April, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



177 



agents from Ontario and United States nurseries work- 

 ed throuf,'li the province and sold thousands of trees of 

 varieties unsuited to our conditions and the failure 

 of these trees afforded additional proof to many of 

 the impracticabilit.y of commercial apple growing in 

 the Province. 



This then was the condition at the time of my 

 appointment, except for the example of a very few 

 individuals whose happier selection of varieties and 

 practise of methods of orchard culture more adapted 



to application by the average farmer, were meeting 

 with success. The work of these men plus the encour- 

 agement and attention given by the Government to 

 the development of fruit growing during the past de- 

 cade, have re-established tlie practicability of i)i'ofitable 

 apple production more firmly than ever; tiiey consti- 

 tute the third stage in our pomolcgical history and they 

 are directly responsible for the steady increase in the 

 area planted to orchards. 



Concerning the C. S. T. A. and Its Branches 



BY THE GENERAL-SECRETARY. 



From the programme on page 162 it will be seen that 

 the sessions of the coming Convention are to be de- 

 voted mainly to a consideration of business matters. 

 many of which are of a particularly important nature. 

 This is as it should be. The C.S.T.A. has been an or- 

 ganized society for one year, a year devoted mainly to 

 the formation of provincial and local branches and to 

 the establishment of "Scientific Agriculture" as the 

 official organ of the Society. With these two lines of 

 progress completed, the road ahead is an open one, and 

 at the end of that road, as the goal to be reached, are 

 the larger objects which the C.S.T.A. was brought into 

 existence to accomplish. Future progress will be great- 

 ly facilitated through organized brandies and through 

 tlie publicity channel pi-ovidcd by "Scientific Agri- 

 culture." 



Tliose who have already joined tlie Society, and who 

 now number five hundred and fifty, sliould be satisfied 

 with the progress so far made and be willing to con- 

 tinue their direct support — moral and financial — in the 

 new year soon to commence. Some criticism has been 

 made of the amount of the annual fee, and time must 

 be given to a consideration of that (tuestion at the Con- 

 vention. Looking at the matter from behind the ])ages 

 of the C.S.T.A. cash books, the writer is in a position 

 to know whether any immediate reduction in the an- 

 nual membership fee Is possible. 



Starting last June, the Society had a credit balance 

 of $1,426. This was more than wiped out by the pay- 

 ment of delegates' expenses to the organizing Conven- 

 tion and other convention expenses,- and the first year 

 (f the C.S.T.A. 's existence began with the organiza- 

 tion in debt. That was in June, 1920. At the same time 

 we learned that the Dominion Government was unable 

 to give the Society the financial assistance that was 

 expected and which was to have taken the form of 

 a $2,500 grant to cover organizing expenses. 



Diiring the present year the General Secretary has 

 received $1,600 in salary, the subscriptions of 550 mem- 

 bers to this magazine have been paid, the General Sec- 

 retary has travelled from one end of the Dominion to 

 the other in connection with provincial organization 

 work, and the expenses of considerable postage, tele- 

 grams, printing and other items have been met. And 

 yet M-e still have a small credit balance! Where has 

 the money come from? 



It will be_the pleasure of the General Secretaiy and 

 the Chairman of the Finance Committee to answer that 

 question in Winnipeg next June. At this moment, this 

 much can be said, that the Society has weathered a 

 very severe financial storm, mainly through the staunch 

 support it has received from its members. Is it advis- 

 able to openly combat another similar storm by an 

 immediate reduction of the annual fee? Is it reason- 

 able to suppose that many members will refuse to pay 

 ten dollars per annum to an organization which is 

 national in scope, which will be able to finance the 

 operations of thirteen branches on a ten dollar fee, 

 which gives its members what may be considered a 

 creditable official organ, and which is already wel- 

 comed in the United States and Europe by other scien- 

 tific bodies and publications? 



A reduction of the annual fee might be possible in 

 1922 if no Convention is held and if other operating ex- 

 penses are reduced to the lowest jjossible figure. That 

 will be decided this year at Winnipeg. In the meantime 

 the ten dollar fee will probably have to be maintained 

 and the members must remain with the Society and 

 do their share in advancing a much-needed institution. 



Alberta Branch. 



At a meeting of tiie Alberta members held at Edmon- 

 ton on March ISth, the present officers of the Provincial 

 Branch were re-elected and it was decided to hold a pro- 

 vincial "rally and get-together dinner" during the week 

 of the Spring Show at Calgary. Aeeordiuglv a tlinner 

 was held in the 15oard of Trade rooms, Calgary, on April 

 6th, for the consitleration of provinccial activities, ap- 

 pointment of delegates, etc. 



Mr. H. A. Craig, Deputy Minister of Agriculture pre- 

 sided. He assured those i)resent t liat in his oi)inion much 

 good would be accomplished through the Society and 

 that as long as it confined its operations to the promotion 

 of better agriculture, it should receive tlie support of 

 every member. 



The advisability of forming two local brancjies with- 

 in the province— one with headquarters at Edmonton 

 and the other at Calgary— was considered. It was de- 

 cided to hold the next meeting during the Edmonton 

 Summer Show. 



H. A. Craig and T. O. Chirk were ajipoiuted del- 

 egates to the Winnipeg Convention. 



