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z'

SCIENTIFIC FARMING.

ADDRESSES

BY —

PR01-. SAUNDHRS I-.K.S.C. F.I..S.. F.C.S.,

Diiv. i.ir nf ihc Caiuuli.m IS Jiiiiuntal Farms,

A X I) :

JAMKS l-LI< rcm-.R. I^K.S.C.. I'.I.S.

I Miwiniiuiii l'iii.imi)lr,i>ist niid Itotanisi.

)K1.i\i;ri;i) nr.ioRK ini.; xoRiii lanakk i-armers'

INSrnU'l'K. A'l' ALMONI'K.

< ) T r A W A :

i'RIMKl) lY IIU (. ni/.KN I'RINTINd AND PuhLISHlN ; COMPANY,

iS8S.

Kii-'- .-■' -rr.,if*tflr)

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'1 niii ih.' Ottawa D^ii'y ('iTr/.i:x, Deo. I'itti. 1><'<7.)

/■///; Ito.MiMoX CHSTllAI. I'.Xl'KRl.

MESTAI. FARM.

In to-day's issue wo pulilisli a n'lioit of tlie
lir<K,pc(liiigs of the annual meeting of the
Nortli Lanark Karnufs' Instituto, lifM at
Almonte, a few days ago, in which will Iw
fonnil matter of great iiiteiest to agrieulturists,
and inoidentally to the comin-niity in general.

The address of Prof. Saunders is marked liy
ti.f- clearness whieh his utteranees aii.l writ-
ings arc known to posse**, and it certainly
airf)ri'8 an answer to the nuestion wliieh i.s
oftrn asked : What is the use of Exivriniental
I'arms? He shows that they were tlixt
cstahlishod by associations of f.inin i-b in (ier-
rnany, who saw the ui-ed for the work they
could do ; they were afterwavls taken up hy
the (loverniueiit of that t'ountry ; and tluuce
'.h<y soon spread to other countries which
have maiie any aJvaiice in agriculture. There
:ir»' many experiment,'* in pnictical agriculture
whieh are important to every farmer, but
which every fanner lias neither the leisure nor
the facility to try. It i.s tlierefore, in the
rommon interest, ami we use this terra in the
widest sense, for the fivrming interest affects
the whole country, that lliese experiments
.sh'iuld b<! tried by ihe tlovemmont ; and the

tartfiing population allorded the advantage of
the results. We tiiink tiie (iovernment of Sir
.'ohu A. Macdonnld may luirly be congratu-
lated upon the progress which has b«'en already
made and which is no clearly described in the
addn-ss of Mr. Saunders. .Viul it cannot be
without interest to the I'remier's constituents
in Carletoii that the Central Experimental
Karm for the I'lt/viiu'es ot Qnebec and Ontario
should be established in their county, it
must also be a matter of congratulation for th(!
Hon. John Carling, the Ministerof Agricnlture,
to see the very successful working of one of his
most cherished projects. Still further, tiie
farmers of the country may be oongratulated
on the fact that practical agriculture is being
intelligently and ivotively treated .is an applied
science by the (iovernment of tlie Dominion,
in such way as to keep it abreast, if not to
place it iu the front rank, with the liest
practice in agriculture in other countries,
instead of being allowed to drift along as best
• t might by the light of the sometimes effec-
tive, perhaps, rule of thumb, or exi)eriment8
of individual farmers, very often conducted
under diihculties. One practical In-nefit which
appears to be clear in the steps already taken,
is that a new wheat has l)een imprrted, which
is descrilK'd as being about the etjual of tlie

Ke>lFife in hardness ami excellenc.-, but which
iui.«, for parts of this Dominion, the almost
inestimable value of riixniug from one to two
weeks eailier. If this wheat had Ix-en avail-
able iu Manitoba and the tlistriets of th«
North-West in the years 18>»3 and 1884, it
wouM have prevouted what Wiis really a
ciilamity; and it maybe broadly stated that
the introduction of this wheat alone greatly
outweighs in value to the .'ountry all the
c.xpenuiture whiih Las been made, or we
might almost sav which can be made, on the
Kxperinitntul Farms. Prof. Saunders shows
tiiat many grains and roots have a tendency to
inn out, and if practical inf^irmation is afford-
ed to farmers on this {wjint, it cannot fail to
be of great importance to them. We, our-
si'lves, ho](e greatly for the results from the
liorticultural experiments which liave Ix-ca set
on foot. If these succeed in furnishing infor-
mation to the farmers of the old provinces of
the particular fruit trees, which are better
adapted tfi their circumstiuces than those at
present fo'uid, the country will be made botti
richer and more plea.SiUit to live in thereby.
This remark even more strongly applies to
Manitoba and the North-West. There the
hick of fruit trees is a great deprivation. But
it is believed that tho8<> vaiietiiw, which
succeed, in Northern Russia, will succeed
there ; and this, we understand, will be tried
by the exp«'riments now being conducted under
Prof. Saunders' dire.tion. And even in the
matter of seed testing, if farmers iu Canada
cati, in many instance?, as they have Ix-eu in
other countries, be saved from the evil conse-
((Uenees of sowing seeds of which a sufficient
percentage will not germiintle, both they and
the country will be saved from loss. Prof.
Saunders shows that a goo<l l)eginning has
been m.ide in this res]»ect, and and that los»«;a
have been prevented. These te»ts are easily
avaihible. .Vrrangerneuts have Imen made
with the Post Office Dep.irtment for the
transmission of the seeds, and each fanner is
protnptly informed of the value of the speci-
mens sent by him for examination. There
are many other {toints in the report before us
which we are tempted to enlarge upon, but
our object is less to refer in detail to the
matters so clearly stated iu the address as to
direct attention to it.

The address of Mr. James Fletcher, the
Dominion Entomologist and Botanist, also
contains matter of great interest and import-
ance to farmers ; we can only, however, iu
this place, direct attention to it.

/

(From ilie Itiport in Ihe OtIawH Daily Citizjn, DcoemltT I5th, 1887.)

Lanark Farmers.

Annual Meeting of their Institute for Business Purposes.

ADDRESSES BY PROF. SAUNDERS AND MR. JAMES FLETCHER

Of the Government Central Experimental Farm. Ottawa.

QUESTIONS OF GREAT INTEREST DISCUSSED.

Almo!ite, lOtl).— The aunuul lucjting of the
North Lanark Farinore' Institute lor tho elec-
tion of oflkerH iind otlier business was held in
the Town liiill here to-dny. Mr. C. M.
Simpson, I'resitlent of the Institute, presided,
assisted by Mr. John Steele, Secretary.

After Konie preliminary discussions V>y meni-

hera of the .society an address was di jvered by

Prof. Saunders, IMl.S.C;., the Director of the

Ooveminei.t Kxpciimental Farms.

R»p4>rlui<-n<al Anplrnltiiw anil IIh Valwr lu
lb<> I'aruiiTM.

Trof. Saun4ers said : It iilfords nu> a great
deal of jdeiusure. indeeil, to he witli you to-day,
a double ple.iwure for the reiison that hist year
when your Secretary was kind enough to invite
me to come to your annual meeting, and 1 liad
mode (^very arrangement to attend, the
evening belom I was attacked with a violent
illness which eonlined me to my Imd for some
days, 1 have listened wiih much inteiest to
your di8<'u.ssion of subjects connected with
fanning which are of so much imporfauce to
yoursi'lves and to the country. 1 think it is a
good sign when institutes of this kind arc so
well pati-onizeil and so well attended, uotwith-
standingthe inclemency of tho weather ; when
larmers meet together to discuss tho results of
their own exix'rience, tho character of tho
cropa they have grown under dilfereut condi-
tions of soil, and diiferent circumstanocH, and
ctimpan> notes ami tliereby benefit each other
by tho inte'^;hange of ideaain all such matters.

It indicates that a community of this .sort con-
si.sts of tiiiiiking men. A farming community
that exiTcises itself in that diii'dion will
always be a proserous one, and will be well to
tlie frunt in ;;11 dcpartnuutf, of agricultural
work.

AORlrXl/rURK AM) V.XrKKIMKNT.VI, SriKSCE.

.\griculture is and always has been an experi-
mental science, and in the very nature of the
subject it must always Ik-. Mo.st of the
experience we have in agricuUnre has been
obtained by the pnu'ticnl experimenting of
individual farmers, a few facts gleaned here
and there, ami these nddetl into one great simi
constitute our present knowledge of tho art.
Up to within a recent jwrioil very little had
l>een done either by focieties or by Govern-
ments to aid individual effort in this particular
line of woik. it wa.s only about thirty years
ago that the first ngriculttiral experiment*!
station wa.H estaltlished in Germany, and thia
was the lirst elfort made in any part of the
world to bring to bear on fanning o}»erationa
the benefits of scientiltc training. A numl)«r
of farmers met together in one of the province*
of Germany and there resdved to establish ati
exi^crimental farm on a small fioalo in older to
save them individually the cost and trouble of
each one experimenting for himself. They
selected a ujanager for this fami, and atartcd
a course of cxjieriments, and shortly afWt
applied to the Government to help thent ih
the mntter. The Govennnent enquired inth

■t

the subject, and hclipvinpr that tlie schcint
was a good one, and that it was likely to jto-
iace excellent results, voted a sum uf money
t« aid in the work. Within a few years
several similai institutions were started in
other parts of CJerniany, and they have gained
ii) popular favour from year to year until now,
in most countries in Euro{>c holding anything
like an advanced position in agriculture, there
-Atfe many of those exjvcrimental institutions
wbere scientilc work is carried on regularly,
the results are giwn to the farming coui-
innnity, and they .eap the benefit of the
ejq^rieiice so gained for them. From the
outset the cost and maintenance of those
institutions has Ik-cu home almost entirely hy
the Oov'ernment of the countiy in which they
*.ire located.

THK VAl.l.K OK SCIKN TIF(: KXrEUIMENTS To
TIIK KAILVEU.

It has often been asked, "Of what ])riieticiil
iwe are tiiase institutions to the farm r '"
Well, there are many cxperiineuts which
could and shoiild lie carried on to benefit tiie
agriculturists which (b mand more time, more
risk and more careful iittention than fanners
ran alford to <,'ive, ami the u.se of apjiaratiis
which farmers liave not at their command in
order to work out s.itisliuaovily all the details
connected with the tests, so that there are
classes of experiments whicli larmers cannot
well undertake for themselves, and wliich are
of great value to the community.

riX>VKH AR AN AClTMn ATOK OK MTROI-.KN.

There is imt a farmer iirescnt, 1 i)rcsume, but
knows the value of clover as a grcn luanuiv.
It is a subject that evu yune is familiiir with,
and then' is, jH'rhaps, no plint at present
known which is so valuubli' an ngi;iit in
nourishing the soil as a good erop of clov.c
ploughed in given. If anyone asks why it is
so, he is usually met with the answer, "wr
know it is so, because it is the result of our
experience." Now if we bring chemistry to
bear on the nuestion, we find that clover
contains a large ]troiK)rtion of an element
which is a very important fertilizer of the
soil — nitrogen. '1 his element exists in tin
noil in eonsiderable ])roportioiis. It is louml
in every toil, and it forms as well the great
balk of the atmosphere we breathe. In the
soil it exists in two .conditions : One form,
which is cAlled available nitrogen, is tiiat
form in which phnts can take it up readily as
foo«l ; while in the other form, known as uu-
.-kvailahle nitrogen, it is locked up in the soil
and cannot ^c aHsimilated as plant food until
it has undergone a change, wliich is usually
brotight about in a very gradual manner by
the cultivation of the soil and the exposure of
<?Tery jMvrt of it to tlie action of the atmos-
phere, v,'hich gradually converts the unavail-

able nitrogen into the available form, and is
that way the fertility of the soil is jiartially
maintained. It hac l>cen shown by analysis
that clover accumulates nitrogen in a largr
proportion fr^in some source during its growth.
It is not definitely known whether this
nitrogen is obt.iined from that which is
unavailable to other plants, or from the air ;
but it is known that a given weight of clover
contains nearly tifty times us much of this
valuable element, as the same wi>ight of the
wheat plant. Hence, if clover, with its
weight of fertility, is ploughed under, it gives
to the soil a dressing which will serve for the
enriching of several succeeding crops.

I'NKNOWN STOI'.KS OK MTKOCKN.

The knowledge of this fact in connection with
clover leads to another eonsideration. Clover
is only one member of a very large f.iinily of
plants which are known to ttotanists as
leguminous plants, which iiK'.lude all the
lupins. Vetches, tares, k^:.. some of which are
natives of tliis country and some of foreign
countries. If clover has this quality of storing
up nitrogen, other pl.tnls may liave tiie siime
and some a sujM.'rior jwwer in that direction,
one can at once see that here is a field for
exjKrimeiit in a direetioii which would be
exceedingly valu.ible to the whole farming
community, to siscertaiu which of tin- legn-
minous plants, if any, arc iis g(K)d or better
than clover for this purpoae. 'I'hcre iiro some
native to the North of Europe and many more
touiid in iliti'ereiit wctions of this great Do-
minion, all oi which should be exp<.'rii'iented
with in ordci to ascertain whether they could
not be made useful to agiicul'ure, for it has
tM>en well said that the pi wer of one plant to
store up fi>od fur future crops of other plants
lies at the very foumlation of successful agri-
culture. Nitorgen is abundant in all animal
fertilizers, and it is the j>reseiie,e of that
element which gives to these fertilizers their
chief value.

I.\U'OUTANCl, OK I'F.ILMANENT I'ASTI.IIES.

.\nother ixiiiit which I might u.sc in illustra-
tion is the importance to farmers of jv^rmanent
pastures for <attlc. It is very uncertain, in
view of the immense fertile wheat-growing
plains which we have in the North- West,
whether fanners in the east will lie able to
com{M^te in gniin growing with the farmers of
the Prairie I'rovinces. Indeed it is very
doubtful if they can. In that case the
fanners of tlostern ( 'unada will have to fall
biu:k on such lines of agriculture as they can
make most proUtable, and one of these is stock
raising, rcrmanent pasture may \)e. deGned
as a mixture of jwrenuial grasses containing
those which will ripen at ditferent period*
during the sea.soii. A crop of timothy ripens
and is harvested early in the year, after which

X

there is a loug p(uio«l wluii that field is usdesH
for till' j>uriios<' of jiastuic, mul not until
'.ho growth is strong ■ iiouj^h, and Iins
^lOily enough to |irovid(! good grazing,
would a farmer tliiiik of i>H.sturiiig Ids
cattle on it. I»ut in peruiiiiicnt )>a.s-
turcs you g<;t a sclpctioii of grasses, whitii
]ive from year to year, some of wliiidi will lipon
' arly in the M'iLson, some in llu; nuddle of the
summer, and others later on, so that the cattlr?
niay have a suiiie.s.-,ioii ai that sueculeut food
whicli they need and have it in 8U(di abundauce
as will eiial)le them to put on flesh rapidly.

I-nOVIDKNOK HAS NoT II.ACKI) AM. TUK GOOD
r.KASSKS I.N ANV UNK I'AllT Ui' THIC WlUlI.Ii.

Most of tlie grasses whioh we have in cul-
tivation have come to us fiom various parts of
Kjjfrope.', and there are some varieties in oui- own
country which are quite as promising, pcriiaps,
as some of the Kun.'iHan sorts. In my late
journey in the North-West I j>aid .some atten-
tion to tlie native gra.s,ses, and found varietie.s
there which .si-eni to me to he (juite promising,
judging from tlieir habit of growth, and from
the fact that cattle show surji a jjiefereiice for
them. When brought undi'r cultivation, t'nere
may be found among liieni siM'cies quite equal
and i>crhaps suix'iior in some respects to tliose
at present in use. Tliere are also in the
North-West ami in the' Western f'rates, .some
varieties whiili are ca|ial)le of staniiing very
dry weather, and some others adapted to very
cold cliuuites. liy growing judicious ndxtnres
of these gra.s.s<'s, we iiope to ascertain tiieir true
value. This iuqiortant worli will be carried on
extensively at the l2xj>erimontal ]''arm, and
the object will be to show which are tlie best
varieties, bring them into not: ,e, ami also to
take such stej).sas will make them available to
farmers. There are a score or moiv diirerent
kinds of grasses whicli can lie obtained fiom
Beed dealers m Kuiojie and other connlrie?,
many of whicli woidd iic exceedingly useful if
their valuable qualities were better known.
These facts serve to show tliat there are lines
of exiMTimental woik whicli at first sight might
appear trivial, but are expe<'ted in tiic end to
produce results of great importance to the stock
iutiR'Bts o' this country. Such experiments
cannot be undertaken liy the farmer. ]''ew ol'
you could alibrd the tinie or expense required
to travel to the Nortii-West and other places
iu search of sudi products ; but if this can be
done for you, the information obtained for
your guidance and the uiaterial uuidc available
lor your use ; you must admit that great gootl
is likely to i< suit from such work.

DF.OENKUATION OF HOOTS AND CKKKALS.

All our cereal.s, root.H and tubers are, to a
ereat extent, aitilicial products. You do not
tiud wheat, oats or barley growing anywhere
in nature, as we have them now 1 You do not

liiid potntf.es like tho.v in cultivation gif.wiii.ii
wild. The potato (jriginated from an insigni-
ficnnt wild variety, wlii(di, i>y cultivation and
careful liyI>ridization, has Ijeen brought to its
jjresent higli standard of excellence. So witli
wheat, oats and I'arley, an<l all field crops.
These improved plants and roots, good «h they
an-, are liable to constant variation and to
frequent d« teriomtion — that is, they often
"run out." If you n'call the varieties of
grain and potatoes which were grown twenty
years ago, you will lintl very few of them to-
daj'. This jjoints to the importance of con-
tinuous experimental work with new varieties
of grain and otlier crops, so tliat by tlie fre-
quent introtluction (as in tiie ca.se of stock) of
new blood there may be imparted to these
l>roducts that vigour of growth and fertility of
character which will admit of there Iwing
cultivated to greater perfection and profit-

■WASTKKir. KAr.MINC.

Our farming during the past has not always
been conducted in the most economical manner.
Crops have soiiKtimes not been sown with
needed promptness, the fertilizers at command
have not been made the bcht of, and much
land that would liave yielded gooil results haa
for Want ol' proper drainage and care lemaiued
unproductive to the owner. Loss to the coun-
try has also resulted from lack of information
regarding the necessity of a jirojier rotation of
crojis. Canadian farmers will r<'quire to b«
more careful in these ])articulars if they wouhl
maintain Im their lountiy in these d.ays of
keen competition :ind improvcil apjdiaiu'es
that wi'll deserved jire-emiiieiu'e in agrictilture
which she has hitlieito enjoyed. I miglit
enlarge here indelinitely, but jxrhaps 1 liavti
.~aid enough in the lew thuuglits presented to
show that there is jtractically no limit to
I'xperimeiital work, tlie results of which, when
its true ^•Mlue is determined and made known,
will be of inestimable conscipience to farmers
everywhere ; and v. hen 1 say that the experi-
mental larms established by the Dominion
Governmi'ut are to take up this class of work
especially, and ri'port on it frcciueutly
lor the beiielit of the farmers, I think
1 have fairly answered tint question,
"What good will those farms be to
the agriculltnal community V The
establishment of so many of these ex-
licrimental institutions in KuroiM! led to the
consiilcration of the subject iu America, aud
about thirteen years ago the f'rst of tiieeo
cxperinu'iital stations were established in the
State of Connecticut. Since then a number
of similar institutions have been started,
supported by anniuil grants from the legisla-
tures of the dirt'erent States in which they
have been located, until the importance of th«
subject has so grown on the farmers in the

t-

I uited States that for a ycnr or two ]>.-uit tliR
{(fioplo have been Mgitatiii;^ for more liberal
hiipport from the geiitiul Goveruiuoiit for sui li
iiiatitutions, and last year Congress jmsscd a
bill known as "The Hiktch Bill," which jco-
vides for an annual appropriation of nearly
1500,000, to be divided amongst the ditl'erent
.Statefl, to be devoted entirely to this exp'r-
imental work in agriculture, horticulture and
loreatry. In the meantime the Canadian Gov-
ernment has also b«'en looking after the interest
of the farmers. In 1884 tiiey appointed a
committee to enquire into this subject, and
from the opinions expressed by practical far-
nierg, who were called before this committee,
the Government were led to consider the
exitediency of

PROVIDIXG EXPERIMENTAI- FARMS FUR
CANADA.

Hur worthy Piemier, Sir Jolm Macdonnld,
who always takes the warmest interest in
>'verything that tends to the prosperity of
tlie agricultural eliissj's, asked Parliament
for an appropriation of $20,iilk) towards the
purchase of a site for an experimental
iarm. In November of that year 1 was
requested by the Government to visit the
different agricultural stations in the United
States ; and also to ascertain by lorres-
poudeuce t'.ie working of similar institu-
tions ii. Europe, and to prepare a report
for the (Jovernment which might give them
such additional information as they re-
quired in order to roach some conclusion
regarding tliis work of experimental agri-
culture. I travelled through all tlie Western
and Northern States, and visited every
agricultural institution located anvwheie
near the Canadian Itouudary, and sub-
mitted a report of my investigations. The
result was the passage of the bill known
as "An Act resp'cting Kxiierimental Farm
Stations," which provided for the establish-
ment of five experimental farms, one of
which was to be located near Ottawa, to
.serve tlie purposes of Ontario and (Jueber
jointly ; one iu the Maritime Provinces, to
.serve the [mrposes of those provinces joint-
ly ; one in Manitoba; one in the ^orth■
West Territories, and one in British Co-
lumbia.

THK ORJECTS AIMKVt AT

in establishing those farms might be better
presented to you perhaj)s in the wording of
the Act itself. The works to be undertaken
were as follow :

(a.) Conduct researches and verify experi-
ments designed to test the relative value, for
all puqxMes, of 'different breeds of stock,
aud their adaptability to the varying climatic
or other conditions which prevail in the

.several jaoviuces aud in the North- West
Territories ;

(b.) Examine into the ccr n« niic questions
involved in the production of butter, and
clieese ;

(c.) Test the nierit.', liardinees and adnjit-
nliility of new or untried varieties of wheit
or other creals, and of field crop?", grass's
and forage-idajit.o, fiuits, vegetables, plants
and trees, and disseminate among person j
engaged in farming, gardening or fiuit grow-
ing, ujwn such conditions as are prescribed by
tlic Minister, samjiles of the smplus of B«ch
]iroducts as are considered to be specially
worthy of introduction ;

(d.) Analyse fertilizers, whether natural
or artificial, and conduct expriments with
such fertilizers, in ordiT to test their eom*
parative value as ajiplied to crops of different
kinds;

(e.^ Examine into the composition *ni
digestibility of i'oods for domestic animals ;

if.) Conduct experiments in tlie planting of
trees for timber and for shelter.

(g.) Examine into the diseases Id whicli
cultivated plants and trees are subject, and
also into the ravages of destmctiya insect.s,
and ascertain and test the most taeful pre-
ventives and remedies to be used in each case ;
(li.) Investigate the diseases to which do-
mestic animals are suVyect ;

^i.) Ascertain the vit;dity and purity of
agricultural seeds ; and

(j.) Conduct any other experiments and
researches bearing upon tlie agricultural in.
dustiy of Canada, which .w approved by the
2»linister.

It will be seen fioni this category that pio-
\ ision is made for exjierimental work in all
departments of agriculture in each of the
I'lovinces. In order to carry on this work
the Act authorized the employment of a
director, wlio was to have sup'rvision of all
the institutions; of a Horticulturist, who was
to take charge of the department of horticul-
ture at Ottawa ; of a Uotauistand Entomologi.-.t
(the two offices combini'd), and I am happy to
.say that Mr. Fletclicr, the gi-utleinau appoint-
ed to that imiKirtant branch, is present ami
will be able to speak for liimself. It also pro-
vided for the appoinlnieiit of a Chemist, whos.i
duty it will Vie to analyse fertilizers aud con-
duct all chemical ojieiatioiis ; and also for tin-
apiKjiiitmeiit of an Agriculturist who .shall br
specially charged with the management of tin;
field cro|« and stock. When the site for the
Central Experimental Farm was located, pos-
session of it was not secured until November
of last year — too late to accomplish much, but
there was fouml time to plough about 20 acres
and gather up some loose stones that were
scattered over the ground. Winter then set
in and put a stop to all out-door *ork until

y^

8

the spring, lu thr mcniitiin<* a smuil buiMing
WM erected for an office ami a glass gtructun-
'in which

TO TEST TIIK vr.Al.lTY OK SKKDS,

which was oun of tin; works the A('t pr<-
Mribed should Ik; uiidertiiken. This work
tprM successfully rarried ou last winter, and
187 samples of wheat and oilier cereals, gi-a-w
Meds and other field crops, were sent iu to
the institution to be tested. The vitality of
'these were determined and the prcentnge
that would grow under favourable conditions
reported to the firuieis sending them as
promptly ax pos«iljli'. That di'partment of work
Aas been of uiucli priiciicid value, iis will be
•eeo from the bulletin that will be i.ssued from
the farm vi-ry slioitly, giving details of this
work. It resulti'd in tarmers being saved, in
many instaiicts, fiom sowing seed which
y?ould have giviii tluin very little return for
tlieir lal»o>ir. In the harvi'sting of grain it
•ometimes iuipiuns that iiftcr it has l»een cut
and put in the mow it will heat and its
titttlity as seed will be injured ; there are
«ther causes also which may oci:ur which
BO affect seed grain as to make its germination
Diore or Irss a matter of uncertainty. The
Exp«-riuient;il Fiirm oilers to any farmer in tiir
l^omintiiii till' advantages of sending in, free
<.( pti-^t.igi', Siimplis of seeii to be testeil in tlie
soil and also in another form, in duplicat. ,
<>ii'i t"st beiiiir a I'hec^k on the other, and re-
turns are iijiidf to fill' fainiers without any
chiirge or exp( use, I hope that the gentlemen
imseiit, uill all <i! th'Mii avail themselves of
the a(l\-,int;i;,'»'s fill rul in this ileiiartmeiit of
•our wviikas Imly hs they think tit. We
shall not couiplain of any number ()f samples
being sent, muI shall endeavour to meet any
leqnisition that may lie made on us in this
respect. Hn-d testing has alreay begun, and
we should like to have siimjdes sent in as
early us possible, so that there may not be too
mueh of a riisli ns seed time apjiroaches. It
pometimes t;<kes n fortnight or three weeks to
]'roi»erly test tlie germinating jiower of some
Weds.

I AKi V i;irr..MN(; m'ukai'.

Another matter undertaken during the
j'lvst winter Wiis the importation from
Northeiii ii'unsi.t of an early ripening wheat.
Farmers in some i)arts of the North- West
have suli' red several years, sonift seasons
much woise than others, from frozen wheat,
and it was believed that if a variety of wheat
could U' obtiiineil that would rijien a week
earlier than imy sort at present available it
would result in most instances in the saving
of the crop. While frozen wheat has some
ralue still the saving of the crop from frost
would make a dillerence to the farmers of
between .''■iiels., and about '25ot8. jter bushel.

The new seed wheat was obtained ftwn a
district in Russia, flOO miles north of wh«r^
we are to-day, and whero the stoson is BMieh
shorter than" in any of the settled pArtioM of
our North- West Territories. Tids wheat has
ripened from ten to fifleeii days 'earlier than
any other variety of wheat cultivated there.
It has shown great vitality, and is belieired to
be nearly, if not quite equal, in every mpeet,
to any other sort in cultivation. In Ontario
and Quebec it has not snoceedod so w«ll on
account of the dry season we have had. In
con.soquence of its early ripening quality it
has not had quite the chance that l*ter ripen-
ing varities have h.ad, and hence the grain is
somewhat shrivelled, but in the Maritime
rrovinceg, where they have had more moisture,
it has turned out very well, so that we have
every reason to believe that tin; introduction
of this Kussian wheat will be exceedingly
valuable to the Dominion. We also obtained
seed of many other varieties of wheat, barley,
oats and potatoes, to be tested at the t'entral
K.xperimental Farm. A large part of the
larni was iu rather rough condition at the
outset. Much of it had been occupiwl by
tenants for a number of years, and there was a
large amount of stone on the surface. There
was also some forty acres of swamp on the
back part of it. The greater pait of the land
was good, but required mm h work to get it
into proper order. The removal of stones and
internal fene'es was pronif'tly undertaken, but
by the time the lind was got in order it was
too late to do very much in the way of seeding.

THIS season's tests.
Ilowi'ver, ve have tested during the year quite
a number of varieties of grain, among the
rest i>7 varieties of spring wheat, 31 of Imrley,
60 of oats, and •24(> varieties of potatoes. On
iiccount of the hot, drj' season being unfavour-
able for grain and jiotatoes, \. have not
obtained such good results iis we otherwise
should have done ; but we have succeeded
with a considerable number of varieties in
obtaining very fair crops, and shall have from
the bnuul (Quantities begun with a sutnciency
of seed to test those varieties under more
favourable conditions another year.

CI.EAKING, DKAININC; ANU III.II.DI.VG.

There were on the Kxperimentnl Farm about
140 acres of land which was covered with
pine stumps, amongst which there was a
strong second growth of popular and birch.
This land has all been reclaimed by blowing
up the stumps with dynamite, and rooting up
the poplars, and it is all now ploughed and
ready for cultivation. The f\irm has also been
fenced and got into such shape that 'good
results may be expected another year. There
will be room enough in the area acquired —
4t)5 acres — to test all the varieties of prodnt*

9

10 whiirh refcreiire hiw been made. The forty
«tcreii of Bwamp huvt; lircn drained, and bams
and stables are being erected for the aocom-
■lodation of stock and horwH. Theae bnild-
JDgH will be completed in the course of a few
wwks and will he large enongli to accnmnio-
date about 75 head of stock and aBufficieiit
notnber of horHes for the farm work, ho that
the fonndatiuii will be laid for ojKirations in
this direction another year. Dwellings arc
^ing erected aluo for the superintendents of
the different departments, so that they can
reside on the place and devote their whole
time to the work. Plans have been prejiared
lor a laboratory and a museum of the products
of the farms for the l)enetit and instruction of
visiting furnii-rs, and ofiiccs will be provided
in the same building for the tran.-wction of
business.

A KEVUKSKNTATIVK ( I.I.MATK.

Ottawa may l)e said to Ikj fairly Djiresiuta-
tive in cliinatf of a large area in the two
provinces of Ontario .d Quebec ; hence it is
impfjrtiiiit to dcti.ii.li;!!! there not only what
eereal.s and farm crops can be ra'sed, but also
what VI I ties of fruit can be produced, as
fruit tn'cs are generally taken by strangcm
and vihitors us an indication of tiie character
©f the climate prevailing in the district, aul
are .ipprcciated much more readily tlian
oropb ol grain or roots would be. It is al.so
im|)ortant tliat the (leoplc in cvry district
thouhl be aide to grow their own fruit, und
thereby adtl not only to the attractiveness of
their liouies and surroundings, but also to the
jirofits attending I'arni work. The im])ression
has prevailed that the (tttawa district is not
a good fruit gnwing section ; but I think it is
ouite pcssible and wholly probable that
varieties of fruit can be introduced which will
1)6 found exceedingly useful aiut verj' profit-
able to cultivate. On the farm there have
l)een planted, nmicr the direction of the horti-
culturist, W. W. Hilborn, 1,000 npple trees,
including 21)7 ditlereut varieties, '2!t8 pears,
<>f 114 varieties : 197 plums, of 7"2 varieties;

11 varieties of jieachcs; 4 of apricots and 27
of crab apples. In small fruits also a great
deal has been done. The planting includes
127 varieties of grapes, 90 of strdwberries, 37
of raspbeiTies, 21 of blackberries and 16 f)f
f arrants, K-sides which there are a number of
new seedlings being tested. We do not
f^tpect or hoj)e that all those varieties will be
nsefnl, but it is expected that among them
will be found some of superior excellence
which will be adapted to the needs of the
community here, as well as some fitted equally
well for other climates of the Dominion. As
to the botanical and entomological depart-
ments of the work, the officer iu charge of
Jhem (Mr. Fletcher) is he!c and will speak for

himself. A skilful chemist, Mr. F. T. Shntt,
has been iipj)ointed, wlio will undertake tb«
analysis of .soils, crops, grasses, etc.; also tlie
analysis ot mlik from the different breeds of
cattle, and such other chemical work as may
be uec'led.

A POlILTUY I»l.rAUTME.NT.

It is also propo«e<l to establish a iiOuUrT
department. The development of the poultry
interest in Canada has been very ra{)id, and
the exitorts of jwultry jtroilucts now foot np a
sum that is aatonishing. They exceed in
amount our exports ot honu a, and it hax
become a subject of such imp»)rtance that it i-i
thought necessary that soi>ie cx{M-rimcnts in
that line shouhi lie carried on to determine
the relative value o. dillerent breeds and

crosses for the producti if eggs and dressed
poultry for the marke; ,. Kncugh has Iwen
said, 1 ho}K', to shov the inijicrtance of this
great undcrtak' i for -J.: bene*- and mi
.'.nceujent of Uf,.icullure. iu • li.cli bcth th*
Premier auti tiiC MinisUi '1 Agriculture Uike
«o warm an inter'-at. No effort will Ix-
spared to m.ike '>.'.. -m institutions a success,
and they will, i trust, 8tan<l as ]>ermanent
proofs of the wistlom an 1 forethought of our
great state.snien the Ivemier, and the Hon.
the Minister ■ f Agriculture, aim .onfer
lasting heiietits an the faruieis of Canada.
(Applause).

Mr. Konell— I would like to nsk Pro'..
Saunders if the soil absorbs the nitrogen
cout.uncd in the sei-ond g''\\th of clover
that is allowed to remain on the ground and
rot ?

Prof. Saunders — 1 shoidd scarcely expect
that that jmrtion «( the nitrogen which i-t
contained in the foliage of the plant would Ix;
so well preserved to the soil when it is
allowed to remain on the surface, as when
ploughed under ; but the analysis of the
roots of clover shows tiiat a mu( h larger
proportion nf nitiogen exists in the roots
than in the leaves ; so that the fact of the
clover growing there would enrich the soil,
anil .some portion of the nitrogen iu the
h-aves, by the process of decay, would eventually
become iui orj)orated with the soil and act as a
fertilizer.

Mr. Darling— At what state in the growth of
the plant would the most benefit be derived
by j.i.;Ughiiig it under?

Prof. Saunders— Plants arc always richest
in their constituents ab<mt the flowering
period. It might sometimes be considered
too great a sacrifice of the crop to plough it
under when fit to cut for hay ; but that is the
time when the ploughing of it would be of
the greatest benefit to the soil.

Mr. Moffat—Have you yet undertaken
any experiments to determine the best

10

liri'ods of cattl'- for dairyiii;; purposes in
( 'aiiadit '

I'rof. SiiumliTs — Not yet: we are wailing
until tiie ni-cessaiy V) iilcUn<,'s arc put up,
when it in intended to undertake, us fast as
jitacticiililc, ttiose Jillcrent dipartineut.s ol'
work. Tliose wliirli seem to tlie Minister to
l>e most pressing will, of course, lir the first
undertaken. It will be iinpus.siljle to under-
take every department at the outset, as there
are five dillerent laruis to be established and
organized.

■ iijiert and I'lnnl PHrnHilc!(.

Mr. F'LKTCHKR was next called upon to
address the Institute. He said : It is a great
pleasure to one who makes a special study ot
any particular branch of knowledge, whieh
he considers is of use to the cimimunity at
large, to have the privilege of addressing
such a niecting as this. Those who take the
trouble to atteiul these meetings are the men
who take the most interest in the work with
which such institutes as yours are concerned,
and, therefore, though the attendance may
sometimes be small it must always be cou-
oe<led that those who come i'e[)resent the
best class r)f your members and are the ones
who will derive most beuelit from such uu;et-
ings. Prof. Saunders has told you tliat
lie hoped to get soni(> information
from you tiiat would bo useful in his work
at the Experimental l'"arni. This is no less
the case with me in tlu; ib-partnu^nts wiiieli
liave been placed under my charge at Ot-
tawa, and I hope I may be able to show yo>»
tliat it will be to your advantage to assist
me. He has told you tliat I am the Knto-
uiologist ami ilotauist of the institution. It
i.5 true this is my title, ;i-.id these are tine
soumling woids, but they are not easily enough
understood by everyboily, so when I am
iiskcd what my w<)rk is, I answer — to study
injurious insects and plants and the best
remedies to keep them down. As you all
know, a very large [)roportion of your ei-ops
is taken away from you, year by year,
by insects ; there is also a large auMunt
deatroyed annually by injurious plants,

TIIK t^VTOMOLOCIf-T AM) HDTAMST.

I will now with your permission give you
some idea of the work it is proposed to
carry out in my departments at the (Jentral
lixperimental Farm at Ottawa. There ai'c
two kinds of injuries to crops, which as Kn-
tomologist and liotanist 1 shall have to cou
/iidcr, namely, those diseases of plants due
to insect'* and those due to vegetable para-
sites. I belie' e it is possible that in rela
tion to tluuu the work ot the division may
Ihj made of great use to the country at
Urge. I have undertaken it w ith a great
do&l of enthusiasm, believing that luucli
good will come of it, and I shall do my Ix'st

to make this branch of our evperiinentai
work succeed ; but I shall look to the far-
mers for assistance. In a, vast territory
like Canada it is impo.ssible that any one
man can take in the whole Held of observa
tion alone. It is possible, however, if that
one man gives all his attention to the work
and he is assiyti-d by correspondents in the
ditleient provinces that his studies may bring
about results of general benefit to the whole
Dominion. It is in the hands of every
farmer who is a practical observer and who
grows his crops with all his mentiil energies
directed towards their improvement to aiil
by sending in the result of his ob.serva-
tions. It ha.-i been said that t!ie ordinary
farmer is unable to assist in these scientitii-
studies. riiis is not the case. A very
small fact is of value if it is the result ot
what tiie farmer has actually seen take
place on his farm, u tiue record of that
one "fact is of itself important, and wheiv
added to the oliservations of others may
till a missing link in our knowledge on
any triven subject, and is, therefore, ot
great use to science, for science is simply a
word tluit is used for "the best knowledge."
It is a woid tliat is apt to frighten people,
but it is only the Latin word for knowing or
knowledge. Tiicn if you will help by send-
ing in any .small facts that come under your
notice th'-y w ill be an assistance to other
farnieis all nvi'v the country, for they will be
incorpc)rated in reportsaiul will be distributed
far and wide ail dvcv the Dominion. Ar
raugeiiients lia\e i)een made by which tlii.s
intercourse can be facilitateil with the least
))ossible trouble and expense to farmers.
When crops show signs of disease it is of
great importance to rliscover the nature of
the injuiies and sec whether they are ot
insect or vegetal)le origin. If anyone
tiuds his cr(1]is attacked in any way, anil he
will send specimens of the plants attacked —
this can bt; done free of postage -in most
cases information respecting the trouble
will be obtainable from the Kx])ei imenta!
Farm at t)ttawa. Ivlorts will be mady to
have this institution rjjogni/.ed as a

r.l'KKAI' 111' INK(tKMATION

to which any tanner who desires infoimation
concerning aL'ricultural matters can write.
It is hardly likely that the diiector
will have time to attend to all these him-
self; but he will hand the letter to who-
ever the ollicer may be in charge of the
special department iiupiired into, and the
desire of the director is, as ho has told you,
that farmers should not hesitate to write to
him for any inforinati(m whatever concern-
ing their farming operations. Those in-
(juiries reouiring information concerning in-
sects or plants, will come to ine, and I shall

11

iitteuil 10 them at once, iiml shall eiiiicuvDUi-
to give you as imicii iiifoi-ination as |K).sbiliic.
As well aa letters, ynu ciiii Meiul .'■aniples to
t >ttAwa to our lieiulijuarters to l»e exiiiii-
iiiojaaitl reported iii)oii free of cliai-j^e. This
is &a iiiiportuut atlvuntaujt- Co you. Fie-
'lueiitly

KARMKRS I,IVIN<; AT A HIsTANCE

Ii'om town have no postage stamps on liaiul,
and they may say "I will let this stand un-
til I go to town wlien 1 oan take it in and
have it posted,"' but in these cases it is fre-
quently forpotten until too late. They need
not delay on that auoouut ; they have only
to take their samples to the post-olfice in
proper packages, throw them in, and they
will he at one<; forwarded free of jiostage.
and the answer will come l)aek as ijuickly
as posaihle. There is no doul»t at all that a
report on tlie dilVerent kinds of injuries from
in!seot.H and j)arasitic plants is very advan-
tageous U) all farmers to read r.nd study,
ll a farmer knows that a certain injury is
going on in one part (if the fountry--either
tlie attack of an insect oi a fungous disease,
he will ktH'p his eyes open to aseeitain
what remedy is discovered, in case he re
ceives a visit from the unwelcome stranger ;
for although all these studies are
(jf great interest in themselves they are of
very little use to the country if we do not
tind remedies for the attacks. Tins is our
chief aim. We lio]>e hy getting men
who devote all tlieir time to these
huhjects, .study hard and work tliem
out fioni the l)eginning, to tind r(Mne-
dies for nil these diseases. There are a great
many for which lemedics have not yet l>een
found ; Inil on the other liaml a good deal of
work has hcen done by scientitic nu'n
with good results although they do not always
get the credit of it. What farmer, when he
buys five cents' wortli of Paris green anil
.-avea his potato crop, thinks of the men
wiio spent years in hunting for a sure and
' lieap remedy forkillingthe potato bugs.' \'et
we coidd not attempt to-day to grow a crop
of potatoes in some parts of t'amida without
Paris green any more tlian we could witlujut
manure.

IN.U'RIOUS tN.SK(T.s.

Let nie now say a few v-ni'ds with regard
to the injuries couunitteii ev"ry yeai' by
insects. These ai'e so enormous and so well
known tluit probably no one here will chal-
lenge the proi)riety of the <iovernment hav-
ing appointed nomeoue to devott; his whole
tiipe to the study of the best means of
keeping their ravages within bounds. 1 will
give you a few (ii'urea which have been care
fully verified as tt) the extent to which these
iujuriea may reach. In tlie first place, it
may be stated generally that 10 per cent, of
all crops grown is annually destroyed by
insects. Krequently, liowever, this propor

tion is fai' exceeded. In iSS'J one of .ie/ii<ii
kinds of insects which attack the hop in
Kngland reduced the crop by the viiue
of S;l.'{,*X»*»,<XH). In the is;} report of tUe
L'nited States C'omniissii)ncr of .Vgriculture
it is stated that the loss on the c >tt<>u
crop by insects is about .'?*jr»,(HK),l)tH) a yeAr.
In ISTII the money value of wheat and corn
destroyed in the .state of Illinois by one in-
sect called the chinch bug was ft'Tfl.tHJO.'M).
No wonder tiien that there is consternation
at the present time in that .State where ttii**
insect has again appeared in numbers. Ti>
conie nearer home, in \H')4 the wheat tnid *e.
destroyed in (anaila S,()tM>,()<H) bushels of
wiieat. It ijecomes a necessity tiien th.it
someone should ik- appointed to investigate
these subjects and tr\' if ])os.-.ible to find
practical remedies which fainiers can *p-
l)ly for themselves. I have stated that t-ni
per cent, of all ci'ops is destroyed by tUe«e
peats. I ljelic\ e 1 ndght withrait exaggera-
tion say twice this amount, i>ut it is bebtei
to be under than licyond the mark. You
may say, "This is all \ery tine your telliug
us alM)ut these losses liy insects— have you
any i-emedy— -can you gi\e us any iiopc of
relief from their' ravages ? I answer, yiss;
certainly I can if you will help me. I be-
lieve that all tiiese in.sects, wiien tlieir life-
histories are .studied out and their habits
ascertaineil, i an be kept down in a very
large degree, bet nie give you one instacicd
which I have frequently citeil before, he-
cause it is taken fioin tiie practical work of
])ractical men. If you \,ill take the trouble
to look up the last census you will see thac
the revenue iroiu one small crop -the clovot
seeil I'll)]) was half a million dollars at the
time the census was taken. Three v^-irs
ago the revenue from tiiat crop was reduced
to nothijig. There was not a grain or clovtn ■
.seed exported, and why '.' liecauso a little
tly, so small that it would lie on
the head of a pin, had gra<iu,^lly
worked its way up from the l^nitJii
States ami had got into our chiver lieldi and
attacked tl.cni so severely that there w*s
no crop to reap. People i)egan to give up
growing closer seed. Final ly the farmers
juit their heads together and coiLSulted witii
those who studied insects, and said, "here
is a great trouble coming upon us, an<i we
must have some remedy." "Well," said the
ttiitomologistH, "let us look into the matter
and find <nit what is the nature of thciuiiect,
and what is its life history, and tiiea per
haps we can lind a remed.y." Now, 1 wil'
loeiitiijii hero what perhap.s some of you
know, before insects attain their perfect
development they ])asH through four stagtm.
\N'hen wt; talk of the borer in the apple trw
to a man who knows notiiing of the lives >f
insects and say, "you must ]>ut something
obnoxious on tlie hark of your tree at tin*

13

time tho eggs arr- laid to keep the beetle
away :" such a one would say, "this is not
a beetle, it is a soft grub." This is true:
but it was not always a soft grub, nor will it
always remain so. All insect* go through
four distinct stages of existence : Fii'St,
there is the little egtr, which is laid by the
mother insect ; this hatches into a soft gnd)-
like, active insect which passes its life eat-
ing, until it is full grown ; from this it
changes into what we call the chrysalis
state, in wliich it has generally the limbs of
the perfect insect apparent, but in most
orders of insects lies ijuiet and cannot use
them ; from this chrysalis, after a time,
emerges the perfect insect. Now. let us
apply this life history to the clover seed
midge : The faiim-r wanted to know how
to stop the riiva;,'es of the midge. So he set
to work to find out its life-history. He ex-
amine<l the heads of clover seeds, rubbed
them up in his h.inds, and found that the
pod wliich Fhiiuld have hold the clover seed
wii,'» all right in appearance ; but on opening
it, instead of a seed, there was a little red
grub inside. Ifow did it get there?
I will teil you : Let us start
in the middle of June when wc shall
tind the grub in the seed. We put the head
of seed into a glass jar and Mat(^li to see
what haj)pen.s. Towards tlui end of the
month— reineiiiber that date the little grub
works its way out of the clover and falls t(i
the ground ; here it burrows down below tnr
surface aiul remains there for some wei-ks.
The fai-mer who knows nothing of insects
cuts his clover about the beginning of July,
and is surprised to find no seed. Me thinks,
however, he may have better luck with the
•second crop ; Imt just about the time this is
in flower the little grubs which had gone into
the ground in June have matnred, and the
perfect insects tiny midires ap|)car. These
U'.gin operations at once, and the femahis
lay a single egg in each clover llower, which
hatclies and the young worm works its way
down into the pod, and before it is futl
grown has consumed the whole contents.
Now, how are we to stop it? Simply by
getting the clover off the fields before the
eml of ,Iune. It was found by experience
that by cutting the clover before the
the first brood came to maturity, or
turning in cattle to feed cm it, a large num
lH;r of these insects wtwj destrtjycd, and
there were conscfjuently few left to lay
■eggs in the second crop. So the farmeis in
the west where they grow clover seed, now
reap only one crop where they fornu'rly
grow two in a season. They either cut
their clover soon after the middle of Jane or
turn in their catth- to eat it so that it may
not stand in the fields till the end of the
month ; because if they waiteii until tlien,
the little insects would have come

out of the clover and gone into
the grouml, whence they would emertft
in due time to attack the next crop. By
persevering in this course the farmers have
gradually thinned out this pest, and will, 1
believe, eventually get rid of it altogether.
Another l)enefit which has come from the
study of entomologists must be mentione«l,
nanjely, the use of Paris green as an insee-
ticide. This was not discovered by accident;
it was the result of direct study in seeking
for a remedy for the potato bug. During
the liist few years

THK J'OTATO BfCJ

has increasert so much that we now have to
use this remedy, as a matter of course. It is
not known by all farmers that the remedy is
perfectly harmless when applied to this
crop. I nuike this statement because there
is in some sections a wrong impression alwoli
it it is stated that the potatoes absorb it ;
now, it is ntttily impossible to poiscm the
jiotatoes by putting arsenic, which is the
poisonous principle of Paris green, on the
soil. The potato tuber is merely a receiver
of food for the nourishment of young plants,
which arc represented by the eyes. It is not
a root, but a swelling in an underground
stem, and tln^ eyes are buds. It is provided
by nature as a reservoir of special food for
the young plants in the follo^^ing year.
Very little of this nourishment came in
through the roots. The largest amount of
substance, the starch, that is stored up
in tiic tuber of the j)otato, was
taken in an elenumtary eonilition through
the leaves. It is perfectly absurd then to
talk of arsei\ic being taken up in the roots
and stored it\ the tuber of the potato plant.
Spraying with a weak mixture (only two
ounces in 4() giillous of water) of this
material has been discovered to be the iMWt
remc "ly for the injurious codling moth which
destroys our apples. This insect is so injuri-
ous that in some years it destroys as much
as K(> per cent, ot the whole crop. By the uae
of this remedy it has been found that T-") pe.r
cent, of the whole crop can Im; saved every
year. I believi that if it were applied gen-
erally over large areon we could eventually
get rid of the codling moth altogothor.
More men are studying this economic aspect
of insect life year by year, and we are
gradually beeomir<; able to keep in check
most of the \v()r8t insect enemies with which
the farmer luvs to contend. But there are
still a preat many of these luists which are
doing an enormous amount of injury, and for
which we have not yet found practioable
remedies. These it will l)e my duty to stndy
for this purpose. There is me of these
which attacks the wheat crop, ccmucrning
whi<!h I wish to enouire particularly. It b
called the wheat milb worm, and has ap-

13

peared lately in this district. The iiulica-
tion of its attack ia probably known in your
district as " silver top." The ap-
pearance of the disease is this. The young
ear of wheat turns white permaturely before
the rest of the crop is ripe, and when you
pluck it you will find there are no
grains in it. If you will examine
it carefully, you w ill find that there is a
very small transparent maggot inside the
stem above the top joint. \ ou will notice
fit once these dead ears of w heat in fields
where this pest is at work. I fear, too,
there is now no doul»t l)ut that it has been
increasing in numbers during the last year or
two. It is a very dithcult insect to cond>at,
from the fact that ii /natures and leaves the
wheat stem before tlie main crop is tit to
cut ; couseiiuently it has escaped and is ready
to lay its eggs for the next crop. There is a
little gap in our knowledge of the life-hiatoiy
of this insect. We know that it passes
through two difl'ereut circles of lifi'. First
of all itexist.s in the fir.st brood in the straw
of standing wheat ; then there is a long gap
Ijetween that time, from about the beginniug
of .July until September, during which we
know nothing of its hal>its, but we rind that
in September the perfect )ly appears again
and lays its eggs on the sprouting
fall wheat, and the little maggots eat their
way down to the base of the siem of wheat,
from which it ia called the "wheat bulb
worm," and remain there all winter in
the root of the wheat, just iv the same way
as the insect which you all know too well,
the "Hessian lly," wliich also passes the
winter in tlie root of the wheat. Tiiere is
then a gap between the .sumnier and the
autumn broods, which I want to find out
something about. Very

KKW INSKITS ARK l.ONC I.IVKH.

This insect luis a loni? life for so small a lly
—not a (juarter of an incl; in length. Some
that I enclosed in ghisa jars lived for three
weeks without any food iit all. This proves
that it can live a long lime, but it is
hardly po8sii)le that it can live in
the wiiig(5d state tf)r two or three
montlis iu summer. We know that the
maggot lives tlirough the winter in the
wheat plant, and I think it is possible that it
attacks some of our w ild grasses and that an
intermediate brood lives in them during the
period of which we liave no trace of its
uabits. This is one of the pests for whicli
wo are anxious to find a remedy, and in
which you can all help me. One of my
correspondents reported that one in every
thirty heads of his wheat was destroyed
by this insect last summer. Now there
are certain broad general principles for
your guidance wiicn you find your crops
»tta<'ked, and these are founded upon very

simple rules. Iu the lirst place, if you
examine a largo number of diilerent insects
you will find they may all be <livided into
two large divisions by the nature of theii
mouth parts. In one these will \>e found to
consist chietly of a pair of jaws with which
they tear the substance of their food ; in the
other there is, instead, a tube by meiins ot
which the insects suck up their food in thf
shape of licjuids. For the first class it is
apparent that any poisonous substauoe
placed on the food will be consumed with it
and the insects ilestroyed. It is, then,
merely a matter of getting some material
not injurious to the plant, but which will
kill the insects preying upon it. Such we
have in various conipouiids of arseuic, as
I'ai'is green and London pu;i>le. For the
other class, which coultl pusii their l>euk:i
through the poison and tlien suck out the
juices from the plant beneath, we must have
recourse to other melhod.s, .such as those
which will kill by coming into contact with
the bodies of tlie insects or by virtue of some
noxious volatile principle. One of these we
have in Persian insect powder. Of all the
numerous iiusects whicii attack vegetati< n
and some plant.s ivie attacked by as many as
'200 (litl'ei'ent kimls, I suppose tliere is not one
for wliich a remedy of some sort could not
be devised ; but the trouble is we must
find remedies which arc practicable, such
as while they attain the object ainied at
are yet of such a character as not to lay u.i
open to tile accusation that the remedy in
worse tl.an the disease. There are

TIIKK.K Snill.K Kri,K.< KOK TIIK A riT.II'ATION

OK Ai.], I^■.s^;(:T ukmkimks.
First, they must be efl'cctual; secondly,
they must be economical ; thirdly, they
nmst be simple. Most of the siibstanccH
used are direct poisons and many of them
arc coptly. The remedies suggested must
be devised with special regard to these
points p; they will be useless, and, sim
plioity is a most impoitaiit feature, for if
they re(|uire much care in tl\eir application
or preparation not oidy may they not Ix?
uscii in tlu' right proportions, but tiny will
probably not bo used at all.
lleniedies may be divided into thr«H;
classes; first and most ini[)ortant~l, agri-
cultural, by which is meant t.uch methods
lus, a judicious rotation of cro))s ; planting
and reaping at a ditl'erent time to that
tisually adopted ; the selection of seed less
liable to attack ; the use of sjieiial fertilizers
and the alluring to a mort^ att'aetive fowl
plant. '2. Active, by which poisonous ma
terials are used to destroy insects, r.^l .'{,
I'reventive, by w Iiich they are deterred from
approaching the i)Unt8 wished to be protect
od. This is most c-iisily accomplished by
the UBo of olinoxious materials to prevent
the females from laying their e;rg:< where the

14

yoii.'ig grubs can do iiiisiiiicf, Alk.'Uiiic
wa.«heH on tre<'3 iiml ■•arliolic wiishes for tlic
pr(V ition of mot iTops come unthT thin
iicftd. For fiirtlier iletails on this snlijcct, 1
will rpqiK'st any of you who wish to obtain
th<'rf) to write to nie at Ottawa.

tauvsitk; rj,ANTs.

Tr.e largo annual loss to crops is not how
evtr entirely dm; to insects, there are also
rrjprosofipi.' fungous diseases which destroy
cropH. l'erhay)s one of the most injurious of
th*-ye on record wii.s one that attaiked the
■f'fTee crop of Cej'lon. In the ten years, ]S(!!(
to JH7n, .*iM>.(HM).(MK» of injury was done
l>y tids one variety of parasitic fungus.
\Ve also know that our wheat is aj)! to be
attfitked by "rust" and ''smut." These
M.gain are j)arasitic fungi, and altliough we
hav< not yet found any practical remedy for
iiict I am in ho[)es we may l:)e able to do so.
Her smut, however, we have a very easily
.tpplied remedy which is ettitiacious. It has
been known for upwards of '2(K) years that
by w:v8hing seed wheat with a solution
'if lihiestone the j)laiits froni seed so treated
are more exempt from the attacks of this
low forrn of vegetable life rhan wheat
sewn without such treatment. In F<]ng-
land the farmers seldom sow wheat
•without first waslung it with blue-
•*t<inp, and tlie conse(iuence is that smut is
T^(>t .«t all prevalent in the wheat fields of
''>ngland. Now, what steps should be taken
by farmers wlien they rind their crops at-
tacked iiy disease ? First of all they sh(nil<l
«^xainine tliem carefully to rinil out whether
it if (in attack of a fungus or of an insect.
For luntd it is more difficult to rind a remedy
that can be ajiplied at once, but st^ps can
be taken to pi-event in the following year a
repetition of the evil. No sane person will
reside in :v locality whicli ho knows is in-
fest'Cd Viy any contagious disease. In the
Kaine way it is very foolish for us to plant
gtxxi seeil in a rield in which wc know
that the summer before the crop
had Ken destroyed by some disease.
BoBides the weeds which give so much
trord)le there are simic other injurious
plants which it is possible you may not some
"f you recogni/e as plants, I'or instance, it
does not occur to many farmers when they
SIC "rust" and "smut' on tlieir wheat, or
The "black spot" on their api)les, that those
arc plants. As a matter of fact, howevei-,
they are just as much plants as those on
whi'.h they are found ; nut they are of
<piite a ditlerent nature, tor they are para-
j'it** auvl derive their nourishment from the
'arg( r jjlanta iijion which tlioy grow. All
their parts are exceedingly small, and it is
nfcpSBary to examine them with fhe aid of
powfrfnl magnify!; ^ glasses before we can

understand the secrets of llieir !i\cs. The
smutty cars and the rusty discoloured spots
on the leaves and straw of wheat are not the
whole plants ; fmt merely the fruit consist-
ing of collections of innumerable
seeds — or, as they are called when
speaking of fungous plants, spores— each
one of wliich is so small !is to be invisible to
the naked eye, but which, neverthelesfl, is
capable of infecting a whole wheat plant
should it come in contact with its tissues —
I have said that what we see is only the
fruit. You may say "where then are the
other part.s of these mysterious plants?" I
will tell you. In the case of the "smut" the
spore lies in the ground or is carrieil there
upon the seed, and when the young wheat
plant liegins to grow this enemy forces its
roots into the tissues and 80*»n permeates
the whole plant. By the time it has fouuit
its way up to the ears it is mature and
ready to produce its fruit in the shape of
the black, sooty powder, the appearance of
which you all know so well. The poor
wheat plant all this time has been robbed of
its nourishment by tiiis parasite living in-
side its tissues, and is unable to produce its
seed. The spores of the fungous which pro-
duce "rust" do not act quite in the same
way, but are carried by the wind and settle
on the leaves or stem, and there send out
their roots, which find an entrance between
the cells and spread out in all directions,
sucking up the nourishment and strength
which should have gone to produce the
grain of the wheat plant. The result, how-
ever, is nearly the same, the weakened
straw is unable to carry up nourishmenl
surticient for the grain to properly fill out,
and there is, conse(piently, a great defi-
ciency in the anicunt of seed pro<luced.
There are, however, certain preventive
remedies which can always be applied, the
best of which are the judicious rotation of
crops and the choice of seed of varieties
which are known to be free from attack.
On well cultivated farms you do not con-
tinue crowing the same crops on the same
rields year after year. In Oanada
farmers have ample means of getting
information ; you take agricultural papers
and read Ihein. Yru iise improved methods
of rotation of cropi,, thus securing not only
the advantage of the constituents of most
use to each kind of crop which is accumulat-
ed year by year from the manure, only cer-
tain parts of whi<'h are used by each crop,
but you are also exempt to a large
degree from these destructive diaeasea
of which I am speaking. For Instance
the wheat crop is attacked by ru«t or
smut, and these diseaseh are allowed to oome
to maturity and the Bnores are left in the
soil ready to attack the next crop of a

15

5^/

ttimiiur nature it suwti ; hut it hy rotation
i>f cropH you ha\o two or thiff other kinds
of crops following,' it, the prohahilitit-s arc
that the spores Ijeconie exiuiusted and can-
not attack the same crop when it is its turn
t^) be sown atfaiii. The chief
remedies t-o be applied then for fungous
diseaaea must be preventive, because we
know very little about them. I hope in a
few years to have studied some of them out,
and then may l>e in a position to prescribe
remedies.

A ROTA MCA I. CAHI'IIV.

There will he ar tlie Kx|ieiiiiiental Farm
at Ottfiwa a botanical garden and arbo-
leturn. An area of sixty-tive acres has been
set apart upon which tices and plants of
eitononii'; value will be grown and testeii.
Plants from other paits of Canada, not
growing here indigenously, will be culti-
\ ated to see if we can make use of them in
this district. Plants from other countries
will also be tried to see if we cannot in-
crease the number of useful plants now
grown in Canada. As an instance of what
may be done in this line, I will mention
the Cinjhona tree from wliicli ((uiuine bark
is taken. For jears after its di.«cf)very, itwas
supposed that this would only grow in its
native forests of South Ameiica, but it is
now cultivated oxer the greatei
j)art of the tropical regions of the
world, and supplies the product called
<iuiniiie, which is one of tjie most valuable
medicines known, and, in all tropical clim-
ates, is a necessity in the treatment and pre-
vention of malarial f jvers. W by should vse
not be able to introduce into Canada useful
trees and pl;U\ts w hicii we have not now,
but which we have plenty of room for. At
the '.'entral Farm last season \\e cultivated
some of tlie ffidder plants which are not
grown yet in Canada — one of them from the
Fast called "(Jrani," belonging to the same
natural order as the \etclies mid (dover,
gives promise of succeeding well tiei-e, and,
should it do so, is a new fodder plant which
nuiy be of great value to farmers.

TliK yt'KSTtON OK KoKEST TKKKS

is one of greater importance than farniei's
are generally inclined to believe. They cul-
•■ivate their fields for wheat and other crops,
out they do not think much about the trees,
though the consumption of wood from year
"() year for different purposes is so enormous
that 1 urn afraid to mention the figures. In
the Unite<l States a report has lately been
nreoartd by Prof. Fernow, the Cluef of tiui
nivision of Forestry, whii^h shows that the
amount ot wood used annually for ditVer-
ent purposes, for the construction and
repairing of railways and bridgca, etc.,
is BouKthing appalling. Tlie supply of

wood in our country is being so teduced by
lumbering operations, settlement and forest
tires, that it is necessary in all parts of
Cnnada to begin at once to renew tlie sup-
ply by tree planting. \ tar by year the
farmers in new districts destroy enormous
t|uantities of timber in clearing their farms,
but in a few years they will have to seek for
this material at a great distance. This
makes it all the more necessary for farmers
to undei'take the planting of trees on their
farms, not only to cover up this loss, hut
also ;is wind-bieaks and sheltt;rs for cattle,
and it is \ ery imj)ortant for them to know
beforeiiand in what way they can do so to
the greatest possible benefit. The farmer
is not always posted on the most advantage-
ous way of planting. Some will l>e sur-
prised to iiear that w ith many trees it is
more atUantageous to grow them from the
seed than to traiisj)lant them of considerable
.■*i/.e from the forest. Again some of oui
forest trees are vei'y n\uch more valuable
than otliers, and there is nuich yet to be
leaincd with regard to the best trees to
t'row on ceitain soils and ;n special locali-
ties. FvXtensive experiments will be ma<le
in this direction, all of w hich will be of great
use, so that all efforts nuiy be directed in a
useful and methodical manner. 1 will call
your attention to two of our most useful
and beautiful native trees -the black wal-
nut and the white ash. The tii-st of
these is found wild iu Canada, only
within veiy re8tricte<l limits, and it is
supposed by some to grow only iu places
v.here it will obtain a considerable degree of
heat. As a matter of f;ict, it has bet^n iis-
certained that this tree will stand a much
greater' degree of cold, and will thrive over
a much wider ai'ea than wsva at tir-st sup-
posed. At Ottawa it proved to be the sec-
ond ([uickest gi'owirig ( 'anadian tree, ft hi«n
been planted in >,>uebec and has succeeded
i-emarkably well. It was one of the most
valuable of our native woods, and is also an
extremely rapi<l growing tree ; and al-
thouL'h there have appeared during tlie bust
few years fal)ulous statements — which have
done a gr'eat deal of har'm — as to what returns
can Vie had fr-om grow ing waliuith, there is no
iloubt that l»y judicious planting of this tree
a <|uick returrr for the money can Ik? ob-
tained. Another tree of s})ecial value is the
w bite ash This tr-ee is useful for certain
p\rrpose8 at a moderate size, it grows easily
and docs not take up much room. When
farmer's are planting trees they will find it
advantageous to know before' hand those
which will give the ([uickest re turns
and thost! whicli are the most
valuable for timber. As I liave said, all
such experiments as these will Iw trit^l care-
fully at tiie Central Kxperimental Farm,

\

10

Iv*rge numbeiD of «lincient trees will
be grown from seed for tri»l iu ilitlereut
parts of the country, iu order to
ascertaiu where they do heat, aud
what kiuda eau he grown u>
the greatest advantage iu ceitaiu districts.
KffortB w ill also \>e made to improve the
Jiffereut kinds of grains, fruits and othe"
products. It frefjueutly happens that some
varieties have qualiticM not possessed hy
others, hy hyhri<Usiug or crossing these it is
sometimes possible to produce a new variety
with all the good qualities of its patents
consolidated. It is not wise to continue all
tlie time with old varieties which we know
will succeed ; but witli sucli an in.stitu-
tiou as

Tin; KM'KIUMKNTAI. I'AKM

we shall be able to risk taihire .sometimes
in the iiope of getting sumetliing new and
useful, and 1 understand this is one of
the objects with which the farm
was established by the (Jovernment. No
farmei' can afford to run the risk of hwing a
whole year's crop in trying new experi-
ments. 'Die ( !i)vernment liy cstabli.sliing
this innlitution Iiuh virtually sliown its
detcruiination to hcdp tht; farmers as imich
as possible. It is not right in such a new
country asC'anada for individual farmers to
have to risk lai'ge sum.s of money in tht se
experiments, important, nay necessary, as
tliey arc. So tlifc (iovernineiit stej)s in
and says, "I \\ ill have them done for you
and you shall have tiie benefit of the le-
sults. " I believe tliat the results o[)tained
under the pre&ent ilirection will be
highly practical ; but the work will
not cud liero, it will not be the obtaining of
results alone, these will be published peri-
odically as bulletins, wiitten in such a way
i^s to be intelligible to all who may
read them, which will bo distributed
broadcast all over the country.

Mr. Serson expressed himself as being very
much pleased with the aildrcss. He wtiuld
like to hear Mr. Fletcher's opinion whether
the weather ha<l not something to do with
rust. He tliought that when warm moist
weather prevailed it was mon? favourable
for the pioduction of rust. Ife would like
to know vhetlier in a dry season a clean
(Top of wheat or oats might not be grown on
a Held in wiiich in ihe previous year with a
warm, moist summer the crojf had been
badly attacked by rust.

Mr. Fletcher said there was no doubt that
under certain atmospheric conditions all
fungus plants wore developed more rapidly

than at other times ; at the same time they
could not come into existence spontaneously,
they must all come from spores or seeds. One
season you may have planted in such a dry
time that tlu^ spores do not get a start.
You certainly might possibly grow even on
the same tield where a crop had been badly
attacked by rust in the previous year but
under ditl'erent atmospheric conditions, a
crop of wheat that might not be affected ;
at the same time, as a preventive remedy, it
would be far better to grow on that tield
some other crop, clover or roots for instance,
than to grow wheat again the following
season.

Mr. .Serson said he had often seen in a
field of wheat rich spots where the wheat
would be more affected with rust than on
the poorei' parts.

•Mr. Fletcher said very vigorous growing
varieties of wheat would sometimes suffer
more frf)m rust than others. Last year, he
fore the Agricultural Committee, the ex
perience of different membeis of Parlia
inent was given, and th<' report would be
published next session. Ife ha<l no doul)t
.Mr. Jatnie.son would be glad to furnibh his
constituents who wished it w ith copies of
this report. There seemed to be no definite
rule that could be laid down with regard to
rusit on whvat, expei'ience in various locali-
ties was so different. One man would com
plain that a poor or weakly variety wa.<
attacked worst by mist, while anotlier
would say that a freegi'owing variety wa."
most attacked. One gentleman went so far
as to say that all nuick-growing varieties
were liable to rust.

Mr. McKinlay said that he had noticwl
on the coast of Xewfoundlaud liuit if a
foggy morning occurre i at a certain j)eriod
ot the year he alwaj's found his wheat
rusted.

Mr. Fletcl' r said th.it in England it wa.9
probable thai there was hardly a crop of
wheat grown which had not been, during
some time of its growth, subjected to foggy
weather, yet there; were many crops of
wheat raised tiu'ie witliout rust. It miglit
be tliat if the j)lant were in an unhealthy
condition it would bo more susceptible to
diiicase in foggy \\eather. As a matter of
fact this rust on cereals is nuu'e widosproaiJ
than any other vegetable disease kninvn.

An interesting discussion followed, whioli
it Wiks impossible to refiort owing to the
darkness of the room, 'i lie meeting closo«l
with the election of otlicjers for the ensuing,
year