802 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. Uune 1, 1900, 
Dominion Aids to Agricultube. 
" The progress of agriculture in Canada has been 
greatly stimulated by the organisation and mainten- 
ance of experimental farms by the Dominion Govern- 
ment. Five of these farms have been established in 
different parts of the Dominion. This work was 
begun in 1887, the institutes being so located as to 
tender efiiuient help to the farmers in the more 
thickly settled districts, and at the sa""e time to cover 
the most varied climatic and other conditions which 
influence agriculture in this country. The Central 
experimental Farm is situated at Ottawa, near the 
boundary line between Ontario and Quebec, where it 
serves as an aid to agriculture iir these two im- 
portant provinces. A site for one of the four-branch 
experimental farms was chosen at Nappan, Nova 
Scotia, near the boundary between that province 
and New Brunswick, where it serves the purpose 
of the three maritime provinces. A second branch 
farm has been established at Brandon, in the central 
portion of Manitoba ; a third at Indian Head, a town 
in Assiniboia, one of the North- West Territories ; 
and a fourth at Agassiz in the Coast climate of 
British Columbia. 
" At all these farms, experiments are conducted 
to gain information as to the best methods of pre- 
paring the land for crop, and of maintaining its 
fertility, the most useful and profitable crops, to 
grow, and how the various crops grown can be dis- 
posed of to the greatest advantage. To this end ex- 
periments are conducted in the feeding of cattle, 
sheep, and swine for flesh, the feeding of cows 
for the production of milk, butter, and cheese and 
of poultry both for flesh and eggs. Experiments are 
also conducted to test the merits of new or untried vari. 
eties, of cereals and other food crops, of grasses, 
forage plants, and trees and samples particularly of the 
most promising cereals, are distributed freely among 
farmers for trial, so that such as promise to be most 
profitable may be rapidly brought into general cul- 
tivation. New varieties of cereals and fruite are also 
produced by cioss fertilising and selection. 
''At the Central Experimental Farm there is a 
scientific staff engaged in solving such problems as 
may arise in connection with the chemistry of Agri- 
culture, the diseases to which cultivated plants and 
trees are subject, the ravages of insect pests and the 
spread of noxious weeds. Experiments are also con- 
ducted in the planting of trees for timber and shelter 
and in the testing of ornamental trees, shrubs and 
plants. 
" An annual report is published containing par- 
ticulars of the work done at eajh farm, and the 
report is sent, free of charge, to every farmer in 
the Dominion who ask for it. The annual edition 
now required to meet the demand is 60,000. Occa- 
sional bulletins on special subjects of immediate im- 
portance are also issued from time to time as required. 
A large correspondence is conducted with farmers in 
all parts of the Dominion, who are encouraged to 
ask advice and information from the experimental 
farms in reference to all questions affecting their 
calling. Farmers are also invited to visit the various 
farms, and inspect the work in progress. The officers 
attend many of the more important gatherings of 
farmers in different parts of Canada, at which op- 
portunities are afforded of giving fuller information 
regarding the work conducted and the results achieved 
frem year to year." 
As noted by Dr. Saunders, the province of Quebec 
has several small agricultural schools or colleges. 
For instance, the schools and farms, thr=e in number, 
belonging to the Corporation of the College of St. 
Ann's, Jliwhmond, and L'Assomption, have each but 
one regular professor— that on agriculture. There 
are many schools also at which the pupils receive 
lessons in agriculture and horticulture, such as, for 
example, that at Roberval, Jjake St. John, and at 
the Monastery of the Good Shepherd, iilontreal. la 
the province of Quebec more also has been done in 
way of editing eiud publishing text-books iu vanoua 
departments of agriculture than in any other pro. 
vince. 
Turning now what niig'it be termed the sister 
province Ontario— 1 find that though between 1870 and 
1898 live text-book on agricultnie for use in 
Ontario public schools have been published, yet the 
Deputy-Minister of Agriculture, ppeaking in 1898 
before the Provincial Teachers' Association, is 
reported to have snid that an interesting discussion 
might be made on the subject of why tlie trustees of 
rural, public schools in that province have not in 
sisted upon having instruction given in agriculture. 
The five text-books in question referred to are one 
by Dr. Kyerson, one by Proftissor Hetiry Youle Hind, 
one by Sir Wm. Dawson, the " first Principles of 
Agriculture," by Dr. Mills and Professor Shaw of 
the Quelph College, and "Agriculture," by the 
Deputy-iuinister for Agriculture himself. The text- 
book coming from the Guelph College, I may add, 
seems to be regarded as the " most perfect and com- 
plete text-book of agriculture" publised iu O.inada. 
In the technical schools also in this province ins- 
truction in agriculture may be given, and a special 
feature of the School of Mining and agriculture at 
Kingston — an institution afliliated to Queen's Univer- 
sity is the dairy school under the control of the pro- 
vincial government. As Dr. Saunders points out, the 
best known institution in Canada is the Ontario Agri- 
cultural College at Guelph, which is also affiliated 
with the provincial university. The course of study 
at this institution is one of two years for the dip- 
loma, which admits to the status of " Associate of 
the Ontario Agricultural College," with a further 
course, for associates only, of an additional year 
which qualifies for the degree of B. S. A. (Bachelor 
of the Science of Agriculture). The subjects embraced 
in the two years' course of study are the following : 
— English and political economy, drawing and book- 
keeping, mathematics, physics, and mensuration ; 
agriculture, including stock-breeding and rearing, and 
dairying; horticulture, including fruit-growing, vege- 
table gardening, and forestry ; chemistry, agriculturil, 
and analytical ; botany, geology and zoology ; economic 
entomology and bacteriology. Those who remain for 
the third year have to take a general course in 
English, agriculture, chemistry, geology, and botany 
ami one special course either in agriculture, dairying, 
horticulture, biology, bacteriology or chemistry, and 
physics. A feature of the training the college pro- 
vides is that the students have to devote their after- 
noons to practical work outside ; from one to five in 
the winter and one to six during the rest of the 
year, while during the summer term all students in 
attendance are required to work at least iO hours 
per day and receive pay. Another feature is the 
scale of tuition fees. All residents of the Province 
of Ontario who are farmers' sons, or can produce 
evidence that they have served one year at least on 
a farm, are charged $20 a year, and those of this 
class who cannot produce satisfactoi-y evidence of 
this are charged §30 a year. Outside students, that 
is, from the other provinces or from foreign coun- 
tries who can show satisfactory evidence that they 
have served at least one year on a farm are charged 
$50 a year ; but if they cannot produce this and 
have had, therefore, simply an urban training, they 
are charged |100 for the first year and $50 for the 
second year. This scale recognises, in a practical 
form, that more care and labour has to be spent in 
teaching a youth entirely nnacqainted with the prac- 
tices and processes of agriculture, than in teaching 
one who has already gained only a slight familiarty 
with them. This college has also a dairying course 
which lasts for three months, and short special 
courses in various branches of practical work, which 
can be taken as convenient. 
Before leaving the Dominion of Canada it might be 
as well to note that in the graded schools of Nova 
Scotia agricultural chemistry is taught in the rural 
schools in the summer in the second year. Of the 
two schools in this province mentioned by Mr. 
Baunclers, it may be of further iuterest to add that 
