462 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—M. 
schools aim principally to give a knowledge of scientific agriculture to practical 
farmers, not to prepare for the profession of agriculture. It would be in the 
nation’s interest if a number of the rural high schools would introduce agri- 
culture similarly as one of their main subjects, and become agricultural high 
schools. 
Agricultural Colleges.—The provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, 
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario have each an agricultural college. There 
are two and perhaps three institutions in Quebee teaching agriculture that 
are of college grade. One of these provincial colleges, Ontario, is a separate 
institution. The others are faculties of universities in the provinces. 
These colleges have evolved in accordance with a general demand for pro- 
fessional training in agriculture, and the majority of their graduates become 
professional men in the public service. 
The Task.—The tasks confronting agricultural education are ultimately 
these :— 
1. To secure on the farms of Canada the continuous use of the best-known 
farming practice. 
2. To maintain conditions of rural living satisfactory to those who are 
intelligent enough to farm well, and generous enough to live well and to be 
good citizens. For it is recognised that the material and the social well-being 
of the nation are dependent upon the character of the people who work and 
live in country places 
Monday, August 11. 
6. Prof. H. Barton.—The Status of Animal Breeding in Canada. 
7. Prof. R. A. Berry.—The Chemistry of the Oat Crop. 
8. Dr. J. B. Orr and Mr. W. Gopprn.—Modern Aspects of Mineral 
Metabolism in Farm Animals. 
A general account of certain investigations on the mineral metabolism of 
farm animals, recently conducted at the Rowett Research Institute. On the 
basis of the conclusions from these experiments attention is drawn to the 
importance of the functions performed by the minerals in the animal body, to 
the extent to which farm animals are liable to suffer from deficiency of them 
and to the effect of such deficiencies both on the rate of growth of and the onset 
of disease in animals. Evidence is produced to show that it is not sufficient to 
consider the absolute amount of one or more of the mineral constituents of a 
ration, but that attention must be paid to securing a proper physiological balance 
between the different mineral constituents. It is further shown that, under 
certain conditions, the absorption and retention of some of the mineral con- 
stituents, more particularly of calcium and phosphorus, may be materially 
affected by varying the amounts of certain of the organic constituents of the 
ration. Attention needs to be paid not only to those inorganic constituents of 
foodstuffs which may occur in comparatively large amounts, but also to some of 
those, such as iron and iodine, which, although never present in large amounts, 
may nevertheless have a very marked influence on the health and well-being of 
the animal. 
9. Presidential Address by Sir Joun RusseE.t, F.R.S., on Present- 
day Problems in Crop Production. (Page 256.) 
10. Joint Discussion with Section K (q.v.) on Forest Problems. 
(Page 449.) 
Tuesday, August 12. 
11. Joint Discussion with Section F on Diminishing Returns in 
Agriculture. £ 
