DR. J. S. SHOEMAKER, Head of Horticulture Department, Ontario Agricultural College.
Our President, Mr. W. R. Reek, had hoped to be here in person to extend this welcome to you but he has found it necessary to go to Toronto today. He regrets that he cannot meet with you at this time, and has asked me to welcome you. Mr. Reek has shown a great deal of interest in this convention and I am sure you will find definite evidence of this in our hospitality while you are here.
In looking through your 37th Annual Report I noticed that the address of welcome at your meeting in Wooster, Ohio, last year was given by Dr. L. H. Gourley. I held the position of Associate Horticulturist at Wooster and Columbus for some 10 years, and so knew Dr. Gourley intimately. His sudden death was a great shock to myself and his many other friends, and a great loss to horticulture. My 10 years with Dr. Gourley was a very pleasant, helpful, and exceedingly important part of my career.
I am very happy that you have come to the Ontario Agricultural College for your convention this year. As a simple matter of fact, the O. A. C. is one of the oldest and largest colleges of agriculture in the British Empire. It is the second oldest agriculture college in North America, Michigan State being the only older one.
We are an affiliated college of the University of Toronto and function as the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Toronto. I believe the enrollment at the University of Toronto is in the neighborhood of 18,000 students.
There will be about 1,500 students on this campus in a few weeks. Most of these will be in the four-year course which leads to the B.S.A. degree. Some will be in the two-year course. The Ontario Veterinary College is also located on this campus, as is the MacDonald Institute which provides courses for girls.
The O. A. C, like the Horticultural Experiment Station at Vineland, comes under the Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable T. L. Kennedy. The Vineland Station and we ourselves co-operate closely in horticultural work. No doubt many of you have visited Vineland and met Director E. F. Palmer. You will hear from two members of the Vineland staff, Mr. Strong and Mr. Van Haarlem on tomorrow's programme.
I spent some 13 years in the United States—at Ames, Iowa; East Lansing, Michigan; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Wooster and Columbus, Ohio. There are in this audience some good friends of long standing whom I first met in the United States. They are probably surprised to hear that I graduated from this institution, but as an Irishman would say "That I did," some 26 years ago.
I expect that all of you are familiar with the contributions made by James A. Neilson in the field of nut growing. Mr. Neilson was a member of the staff here some years ago. He left his mark throughout Ontario, and in the field of nut growing in general. We are happy that Mrs. Neilson, who is a life member of the Association, is attending this Convention.
I am sure you will agree that the campus here is a very beautiful one. The dining hall and the residence may surpass what you expected to find. It is a real privilege to have you in our Horticulture building. We made certain plans for your entertainment at the mixer and banquet. In brief, we are delighted that you have come, we know from the programme that the meetings will be good ones, and we hope that our hospitality will meet with your full approval. We indeed welcome you here.