June, 1921. 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



239 



Presidential Address 



By L. S. KLINCK. 



The responsibilities wilich devolve upmi tlie incum- 

 bent of the highest office in the gift of tlie technical 

 agriculturists in Canada are many and varied, and not 

 the least of the duties expected of this officer is the 

 preparation and deliveiy of tlie presidential address. 

 As this is the first Annual Convention of the Society 

 it cannot be said that custom requires that such an 

 address be given, but doubtless future executives will 

 regard thiseivening's proceedings as a precedent and so 

 will impose one more official duty on all succeeding 

 presidents. 



This evening your chief executive officer finds him- 

 self without precedent for his guidance and without a 

 body of tradition for a background. Although in a 

 sense, it is more interesting to create traditions than to 

 be bound too rigidly by tliem, yet most of us prefer to 

 follow the well beat'en paths rather than to blaze trails 

 for ourselves and for otliers. It is, therefore, with no 



President !■. S. Kllnck. 



small degree of trepidation that I assay the task of 

 deciding what issues should be considered as primary 

 and what as secondary; wliat ones should be empluisi/.ed 

 and what lightly passed over; what ones should be 

 stressed and what omitted. 



Before undertaking this duty, permit me to express 

 my deep appreciation of the honour you have done me 

 in electing me, for the second time, ]iresidcnt of tlie 

 Canadian Society of Technical Agriculturists. I am not 

 unappreciative ol the honour which the membership 



of this society has conferred upon me. It is a distinc- 

 tion I value most highly and I sliall continue to do my 

 utmost to justify the confidence you have reposed in 

 me. 



I wish also at the beginning of thLs address, to ex- 

 press my personal appreciation and thanks to the num- 

 bers of the executive who have so loyally and success- 

 fully labored during the year for the advancement of 

 the principles for which the society stands; and espe- 

 cially do I wish to pay tribute to the efficient and un- 

 tiring services rendered by the General Secretary. To 

 the many vexed questions incident to organization and 

 administration he has brought to hear persistency, en- 

 ergy and enthusiasm which, coupled with organizing 

 ability and tact, have don? much to promote the in- 

 terests of the society. Without discussing the report 

 presented by him this morning I cannot refrain from 

 expressing my gratification at the progress which has 

 been made by the society during the past .year, and 

 especially at the large measure of success which has 

 been achieved in several directions, more particularly 

 in organization, membership, publication and finance. 



The society has made stead.v, uninterrupted progress 

 since its formation one year ago. Its accomplishments 

 havei not been .spectacular; but they have, T believe, 

 been such as to ensure permanence. Now that the So- 

 ciety is truly national, now that it has an official organ, 

 now that its aims and objects are becoming better 

 known, and now that it is attracting to its membership 

 an increasingly large number of the foremo.st men en- 

 gaged in technical, scientific and professional agricul- 

 ture, your executive feels that the time has arrived for 

 an energetic prosecution of its aims and objects. 



Before this can be successfully undertaken, however, 

 these aims must be more definitely defined, and the 

 means to be employed to attain the ends sought must 

 he carefully wrought out. This is a task for the Dom- 

 inion Executive, for the Provincial and Local Execu- 

 tives, and only in somewhat lesser degree, for eacli in- 

 dividual member. It is a task worth v of the best 

 thought and sustained effort of our ablest and most 

 experienced teachers and administrators. 



For those who are not personally aciuainted with 

 the members of the Executive I perhaps sliould sa.y that 

 they are easily approachable and that tliey have not 

 yet been seized with an acute attack of "incipient 

 Cacsarism." On the contrary, they are open to. and 

 will welcome suggestions. In the name of the members 

 of the Dominion and Provincial Executives T extend an 

 official, but not a formal or perfunctory invitation to 

 all technical agriculturists to take an active part in the 

 determining of the societ.y's policies and in the giving 

 of the fullest effect to the same. 



The necessity for the adoption of this principle in the 

 government, of the societv is obvious. Its importance 

 cannot well'^be over-estimated. Its unqualified accept- 

 ance win contribute more than any other one factor 

 to the finding of a satisfactorv answer to the question, 

 "Wliat will T get out of the Sofiet.v?". or the still more 

 frequent (prestion: ".What can the Society do for the 

 agricultural profession and for the agricultural indus- 

 try?" Both of these questions are pertinent: both de- 

 mand an answer, and the Society should immediately 



