220 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



May, 1921. 



These bid fair to render a service to interested and 

 prospective barley growers. 



In planning this ^york it was felt that Alberta as a 

 livestock producer would turn its attention more and 

 more to the growing of feeds suitable for the production 

 of beef, mutton and pork. If barlej-, the corn crop of 

 Alberta, was to be grown as a grain crop, it seemed 

 imperative that it must be made more popular among 

 the growers. The logical thing to do, therefore, was to 

 remove the barbs or teeth from the beard and yet pre- 

 serve the head, so that its productive power might not 

 be impaired. 



Literature Cited. 



(1) Bulletin of Agricultural ^tati.stics. Dept. of Agr., 

 Ottawa. 



(2) Zoebl. A., and Mikosch, C— Die Function Der 

 Grannen Der Gei-steuahre. In Sitzber, K. Akad, Wiss. 



(Vienna), Math. Naturw. CI., Bd. 101, Abt. I, Heft 9/10, 

 p. 1033-1060, 1892. 



(3) Schmid, B. Ban Und Fimktionen Der Grannen 

 Unserer Getreidearten. In But. Centbl., Bd. 76, p. 39, 

 75, 119, 218, 305-307, 1898. 



(4) Perlitus, Ludwig. Einfluss Der Begrannung Auf 

 Die Wasserverdunstung Der Aehren Und Die Koruqua- 

 litat. 77 p.. 3 pi. Breslau, 1903. 



(5) Tedin, Haus. Averiges Usadeforenings, Tidsdrift, 

 Year XXVI, pt. 6. pp. 245-253. Malmoe. 1916. 



( 6 ) Ilarlam. II. V. and Anthony, 8. B. Development 

 of Barley Kennels in Normal and Chipped Spikes and 

 the Liimtations of Awnless and Hooded Varieties. 

 Journal of Agr. Research. Vol. Xlq, No. 9, Wash. D.C. 

 Aug. 2, 1920. 



(7) Harlan. H. V. Smooth Awned Barleys. American 

 Society of Agronomy, \'o\. 12., Xos. 6 and 7. 



The Development of Entomology in 



Saskatchewan 



By A. E. CAMERON, Professor of Zoology, University 

 of Saskatchewan. 



Review of Progress. 



The history of the earlier phases of entomological 

 work in tlie province of Saskatchewan will always be 

 iudissolubly linked up with the activities of the late 

 Professor T. N. Willing, whose recent lamented death 

 removed the pioneer entomologist of this province. 

 Despite the fact that Mr. Willing was for the greater 

 part of the time of his association with the Provincial 

 Department of Agriculture and latterly with the Uni- 

 versity of Saskatchewan, unassisted in his endeavors, 

 he continued to accomplish work of such value that our 

 entomologists of the future will be able to i"eap the 

 benefits of his labours. 



In addition to the extensive collection of insects 

 which he had built up, Mr. Willing acted in an ad- 

 visory capacity in those cases where crops were being 

 affected by the ravages of injurious species. As an 

 indefatigable collector he was unsurpassed and he has 

 laid us under a deep debt of gratitude in presenting 

 his collections, the fruits of many years" work, to the 

 University. By his activities throughout the province 

 it may be justly said that he was chiefly instrumental 

 in establishing in the minds of the agriculturists the 

 value of a knowledge of the methods of economic en- 

 tomology. Perhaps, apart from his own innate in- 

 terests in his work, the only other factor which stimu- 

 lated his efforts, were the yearly visits of the late Dr. 

 James Fletcher, Dominion Entomologist, by whose 

 energj' was secured the official recognition of the 

 needs of economic entomology in Canada. 



Although the Dominion Entomological Branch had 

 established field laboratories and had been represented 

 by one of its officers in nearly all the provinces of the 

 Dominion, for several years, Saskatchewan had been 

 neglected in this respect until 1917 when the Federal 

 Entomological Branch decided to delegate one of its 

 officers to this province. It had not been intended that 

 his stay should be a permanent one, but in virtue of 

 the many interesting entomological problems that arose 

 at that time, an agreement wa.s made between the Uni- 

 versity authorities and the Federal Department of 

 Agriculture whereby the Entomological Branch should 



have a permanent representative in the province and 

 that he should be associated with the University. In 

 exchange for certain concessions of accommodation for 

 entomological work made by the University, the fed- 

 eral representative undertook the teaching of ento- 

 mology in the University, and this class has been pre- 

 sented as part of the regular biological course in the 

 department of Biology for the past three years. 



Although not the stated policy of the Federal Ento- 

 mological Brauch, it has been more or less intended that 

 the representative in charge of entomological work 

 in any single province should devote his time princi- 

 pally to research work on any entomological problem 

 that might appear to require development from time 

 to time. In the Western Provinces, however, the duties 

 of the entomologist have been much more extensive, 

 and owing to the fact that he was generally working 

 unaided, and demands for his advice in regard to the 

 control of some particular injurious insect might be 

 incessant, he had to undertake a large amount of ex- 

 tension work carried on both by correspondence with 

 the farmers and by personal visits to infested areas. 

 It will be quite readily realized that in a large territory- 

 such as that of the Province of Saskatchewan, very 

 little organized work throughout the length and 

 breadth of the province could be attempted with limit- 

 ed assistance, and it wa.s practically impossible for one 

 individual to keep in touch with all the outbreaks of 

 injurious insects that might be taking place in the out- 

 l.ving districts. 



Such was in brief the condition of the interests of 

 the province in entomology at the time of the sudden 

 outbreak of grasshoppers in 1918. Through nobody's 

 fault, the province was caught unawares, and so far 

 as I know the representative of the Federal Entomo- 

 logical Branch was the only individual in the province 

 at that time who had any experience in the tackling 

 of an important field problem in entomologj- and who 

 was prepared to prescribe the necessary measures of 

 control. The plague of grasshoppers has caused thou- 

 sands of dollars of loss to cereal crops in the short time 

 of its devastating activities, but I for one will alwavs 



