News from our rich agriculture history

The Farms.com farm and rural history website is dedicated to celebrating and digitizing the last 150 years of success in the Canadian agriculture and food industry. The agriculture and food industries in Canada have a rich heritage of innovation, and have laid a foundation of excellence upon which we continue to grow. We celebrate Canada’s food and agriculture innovations on these pages.
Ontario
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | OCTOBER 30, 1919 | THE FARMER'S ADVOCATE

A greater political surprise was never sprung on the Province of Ontario than that of October 20, when a Government was unmistakably defeated, and yet no party gained a victory of ample proportions to place it in command. Prior to the election there were no accusations against the Hearst Government of sufficient seriousness to make its return doubtful, and practically everyone looked for Sir

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REFORESTATION

This cartoon originally appeared in the March 9, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It is a humorous depiction of the reforestation spirit that was sweeping the nation

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Dolly Pin

This is an example of a dolly pin, a device used to launder clothes in the pre-washing machine era. Like with most laundry equipment from the depths of antiquity, the

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Calls for Officials to “Crack Down” on Careless Corn Growers
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | OCTOBER 5, 1940 | CANADIAN COUNTRYMAN

The season of corn harvest is again at hand, and apparently we have quite an increase in corn borer infestation.

It is probable that weather conditions prevailing during the growing season will be blamed for this increase in borers. However, here is one farmer who believes that weather conditions are not the only cause of increased damage by this voracious insect. In many districts

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lives lived

W.A. Dryden

MAY 29, 1881 - NOVEMBER 18, 1949

William Arthur Dryden was born on May 29, 1881 at Maple Shade Farm in the township of Whitby, Ontario. As the third of four generations of Dryden’s that inhabited lot 20, concession 7, W.A. (or ‘Bill’ as he was known to his friends and neighbours) brought international distinction to Maple Shade Farm in the breeding of cattle and sheep. In addition to his work in cementing the legacy of Maple Shade, Dryden also maintained a professional career that saw him take on major roles in a number of organizations dedicated to the promotion and betterment of Canadian

William Harrison Cook

1903 - 1998

Born in Alnwick England in 1903 William Harrison Cook moved to Canada at the age of eight where he was raised on an Alberta farmstead. It was on this farmstead where Mr. Cook developed an interest in agriculture which influenced his choice in education. He first began his education at the School of Agriculture in Claresholm, Alberta before moving to the University of Alberta and finally Stanford University where he graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

During his studies Mr. Cook met Robert Newton, a plant biochemist. Mr. Cook assisted the man with his research on the drying of

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