The Rural Voice, 1983-01, Page 40N — — — E
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All the staff from
RYAN
DRYING
LTD.
wish everyone a very Merry
Christmas and a healthy and
prosperous New Year.
Thank you for your patronage in
1982.
Brussels
887-9261
Walton
Seaforth
527-0527
PG. 40 THE RURAL VOICE, JANUARY 1983
111111=1111STRIKING BACK
Ontario Agriculture Commission
Origins and Proceedings
by Detonator Dan
The publication in 1981 of the Agricultural Statistics for Ontario
marked one hundred years of continuous publication. I personally
had the opportunity to acquire a copy of the 1881 Ontario
Agricultural Commission Report, and in the next few issues of
The Rural Voice, will undertake to share some of the report's con-
tents with you.
The Honourable John Beverly Robinson, the Lieutenant -
Governor of Ontario. at the time, received the report of the Com-
missioners.
The mandate of the Commission, by Order in Council, April 3,
1880, was to "inquire into the Agriculture resources of the Pro-
vince of Ontario, the progress and condition of Agriculture therein
and matters connected therewith".
The method used in 1880 by the Commission to gather informa-
tion was as follows. The first action was to circulate to all
townships, to the reeves and clerks, a series of questions related
to the Commission's mandate, with persons being invited to
council meetings. to consider questions and prepare answers.
At the same time, oral examinations of competent witnesses
were held in Toronto and other areas such as Seaforth and
Teeswater. The Commission also visited certain areas of the pro-
vince, attending to such business as cheese factories, vineyards,
and horse -breeding establishments. Certain Commission
members further elected to visit Great Britain, the U.S.A., and
Manitoulin Island.
Many papers were received by the Commission, such as letters
on forestry and arboriculture, distillery feeding of cattle, and
various breeds of cattle and horses. Further, the veterinary
surgeons throughout the province presented information as to
various stock diseases.
The Commission, with great reluctance, had to leave some
areas untouched, such as employment of labour, and labour sav-
ing devices on the farm, the comparative merits of the system of
land ownership, with that of leasing or renting farms, more par-
ticularly in the case of small capitalists and the holders of en-
cumbered farm properties. (Have situations really changed in 100
years?)
The Commission appeared to show constraint in their dealings
with agriculture associations and shows, and "The Grants".
Recognizing the importance of the circumstances, the Commis-
sion recommended that the Government itself consider the above
areas.
In the next few issues we will share the Commission's Report of
1881 on such subjects as fruit growing, forestry and arboriculture,
insects, "Thoroughbred Bulls", livestock feeding, "The Clear
Grits", salt, gypsum and bonemeal, education, meteorology,
Muskoka and Manitoulin Island.
Next month, we will delve into the subject of fruit growing in
1881. Do you know how many barrels of apples were packed in
Huron County in 1879? When was the Fruit Growers Association
of Ontario formed? And did you know that Gravenstein and Ken-
tish Fillbasket are names of apple varieties?
Detonator Dan (a pseudonym as you may have guessed) is a prac-
tising farmer in the boondocks of Colborne Township, Huron
County.
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