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c 
 
 Reprinted from The Ottawa Naturalist, Vol. X, No. 2, pp. 29-43, 
 Ottawa, Canada, May, 1896. 
 
 Cljemical Work ii] Capdiaij Agriculture. 
 
 By Frank T. Shutt, M.A„ F.I.C, F.C.S., Chemist, 
 Dominion Experimental Farms. 
 
 Read before the Natural History Society of Montreal, Somerville Course of Lectures, 
 
 April, 1896. 
 
 
t 
 
Reprinted from The Ottawa Naturalist, Vol. X, No. 2, pp. 29-43. 
 Ottawa, Canada, May, 1896. 
 
 CHEMICAL WORK IN CANADIAN AGRICULTURE. 
 
 By Frank T. Shutt, M.A.. F.I.C., F.C.S., Chemist, 
 Dominion Experimental Farms. 
 
 
 ! 
 
 Read before the Natural History Society of M 'ntreal, Somerville Course of Lectures, 
 
 April, 1896. 
 
 In bringing before you an epitome of the work accom- 
 plished for Canadian agriculture by the Chemical Division of 
 the Experimental Farms during the past eight years, it may be 
 advisable by way of introduction to say something of the im- 
 portant relationship that exists between Chemistry and Agricul- 
 ture. And in order to make this relationship clear we may first 
 consider briefly the character and scope of these two great 
 sciences. 
 
 Chemistry busies itself with the study of the composition 
 of all matter, solid, liquid and gaseous — living and inert — and 
 endeavours to ascertain the laws that govern the changes which 
 such matter is continually undergoing in the animal, the 
 vegetable and the mineral kingdoms. Thus, chemistry has found 
 out the nature of plant constituents and the source whence plants 
 obtain them. It indicates the various food elements and the 
 proportions in which plants take them from the atmosphere 
 and from the soil respectively. Hence, not only soil exhaus- 
 tion and diminished yields resulting from the practice of 
 continually cropping without any concomitant return of soil 
 plant food, become easily understood with the aid of chemistry ; 
 but the way for a more or less speedy return to fertility is 
 indicated. In other words, by analysis and vegetation 
 experiment (the latter practically a synthetical method) the 
 
30 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 peculiar requirements of our farm crops are ascertained and 
 economical means of supplying these wants ire suggested. 
 After studying the conversion of soil substances and of the 
 constituents of the air into vegetable tissues, chemistry further 
 endeavours to learn the function of these latter when used as 
 food by aninfals. Thus, experimental research has shown that 
 starch, sugar, gums, etc. (the class of nutrients known generally 
 under the term carbohydrates) fibre and oil, products of vegetable 
 metabolism are chiefly of service in the animal system in 
 producing heat and supplying energy for work, while the 
 albuminoids or nitrogenous organic matter elaborated by 
 plants find their chief function as flesh formers and in supplying 
 the requisite constituents for the production of blood, milk, wool, 
 etc. 
 
 It n ay be urged that these are for the most part questions 
 of vegetable and animal physiology, and rightly so ; but 
 is not physiology a name for that special branch of chemistry 
 that seeks to explain the changes in matter that attend 
 or are produced by the vital functions of plants and animals ? 
 At all events, physiology is largely chemistry, for if the 
 former science tells us that living matter is composed of cells 
 capable of nutrition and reproduction, the latter shows how 
 the changes of the matter within the cells, primarily leading to 
 their nutrition, and secondarily to their reproduction, are true 
 chemical transformations. ^ 
 
 Concerning Agriculture, we may say, adopting a defini- 
 tion given for English grammar by an old author that it is " both 
 a science and an art." It is the oldest of all arts, save perhaps 
 that of the chase. The art of husbandry includes and imparts skill 
 in all farming operation*^ — draining, plowing, harrowing, seeding, 
 cultivating, harvesting, threshing, and indeed all work concerning 
 the culture of the field and the care of farm animals. Of late 
 years great progress has been made in agricultureas an art,and this 
 principally through the introduction and assistance of improved 
 implements and machinery. The sickle and the flail are almost 
 forgotten instruments of the past, and many of the implements — 
 
CiiKMicAL Work in Canadian Aguicultuue. 31 
 
 triumphs in mechanics — now in general use were not even 
 faintly foreshadcnvcd twenty-five years ago. 
 
 The sricnce of agriculture first makes plain the reason for 
 and the results of the various operations we have just enumerated 
 and then studies the whys and wherefores of the changes brought 
 about by nature through plants and animals. If agriculture as 
 a whole may be said to have for its object the econoniic pro- 
 duction ot plants and animals and the materials elaborated by 
 them during their life, agriculture as a science endeavours to 
 ascertain the causes and conditions that lead to the consum- 
 mation of this object. "./ 
 
 Although Botany, Zoology, Physiology and Phys'cs i\\ lend, 
 their aid, it will be apparent from what I have said ^that 
 Chemistry furnishes the basis and a large proportion of the 
 superstructure of scientific agriculture ; indeed, so interwoven 
 and intimately connected is chemistry with all branches of farm' 
 work that agricultural chemistry and scientific agriculture may 
 be counted as almost synonymous terms, for it is difficult to 
 conceive an agricultural problem that does not make demands 
 upon chemistry for its solution. It is most certainly true that 
 agriculture is fast passing beyond the ranks of empiricism, 
 We recognize that it has entered the realms of science ; and the 
 hope for the future of agriculture, as has been well remarked by 
 an eminent English authority, lies in the larger adoption of those 
 methods which science with practice advocates. 
 
 Interesting, however, as these considerations are, we must 
 pass to the matter in hand and show wherein assistance has 
 been rendered by the Dominion Government to Canadian 
 agriculture by the chemical researches carried on in our 
 laboratories at Ottawa. 
 
 VIRGIN SOILS OF CANADA. 
 
 The factors of a soil's fertility may be briefly enumerated 
 as follows : — 
 
 1 The amount and availability of its plant food 
 
 2 Its mechanical condition or tilth. 
 
 3 The conditions of climate, rainfall, temperature, etc. 
 
32 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 It is thus apparent that the knowledge afforded by a 
 chemical analysis, when properly interpreted, is of great value as 
 an indication of a soil's productiveness and for suggesting its 
 economical treatment with fertilizers. A complete soil analysis 
 comprises a series of most careful and accurate chemical 
 operations, the determining of the amounts of plant food and 
 more especially of the nitrogen, potash and phosphoric 
 acid. Since such work necessitates a considerable expendi- 
 ture of time, only typical soils, representative of large areas that 
 have never been cropped or manured, are submitted to complete 
 analysis. 
 
 As might be expected, the soils in Canada are exceedingly 
 varied as regards their origin, their nature and composition. We 
 have not yet the data that would enable us to speak of all 
 classes of Canadian soils, for considering the area of the arable 
 land in the Dominion, the worK accomplished can scarcely be 
 said to do more than give us information regarding the soils of 
 widely isolated districts. Our endeavour will be, as opportunity 
 offers, to continue this chemical survey and thus gradually 
 accumulate data that will be of service, directly to our own 
 farmers and of interest and value to those of other countries 
 who may be meditating emigration to the Dominion by bring- 
 ing before them a knowledge of the character of Canadian soils. 
 
 To mention a few of the more typical soils of the various 
 provinces, I might, beginning in the West, tell you of the rich 
 and fertile soils from the valleys of the Fraser and Pitt Rivers 
 in British Columbia. 
 
 These alluvials deposits, composed of detritus, cover many 
 thousands of acres,and rank, both as regards mechanical condition 
 and richness of composition, with the best soils of any country 
 in the world. Of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid, as well 
 as of the minor elements of plant food, analysis has proved them 
 to contain large stores. Undoubtedly, the soils formed by the 
 deposits of other rivers in the province would show themselves 
 on examination to be equally rich in plant food. 
 
Chemical Wokk in Canadian Agriculturk. 33 
 
 Another clrss of soils in British Columbia arc the upper 
 " bench " soils. Those analysed have been of a light and sandy 
 character, considerably inferior to the soil just referred to as re- 
 gards plant food, but, nevertheless, owing to the extremely 
 favourably climatic conditions that prevail, have proved them- 
 selves to be capable of producing good and profitable yields. 
 
 Britivh Columbia also possesses in many of her valleys areas 
 of mucky soils, essentially rich in organic matter and nitrogen. 
 These with proper treatment are exceedingly productive and 
 eventually will prove of great value for the growing of most of 
 our farm crops. 
 
 Concerning the soils of the North- West Territories, I can 
 state that most of those samples examined have been found to 
 contain large amounts of plant food. Even soils from the areas 
 affected by the deleterious presence of alkali for the most part 
 contain all the necessary elements for productiveness, and only 
 await the proper treatment of drainage and the application 
 of certain chemicals to make them fertile in a high degree. 
 
 The prairie soil of Manitoba constitutes a real mine of 
 plant food. A sample examined from the Red River valley, a 
 black loam more than two feet in depth, was of a very high 
 order, possessing remarkable amounts of all those materials 
 which crops require, atid ranking as pre-eminent from both a 
 chemical and mechanical standpoint. From the analysis, I 
 calculated that an area of one acre to the depth of one foot, 
 contained, approximately: Nitrogen, 33,145 lbs ; Potash, 33,950 
 lbs ; Phosphoric acid, 9,450 lbs. When we compare these 
 amounts with those pre.?ent in average fertile soils, viz: Nitrogen, 
 3,500 lbs ; Potash, 7,000 lbs ; Phosphoric acid 6,000 lbs., the 
 great agricultural value and possibilities of this prairie soil will 
 be obvious. 
 
 Both the North- West Territories and Manitoba are justly 
 noted as grain growing areas and more especially for producing 
 large yields of wheat rich in gluten and of excellent milling 
 .<\ualities. The magnificent soil of these districts has been one 
 of the chief factors in bringing about this result. Our farmers 
 
34 
 
 TiiK Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 in the far West, however, should learn before too late that this 
 store of fertility is not inexhaustible and that the export of j^rain 
 results in soil exhaustion which must be met b) the application 
 of manures and fertilizers if the present conditions are to be 
 preserved. Undoubtedly, the climate there prevailinjjj is one 
 that assists in the conservation of soil plant food, but this factor, 
 obviously, is not one that should be relied on to the neglect of 
 replacing' plant food. 
 
 The dirticult)' of obtaining in Ontario samples of virj^in 
 soil represeniativeof lar^e areas has prevented me hitherto from 
 bcin<^ able to draw an)' conclusions that would be of general 
 importance and value. .As data accumulate, we may be in a 
 better position to speak more definitely and probably to map 
 out this province into districts according to the original 
 character of its soils. In the meantime, we can report that in 
 most instances the results we have obtained show a .sufficiency 
 of jilant food for lucrative crops yields. 
 
 Unfortunately the practice of " burning " when clearing up 
 land has been most disastrous over large districts, destroying 
 vast stores ot humus and nitrogen, a loss that can be replaced 
 only b)' many decades of skilful! procedure and care. 
 
 I'rom the Province of Quebec both heavy and light .soils 
 have been received. Many of the frontier lands are in a 
 condition of partial exhaustion, owing to the one-sided method 
 of farming that has been in vogue. These must be built up 
 with green manuring and by application of barnyard manure 
 and fertilizers, thus replacing tho.se elements that many years of 
 cropping have taken away. Undoubtedly, the virgin soils of 
 the areas here referred to were just as rich in plant food as 
 those of any province in Canada, a statement that receives 
 corroboration from results obtained in the examination of 
 certain newly broken Quebec soils. 
 
 Hitherto, the soils from the Maritime Provinces examined 
 by us have been few in number. Such data, as we have 
 however, would go to show that their virgin soils are capable 
 of giving excellent crops under proper treatment. 
 
Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture. 35 
 
 In clositij,' this cursory review of our work in this branch of 
 apfricultural investigation, it only remains to say that our ex- 
 amination of Canadian cultivated soils points to certain economic 
 methods of improvemciit that may be recommended to our 
 farmers in order 10 enhaiTcc the productiveness of their fields. 
 
 These briefly are as follows : — 
 
 1 The more extensive growth of the legumes (peas, beans, 
 clover, etc.). These plants alone have the ability to assimilate 
 the free nitrogen of the air and thus are particularly valuable for 
 "turning under" and also as fodder crops. Green manuring 
 (the ploughing under of a green crop) with cI'--''- adds to the 
 soil's store of fertility in nitrogen and humus, improving the soil 
 both chemically and mechanically. 
 
 2 The application of wood ashes to supply the second 
 essential clement of plant food, viz: potash. Canadian wood 
 ashes (in other words, Canadian soil fertility), though much 
 undervalued at home, find a ready sale in the United States. 
 Our farmers receive in exchange for their ashes but a tithe of 
 their worth. Does not parting with them under such conditions 
 seem like killing the goose that laid the golden egg? If wood 
 ashes are not obtainable, muriate of potash or kainit (a potash 
 salt mined in Stassfurt, Germany) should be used to supplement 
 the barnyard manure. 
 
 Again, there are many ot our soils and crops that would be 
 benefited by an application of a soluble phosphate, Apatite 
 or mineral phosphate of lime we have in Canada in abundance 
 and also the raw materials for manufacturing the sulphuric acid 
 to treat it with and make !<■ soluble. It only remains for our 
 farmers to intelligently use the superphosphate in order to increase 
 the fertility of their fields and at the same time assist an industry 
 that would be of great importance to the country. 
 
 3 Compared with the soils of other countries, many in 
 Canada appear to be deficient in lime. This fact suggests that 
 the judicious application of lime, marl or gypsum (at the same 
 time supply other forms of plant food) would lead to good re- 
 
36 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 suits. We have ample testimony that on many of our heavy 
 and light soils this treatment has been eminently satisfactory. 
 
 NATURALLY-OCCURRING FERTILIZERS. 
 
 Closely relating to the question of soil plant food is that of 
 fertilizers. In many parts of the Dominion are to be found vast 
 deposits of material rich in the elements nessary for plant growth. 
 These accum ilations of swamp muck, peat, marl, gypsum, moss, 
 river and tidal muds, seaweed, etc., etc., are all most valuable. 
 Their composition should be better known and their methods of 
 application more universally understood. Analyses made 
 in our laboratories have established the fact that swamp mucks 
 are nitrogenous fertilizers of a high order. In an air-dried con- 
 dition they will average per ton between 30 lbs. and 40 lbs. of 
 nitrogen which e'ement by suitable fermentation may be con- 
 verted into assimilable forms for crop use. Moreover, we have 
 ascertained that this material (air-dried) is an excellent absorbent 
 so that it can be used to advantage in and about our farm 
 buildings and indeed everywhere where there is liquid manure 
 to absorb. By its use in this way not only is the most valuable 
 portion of the manure saved from loss but the buildings, the farm 
 and the yard well kept clean. The fermentation that subsequently 
 ensues in the manure pile results in the production of a rich and 
 quick act" vj fertilizer. These deductions are drawn from over 
 one hundred analyses made by us of muck collected in the 
 various provinces of the Dominion. 
 
 A word or two about moss litter. During the past year an 
 investigation was made in our laboratories of samples of peat 
 moss from New Brunswick. The results obtained established a 
 high value for this substance as a bedding material. Its absorp- 
 tive capacity is high, the air-dried moss holding as much as 16 
 and 18 times its own weight of liquid. Not only is it useful in 
 keeping stables dry, but also preserves them free from odour, for 
 it has the property of absorbing ammonia and other gases. 
 Moss litter (principally species of Sphagnum) contains about 
 half of onepercentof nitrogen, as well as notable quantities of other 
 
Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture. 37 
 
 fertilizing ingredients. The resulting manure ferments well and 
 is of excellent quality. Here again we have an opportunity to 
 establish a lucrative business in Canada — one of value, not only 
 to agriculture but to commerce generally ; for moss litter is in great 
 demand for use in the stables of the larger cities of the United 
 States. 
 
 We must pass over our deposits of marl and gypsum, merely 
 recording the fact that our analytical work in the Farm labora- 
 tories has shown that we have, in many districts, in a cheap and 
 obtainable form just that element which many of our soils re- 
 quire to bring them into a high state of productiveness. 
 
 Seaweed from the Atlantic and P^ific coasts of Canada 
 has been analysed by us, and its value as a manure, on account 
 of the potash and nitrogen it contains, well established. The 
 ease and rapidity with which this fertilizer decays in the soil, 
 liberating its constituents in forms at once available for plant 
 use, greatly enhance its value. 
 
 The tidal deposits of the Maritime Provinces, and more 
 especially of the Bay of Fundy, have received careful examin- 
 ation at our hands. Their beneficial action has been shown to 
 depend not only upon the nitrogen and organic matter they con- 
 tain, but also upon the somewhat small amounts of the other 
 essential elements of fertility they possess or of the carbonate of 
 lime they supply. While not of the character of commercial 
 fertilizers in the quantities of plant food they contain, they are 
 undoubtedly valuable for many soils as amendments, both 
 chemically and physically. As they differ very much, it is 
 exceedingly difficult to speak of these muds as a class. While 
 some are but of the, nature of fair soil, others on examination 
 are found to contain notable quantities of nitrogen, potash, 
 phosphoric acid and lime. 
 
 FODDERS AND FARM CROPS GENERALLY. 
 
 There is now such a large accumulation of analytical data 
 respecting the composition of our native and introduced grasses, 
 clovers, Indian corn, roots of all kinds, cereals and milling bye- 
 
S8 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 products, that it will only be possible for me on the present occa- 
 sion to refer to a few of the more important features of this 
 work and to direct your attention to those conclusions that seem 
 to be of special interest to us as Canadians. 
 
 In 1888 we began an examination of our wheat, the results 
 being published in Bulletin No. 4 of the Experimental Farm 
 Series. That v.'or' was almost exclusively confined to wheat 
 grown in Manitoba and the North-West Territories. Not only 
 was the composition of the grain ascertained, but as far as 
 possible the influence of climate, soil and cultivation upon the 
 wheat were studied. Our analyses of the western wheats showed 
 besides other good features, a large percentage of albuminoids 
 (gluten). Both the physical and chemical data testified to the 
 excellent milling qualities and the high nutritive value of the 
 Red Fife as grown in the provinces referred to. The effect of 
 environment upon wheat is an interesting study, but one into 
 which we cannot to-night examine with minuteness. It must 
 suffice to state that the conditions of the North-West appear to 
 be particularly favourable to the increase in the most important 
 constituents of the wheat, viz: the albuminoids the percentage of 
 of albuminoids (or flesh-formers) present being the chief factor 
 used in grading and valuing wheat. 
 
 Further analytical work on Canadian cereals was that done 
 by me when acting as a professional juror at the World's 
 Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Of 166 samples of 
 wheat submitted to analysis, 49 were from Canada. The data, 
 which are published in my report now in press, again furnish 
 ample proof of the very excellent qualities of the wheat from 
 Manitoba and the North-West Territories. Indeed, the averages 
 from these provinces are fully equal to those afforded by the 
 best grain growing districts of the world. The .samples sub- 
 mitted by the Province of Ontario at this Exposition had not 
 been selected with care or skill, and, as a result, the general 
 Canadian average of quality appears to be much lower than it 
 really is. 
 
Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture. 39 
 
 From our analyses, the points in favour of Canadian oats 
 appear to be (i) a heavy kernel, (2) a low percentage of mois- 
 ture, (3) high albuminoids and (4) a large percentage of fat. It 
 must be remembered, however, that oats, like wheat, are greatly 
 influenced in composition by their conditions of growth, and, 
 therefore, while there are many samples exhibiting the qualities 
 I have mentioned, there are many districts in which by careful 
 cultivation the feeding value o*" the oats might be increased. 
 
 THE GRASSES? OF CANADA. 
 
 The enormous importance to our farmers, stock raisers and 
 dairymen of palatable, nutritious and cheap fodder led to a deter- 
 mination of the food constituents of man}' species of native and 
 introduced grasses. The ai:alytical data alread}' published have 
 been largely obtained from the examination of grasses grown 
 under the care of the Botanist of the Farm at Ottawa, though a 
 considerable number of samples from Manitoba were also 
 analysed. 
 
 Grasses may be divided into two agricultural classes ; pasture 
 grasses and meadow grasses, those of the first class springing up 
 well when eaten off, those of the second being characterized by 
 yielding a heavy crop of hay. The requirements of a good grass 
 are: (i) That it should produce a heavy crop ; (2) That it 
 should be hardy ; (3) That it should be rich in the more valuable 
 food constituents ; and (4) that it should be palatable. 
 
 Of native pasture grasses, I can speak in special com- 
 mendation of June Grass (For pratcnsis), a rich, palatable 
 perennial. In all respects it is a most excellent pasture grass, 
 abundant everywhere and worthy of more careful cultivation. 
 t\ cnvjt'ul Study of this grass (sometimes known as Kentucky 
 Blue Grass) led Mr. Fletcher, the Botanist of the Farms, and 
 myself to the conclusion that it was " undoubtedly the most 
 valuable pasture grass in the Dominion." 
 
 Red Top {Agrostis vulgaris), though not a native grass, is 
 now very common. This also is a valuable grass and one 
 
40 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 especially adapted for low lying lands, where it may well find a 
 place in permanent pasture mixtures. 
 
 Austrian Brome Grass {Bromus inermis) is an introduced 
 perennial, hardy, and a heavy cropper, producing a good after- 
 math of excellent feeding quality. By reason of the richness of 
 its composition and its luxuriant habit of growth, it is certainly 
 one of the most valuable of the introduced grasses. 
 
 Orchard Grass {Dactylis glotnerata). This is a grass which 
 responds well to liberal treatment, giving large crops on rich 
 soils and particularly suitable for shady pastures. 
 
 These must suffice as types or illustrations of our work in 
 the examination of Canadian grasses — the complete scries com- 
 prising nearly three hundred analyses. 1 would, however, refer 
 to some general conclusions, drawn from this investigation, 
 regarding the right period at which to cut for hay. 
 
 In analysing the same grass at different stages of growth, it 
 was noticed that certain changes of composition take place as 
 the plant approaches maturity ; the percentages of water, ash and 
 albuminoids and fat decrease, while the percentage of fibre and 
 usually the nitrogen free extract increase. In the younger stages, 
 the grass is more succulent and palatable, and our work also 
 shows that it is during the earlier weeks of growth that the plant's 
 nitrogen and mineral matter are taken from the soil — which point 
 to the advisability of thoroughly preparing the seed bed by culti- 
 vation and fertilizing, and to the value of top dressings with 
 nitrate of soda while the crop is still young. 
 
 Further, the data we obtained allow us to infer that a loss 
 of much valuable and digestible food material occurs when a 
 grass is allowed to thoroughly mature before it is cut for hay. 
 Scientific evidence is all in favor of cutting at or shortly after 
 the flowering period. 
 
 INDIAN CORN. 
 
 h 
 
 No account of the coarse or bulky fodder plants of Canada 
 would be complete without some reference to the character of 
 the Indian corn crop, one which ranks next in importance to 
 
Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture. 41 
 
 grass, and certainly the one which above all others has made 
 winter dairying possible and profitable. 
 
 Owing to the large yields obtained and its succulent and 
 nutritious character, corn furnishes one of the best and certainly 
 the cheapest of our bulky fodders. An immense amount of 
 chemica' work has been done in our laboratories to ascertain, (i) 
 the requirements of this crop, (2) the relative value of certain 
 varieties for feeding purposes, and (3) the best time for cutting, 
 whether for the silo or for preservation in <he dry condition. 
 Our data on this subject are voluminous. I can now but refer 
 to one or two of the more important conclusions. 
 
 Analyzing the principal varieties at five different stages of 
 of growth and ascertaining the weight of the crop per acre at 
 the same periods, we learned that a variety coming to early 
 maturity (known as the glazing condition) would at that stage 
 afford nearly twice as much real cattle food per acre than if cut 
 a month earlier. The more practical deductions Irom our 
 chemical work may be summarized as follows : 
 
 1. That the ground should be well prepared and rich in 
 available plant food constituents, and more especially in potash. 
 
 2. That such varieties should be planted as will in all 
 probability come to maturity before danger from frost. 
 
 3. That corn should not be sown broadcast ; for vigorous 
 growth and in order to come to maturity it requires plenty of 
 room for both roots and leaves. 
 
 4. That cutting either for the silo or for drying in stock 
 should be delayed (unless it is touched by early frost) until the 
 corn reaches the glazing condition. 
 
 Other fodder crops, including clover, beans, rye, and roots 
 of all kinds, have been carefully studied and their requirements 
 and relative feeding values made ktKwn for the guidance of our 
 farmers. Since the profits in farming to-day depend as much 
 upon cheap production as upon good prices ; the value of the 
 knowledge of cheap and efficient feeding materials is obvious. 
 
42 
 
 The Ottawa Naturalist. 
 
 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 
 
 Canadian Horticulturists are being assisted by the chemical 
 investigations instituted with the view of ascertaining the 
 special requirements ot our fruit trees. The knowledge thus 
 afforded will lead, I trust, to the more economic and profitable 
 application of fertilizers. Already reports on the chemistry of 
 the apple and strawberry have been published, and further con- 
 tributions will be issued .s^.^rtly. 
 
 Spraying in order to prevent and check the ravages of 
 insects and fungous foes is now recognized as an indispensable 
 operation by all progressive orchardists. Without Bordeaux 
 mixture and Paris green we can no longer gather a harvest of 
 apples free from spot and the inroads of the Codling Moth. It 
 has been our duty, therefore, to examine into the chemistry of 
 these insecticides and fungicides, in order to obtain an exact 
 knowledge of their constitution, modes of action and best 
 methods of preparation. 
 
 n 
 
 WELL WATERS OF FARM HOMESTEADS. 
 
 Of the many lines of research in Agricultural Chemistry 
 that we have prosecuted since the establishment of our labora- 
 tories, few have been of greater importance than the examination 
 of the well waters of Canadian farm homesteads. Though the 
 natural waters of the Dominion as found in the rivers, lakes and 
 springs are the purest, the equal in wholesomeness and good 
 quality of the best to be found in any country, the water used 
 by the farmer and his cattle is too often of a most pernicious 
 character. It is very much to be regretted that so many of the 
 samples received by us from farmers were seriously polluted. It 
 would appear that our farmers have been in the habit of locating, 
 for convenience sake, the well in the barnyard or stable, or 
 dangerously near some contaminating source. The result of 
 this is that many wells are acting as cess-pits, and their impure 
 waters are reeking with organic filth and disease- producing germs. 
 We have at last awakened such an interest in this vital ques- 
 
 n 
 
 .) 
 
Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture. 
 
 43 
 
 tion by the publication of our results and by addresses before 
 conventions of farmers that concerted action by Ontario dairy- 
 men is spoken of towards compelling all those sending milk to 
 a creamery or cheese factory to have an ample supply of pure, 
 fresh water, free from all drainage matter. 
 
 In the foregoing resume I have not been able even to 
 mention many important branches of work undertaken by the 
 Chemical Division of the Experimental Farms. To those who 
 would know more of the ways in which we endeavour to help 
 Canadian agriculturists, or who may wish for further details of 
 the work which I have brought before you to-night in outline, 
 I would suggest the perusal of our annual reports and bulletins. 
 
 The national importance and value of these chemical 
 investigations will be apparent when we reflect that Canada is 
 essentially an agricultural countr}', that her future progress as a 
 nation must in a very large measure be proportionate to the 
 progress of her agricultural industries. It is not for me on this 
 occasion to speak o. her minerals and forests (which undoubt- 
 edly are stores of untold wealth) ; but it is my privilege and duty to 
 say that I believe her to be a great food-producing country, 
 that her prosperity lies chiefly in the pursuit of agriculture, in 
 producing butter and cheese, in stock raising, in fruit-growing 
 and in the cultivation of grain. 
 
 ...)