May, 1921. 



and executed by representatives of the Department of 

 Agriculture ; and when the College of Agriculture was 

 being organized there seemed to he hut one place to put 

 it, namely, under the Minister of Education, who was 

 also Provincial Secretar.v. Is it any wonder, therefore, 

 that with three established lines of agricultural work 

 under as many Ministers, and a fourth one projected, 

 the people of the Province should begin asking 

 very pertinent questions? As a result of the agitation 

 which followed, a series of conferences was held which 

 resulted in the drawing up of an agreement which, 

 while it did not dispose of all the anomalies, neverthe- 

 less proved ot great value in eliminating many of the 

 more objectionable features in the old arrangement, 

 and in constituting an admirable working basis for 

 future lines of co-operative action. 



So satisfactory has this understanding been that 

 Professor Boving was encouraged to advocate a more 

 comprehensive plan, designed to include all agronomic 

 workers in the province. I am tempted to enlarge upon 

 this very promising and significant movement, but being 

 not unmindful of the fact that Professor Boving is 

 the originator of the idea, and that he outlined the 

 plan for his colleagues several years ago, I shall invite 

 him, when opportunity for discussion is given, to state 

 the principles upon which the organization is based and 

 the results which have thus far been obtained. 



While the illustration given to show the lack of co- 

 operation and co-ordination which existed in British 

 Columbia six years ago is perliaps the most striking 

 one with which I am familiar, many of you will, I am 

 sure, from your own observations and experience, be 

 able to cite other examples which call for equally unit- 

 ed and thorough-going action. 



Unfortunately then, lack of co-operation still exists 

 between (1) the Dominion and Provincial Departments 

 of Agriculture, (2) the Provincial Departments having 

 the same or similar problems, (3) the Dominion and 

 Provincial Departments and the Agricultural Colleges, 

 and, what is still more pronounced and regrettable, (4) 

 between agricultural teachers and investigators in the 

 different colleges. 



When in addition to these main divisions we con- 

 sider other organizations which are performing spe- 

 cial service in the interests of Canadian agriculture, 

 such, for example, as (1) tke Commission of Conserva- 

 tion, (2) the Canadian Seed Growers' Association, (3) 

 the Honorary Advisory Council for Scientific and In- 

 dustrial Research, and others which I might name, is 

 it surprising that the general i)ublic is coming to ask 

 what it all means, and that many public men are becom- 

 ing extremely skeptical as to the wisdom of extending 

 a service which, to say the least, appears to be so poorly 

 eo-ordinated? 



Nor is this all. Lack of co-operation, and co-ordina- 

 tion, not infrequently exists between departments and 

 branches in the same division of the service, and be- 

 tween departments in the same institution of learning. 

 Regretable as this is, the fact remains, and in moments 

 of depression we sometimes fear that perhaps it will 

 contiinie to persist until human nature changes for the 

 better. 



The underlying reasons for this state of affairs are 

 not far to seek. A college ediu-ation, or the possession 

 of more than ordinary intelligence, does not, unfor- 

 tunately, insure easy and harmonious co-operation. 

 Professional jealousies, particularly among specialists, 

 are not unknown; inter-departmental and inter-insti- 

 tutional rivalries not infrequently constitute a heavy 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



217 



handicap to the cause of progress. But perhaps the 

 most potent reason is that the scope of the activities of 

 the different agencies, and of the workers engaged 

 therein is not clearly and definitely defined. 



These conditions all militate against prompt and ef- 

 fective co-operation, as does also the almost prodigious 

 distances whicii divide us — conditions which I fear will 

 become accentuated when the West shall call for a re- 

 latively smaller number of men from Centi'al Canada, 

 and so will have fewer interpreters of the spirit and 

 methods which actuate those at the seat of government. 



These are a few of the very real difficulties which 

 will confront any administrator who is courageous 

 enough to undertake a thorough-going reorganization 

 of a department, be it governmental or academic. 



That there is need for a Dominion De|)artment of 

 Agriculture, for Provincial Departments of Agricul- 

 ture and for Agricultural Colleges, is unquestioned. 

 Presurual)ly each organization has its distinctive func- 

 tions to perform. There are, however, certain lines of 

 work which are regarded by some as properly coming 

 under tAvo or more of the main organizations just re- 

 ferred to. About these the controversy centres; and 

 it is to these that attention must be directed until the 

 necessary adjustments have been made. 



Before attempting to state my views as to the func- 

 tions of each of the three great divisions of agricultural 

 work in Canada, permit me to say that in my opinion 

 some minor activities cannot be definitely cla.ssified 

 and that their satisfactory adjustment can be brought 

 about only as the result of conference and of public 

 spirit on the part of the negotiating organizations. 

 Even then there will be .still some unavoidable duplica- 

 tion which, however, within limits, is not without justi- 

 fication from the standpoint of the investigator as well 

 as from that of the teacher. But let duplication be re- 

 duced to a minimum and where unavoidable let us see 

 that our energies are directed to co-ordination in plan, 

 and the publication of results. 



The following classification of functions is suggested 

 as a tentative working basis for what I hope will prove 

 an exhaustive study of a pressing need in Canadian 

 Agriculture : 



Functions of the Dominion Department of Agriculture. 



1. National problems of administration. 



2. Control measures affecting distribution and mar- 

 keting. 



3. All researches of national or inteniational import- 

 ance, including those undertaken to .solve problems af- 

 fecting interprovincial and export trade. 



4. Some measures of financial assistance to the pro- 

 vinces to be given under strict regulations and to be 

 conditional upon equally generous grants from the 

 Provincial treasuries. 



Functions of the Provincial Departments of 



Agriculture 

 Provincial questions of administration and con- 



1. 



trol. 



2 



3. 



All illustration and emonstration work. 

 Assume responsibility for extension work where 

 adequately staffed ; where not .so staffed extension work 

 might properly be undertaken temporarily by the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture. 



4. Except where the Colleges of Agriculture come 

 under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Education, the 

 Department of Agriculture, through the staff of the 

 Agricultural College, should determine the educational 

 policy of the Province as it relates to agriculture. 



