February, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



EDITORIAL 



53 







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from distant provinces, uule.ss the expenses of deleg- 

 ates are paid from some source outside of their own 

 pockets. At the last Convention this expense was 

 borne by the Society, and its finances were consider- 

 ably embarrassed thereby. If the same expense is in- 

 curred at the next Convention, is it unreasonable to 

 hope that the agricultural departments and colleges 

 will help to bear a part of it? Many of the appointed 

 delegates will be employees of these institutions, and 

 as the policies of the Society, its aims and objects, and 

 the subjects coming up for discussion, bear mainly 

 upon the work of colleges and departments, the plea 

 would not appear to be illogical nor one which might 

 establish an awkward precedent.' The funds of the 

 Society would certainly be considerably le.ss taxed if 

 there could be some co-operation in the payment of 

 delegates' expenses. 



THE JUNE CONVENTION. 



The first annual convention of the Canadian Society 

 of Technical Agriculturists will be held in Winnipeg 

 in June next. The place of meeting, and the exact 

 dates, have yet to be decided, and probably a definite 

 announcement will be made about the middle of March. 



The success which attended tlie Organizing Conven- 

 tion of this Society, held at Ottawa last June, and the 

 progress which has since been made in provincial and 

 local organization, are sufficient to ensure a large 

 gathering in Winnipeg. It is hoped that every prov- 

 ince will send delegates who are keenly interested in 

 the Societ.v, and who will be prepared to express 

 their opinions upon the impoi'taut matters that will 

 have to be considered. The Convention will then be 

 not only large, but representative and effective. 



After all, the real service which this new organiza- 

 tion is going to perform, has yet to be proven, and if 

 the C. S. T. A. is going to retain in ils uieiubership all 

 of those who have already joined, it must give con- 

 sideration, and more, to quite a number of difficulties 

 now facing the professional agriculturist. No mistake 

 has been made in devoting the first j'ear to the details 

 of organization and to the consideration, by commit- 

 tees, of some important matters. Hut the next conven- 

 tion should see the beginning of some definite action. 

 There is no need for many speeches upon set subjects: 

 very little time need be given to i-oiitiiie business; 

 tlierc is no constitution and by-laws to be adopted, 

 which occupied a full day at the Organizing Conven- 

 tion last June. If the next Convention is to extend 

 lor three days, the greater part of tliiit time should 

 be devoted to a consideration of matters which have a 

 direct bearing upon professional agriculture in Can- 

 ada; antl ujiou the men engaged in that work. 



There is no apparent reason why the Canadian 

 Society of Technical Agriculturists should not be of 

 the greatest possible usefulness, nor why its Conven- 

 tions and Executive meetings should not, in the very 

 near future, serve to replace manj- smaller meetings 

 now being held, -at which much thought is expended 

 upon (picstions which could perhaps conic nearer solu- 

 tion if brought within the scope of this society. For 

 that reason it would seem as though the ultimate suc- 

 cess of the next convention will depend greatly upon 

 the personnel of those who attend it, and upon the 

 extent to which these men will carry out the wishes of 

 the meeting. 



A fair representation cannot be expected, especially 



0. A. C. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. 



The meeting of 0. A. C. graduates and ex-students 

 in Toronto on March 10th will probably be well at- 

 tended and should result in an organization having 

 desirable objects. There are in Canada several alumni 

 associations, some of them fairly active, and others 

 more or less dormant.. There is no agricultural alumni 

 association that even approaches, in numerical strength, 

 the proposed new body. We understand that there 

 are sixteen liuiidi-cd eligible members in Ontario. 



Tlie growth of tlie O. A. C. Alumni Association has 

 l>een iiiiite rai)i(l. Branches have been in active opera- 

 tion in central and western Ontario somewhat over a 

 year. Quite i-ecently — in September last — it was 

 decided to organize one provincial branch for the whole 

 of Ontario, and thus provide a body which would 

 represent all ex-students. Hence the meeting on March 

 10th. According to the letter of invitation sent out by 

 the Secretary of the Organization Committee, "it is 

 proposed to Iiold two meetings a year, one to be a field 

 day at tlie 0. A. C, and the other to be a rousing Con- 

 vention during the Avinter." 



Our puri)ose in referring editorially to this new 

 society is twofold. We desire, in the first place, to give 

 courteous recognition to the O. A. C. Alumni As.soeia- 

 tion, to draw the attention of our readers to the meet- 

 ing on March 10th, to help, in any way possible, to 

 make that meeting entirely successful and to promise 

 subsequent announcement of its deliberations, if such 

 is desired. Our second purpose is to emphasize the 



