SOIL CULTURE, CEREALS AND FRLITS. 35 



By Mr. Wilson : 



Q. How many secretaries have you to answer them ? 



A. We have no increase in the staff for this purpose, we have two looking after 

 the French letters, and two working at the English letters. We try to send, as far 

 as possible, to each individual some sort of answer. A large proportion of the letters 

 I referred to are answered by promptly sending the samples requested. These 

 have been going out for some time at the rate of 400 to 450 per day. If samples 

 cannot be mailed promptly, we send as far as practicable an acknowldegment. 

 There are always, however, baskets full of letters which require special answers 

 sufficient to keep the officers all busy. 



By Mr. Calvert : 



Q. Where do they come from ? largely the West ? 

 A. From all over the Dominion. 



By Mr. Wilson : 



Q. You occasionally get postcards that seem to be similar in dictation ? 



A. We do get some. 



Q. I have heard of members getting them ready and sending them out for 

 people to put their names to. 



A. They come in sometimes very similar in composition; occasionally ingenious 

 devices are resorted to for correspondents to assure larger quantities for individual use 

 than our regulations allow. For instance, we will sometimes get ten or twelve letters 

 all in the same handwriting asking for samples for James and Tom and Mary and 

 Mrs. and Mr. so and so, and half a dozen other names of children, all asking for some 

 particular variety of grain evidently for the purpose of getting a large quantity for 

 one farmer. All such are referred to me and I endeavour to deal as justly as I can in 

 such cases. The number of the three-pound samples which have been sent out by 

 mail this season up to the present time is 10,730. These have been sent to the 

 different provinces as follows : Ontario, 2.778, Quebec, 2,714, Nova Scotia, 1,402, 

 New Brunswick, 1,292, Prince-Edward Island, 454, Manitoba, 1,318, North-west 

 Territories, t>*48, and British Columbia, 124. I suppose we must have from 15,000 to 

 20,000 applications still on hand to fill before the season is over. 



A new feature was introduced in connection with the distribution of seed grain 

 last year, that was the sending to a few of the best farmers in every constituency in 

 the Dominion a larger sample, sufficient to sow one-tenth of an acre, and this has 

 worked very well. A great deal of interest has been taken in it. 



By Mr. Wilson : 



Q. How did you find out the farmers to send to ? 



A. The plan adopted was this, we took the returns which had been made on the 

 3 pound samples by farmers the previous year, went over some seven or eight thou- 

 sand of them, and selected from these a limited number in each constituency of what 

 we believed to be the best farmers, taking those which by their reports showed most 

 interest in this work. 



Q. The reason I asked was that I have not heard anything from my constituency 

 of anything of that kind. 



A. I have the names in the book which I have with me, and can give those in 

 any constituency if desired. 



Q. That is all right, never mind now. 



A. A similar distribution has been authorized by the minister this year and is 

 now in progress. Up to this time 1,351 of these special samples have been sent to 

 applicants. The plan adopted this year is to send again to those who made prompt 

 reports of the test of the variety, if they so desire, allowing them to select the sort 

 they prefer to test, and adding to the list from time to time the names of any good 



