakes 

 was begun in 1 883. and several excellent charts of the northern 

 part cd Lake Huron have already been published. 



When the Briti-h Associ.ition met in Montreal in 1884, 

 a committee of that body, which had for many years 

 been engaged on tidal determinations, interesied itself in the 

 exiensi.in ni such oliservaiions to Canadian waters, anrl a joint 

 commiiiee of the .-V-sociation anrl of the Roval Society of 

 Canada was formed, by which the importance of such observa- 

 tions, made systematically and with moiiern appliances of 

 accuracy, was urged upon the Government. In 1890 a beginning 

 was made in this woik, and provision has since been m.tde for 

 its continuation and extension. 



Another promising dci ariure is' the initiation of a scientific 

 study of that most imponant element in the welfare of the 



