Old tires find use in orchards Peach and apple trees at the University's and it has a superior capacity for holding Preston research station last fall were bedded moisture. down for the winter — with a rather strange- Tire fabric, which generally consists of News Bulletin looking substance spread on the ground around nylon, rayon and other synthetics, adds little them. It is gray in colour, with the texture of organic matter to the soil and is relatively low sponge rubber and the consistency of old in plant nutrients. However, like straw mulch, mattress stuffing. it holds moisture and insulates against tem­ Its function in the orchard is to replace perature changes. And it has two advantages the straw normally placed around fruit tre over straw: it decomposes relatively slowly trees. But its original function was to bind (so that new mulch need only be added together tires, perhaps on your own car. In perhaps every fourth year, instead of every short, it is fabric from old auto tires, being year); and it is less attractive nesting material UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH recycled by tire manufacturers, who can no for mice, who often damage fruit trees by longer burn it, and do not have the space to eating the bark. As regards cost, tire fabric Vol. 16 — No. 6 February 10, 1972 dump it. can be relatively low-priced. At the moment, The problem of disposing of old tires tire companies just want to get rid of the stuff, might seem minor enough. Yet when you says Professor Teskey. They hope to sell it at Graduate enrolment consider that more than a million motor some price to help defray the costs of pro­ vehicles wear out their tires on Ontario cessing, but they're not primarily interested in topic of COU brief roads, it takes on considerable magnitude. In making a profit in this field. And, although the end, says Professor B. J. Teskey of the the fruit-growing industry use a considerable Policies for graduate enrolment in relation to University's Horticultural Science Department, portion of the material that is available, it requirements for academic staff in Ontario tire manufacturers are left with mountains of can't take all of it. universities were submitted by the Council of worn-out rubber tires which they must some­ Research into tire-fabric mulch began Ontario Universities in a brief to the Ontairo how get rid of. The "rubber" is not a problem. several years ago when Professor Teskey Committee on University Affairs. It can be extracted and put to various uses. put a quantity of it around Montmorency The three-part brief deals with problems But great quantities of fabric, for which little cherry trees — trees that are unusually in forecasting requirements for academic use has been found, are still left over. susceptible to changes in growing conditions. staff, in analyzing supply and demand "Therefore," says Professor Teskey, "we have It caused no adverse side-effects and produced comparisons and outlines principles and been testing this material as mulch. And, in a growth rate comparable to that for trees suggested policies for graduate enrolment and the work we have done so far, it seems to mulched with straw. As a result, Professor financial support. have definite possibilities for this." Teskey received a large number of inquiries Continuing questions and concerns raised Mulch around fruit trees has a number of and was given 3,000 additional pounds of the about the steady expansion of various graduate purposes. It acts as a sponge that keeps fabric for further research. This material is programs, the numbers and influence of non- moisture in the soil, by absorbing rainfall now being used at the Preston research farm Canadian university teachers, and the alleged and by reducing evaporation. It serves as an with several varieties of peaches and apples, "overproduction" of graduate degrees in insulator which reduces temperature fluctua­ which are growing on varying types of soil. Canada prompted the assemblage of this brief. tions in the ground by as much as 10° F in Testing of the fabric may, over the next More recently, the Ontario Government's both summer and winter. It smothers weeds, several years, yield considerable additional cutback in numbers of graduate fellowships so that they do not compete with the trees information. In this way, a new farming and limitations on the permissible amount of for soil nutrients and moisture. And finally, practice may be developed that promotes earnings for graduate students appear to have in the case of organic matter that is used as conservation and avoids the pollution that contributed to a dampening of enrolment mulch, it improves soil structure: for soil would be caused by burning waste fabric, as growth. that is high in organic matter holds soil well as utilizing what may well prove to be an The maximum impact of curtailment nutrients so that they are more readily avail­ excellent material for mulching fruit trees. decisions based on various forecasts will be able for plant growth; it has better aeration; felt four to five years later in the case of Ph.D. students. Restrictive policies applied in the next few years to meet the problems of an alleged surplus of graduate degree holders may cause a deficit of such holders by 1980, a deficit which, as COU has argued, could not then be corrected until 1984-85. The COU brief urges that any surplus which may now exist be viewed "not as a surplus in the real sense but a reservoir of talent which should be allocated to the many problems of a public policy nature facing our Canadian society." Ontario universities at present have an adequate supply of junior Canadian staff in most disciplines, but have found a serious shortage of experienced senior Canadian academics for teaching, research and adminis­ trative positions, especially in the social and Professor B. J. Teskey, standing, a member of the Horticultural Science Department, inspects health sciences. tire fabric being tested as orchard mulch at the University's Preston research station late last fall. OVC students host Probe 72 at Guelph Place: Room 105, Physical Sciences building, Hospital Association, Practitioner — Toronto. 1:30 p.m. University of Guelph. Economic and Management Considerations in Dr. W. J. Kay, Head, Department of Medicine, Time: February 12, at 9:00 a.m. Small Animal Practice. Animal Medical Center, New York, N.Y., 9:45 a.m. Role of the Large Private Non-Profit Veterin­ The topic of the symposium will concern Dr. D. MacKay, Practitioner — Peterborough, ary Medical Institution in Clinical Veterinary the opportunities and developments occurring Establishment and Opportunities of Large Medicine. Discussion. in the practice of veterinary medicine, and Animal Group Practices. 2:30 p.m. the changing roles confronting the practitioner, 10:30 a.m. Dr. G. Abbott, President of American Animal student and teacher. Dr. W. Henry, Practitioner — Weymouth, Hospital Association, Worcester, Mass., Mass., Central Hospitalization and Out-Patient Veticare Programs in Small Animal Practice. PROGRAM Clinics. Discussion. 9:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 3:30 p.m. Dr. T. L. Jones, Department of Pathology, Floor discussion with a panel of guest speakers A panel discussion: Veticare Programs in Discussion of the Recent Manpower Survey Dr. K. R. Gadd, Dr. D. MacKay and Dr. W. Small Animal Practice. for Veterinary Medicine. Henry. 4:15 p.m. 9:15 a.m. 12:00 Dr. D. Howell, Dean of OVC — The Changing Dr. K. R. Gadd, Treasurer, American Animal Noon break. Role. Wright commission report^ Propose sweeping changes for post-secondary education Ontario's post-secondary education system sioners, "that the basic purpose of education February 15 meeting. In addition the could be drastically changed if the recom­ is learning; that learning cannot but he, commission will hold a public "feedback" mendations made by the Commission on Post- ultimately, a highly individual matter." meeting in London on Monday, March 20. Secondary Education in Ontario are accepted Secondly, the report points out that if the Following is an interview with University by the provincial government. individual is at the centre, he must have the of Guelph President W. C. Winegard who The 112 page draft report spells out the opportunity and responsibility to decide what discusses his reaction to the brief. views of the 13-member commission, often educational experience is best for him. News Bulletin: What are the basic themes of referred to as the Wright Commission, after "The whole spectrum of educational ser­ the commission's brief? its chairman, Douglas Wright. It was com­ vices must be available to him," say the Dr. Winegard: There are three: post secondary missioned in 1969 by William Davis who was commissioners, "not just a degree program, a education should be available to all persons; then Minister of Education and Minister of certification process, or what the institution it should be a continuous process throughout University Affairs. thinks may benefit him." life; there should be several ways of obtaining Much of the report deals with the place of The third point stressed in the report is it, both through present means and new the individual in society and education. the belief that educational services should be methods. "The individual must be central," it says. available to all citizens throughout their "Behind the millions of computer punch lives, not just for a number of years immedi­ N.B. Will the recommendations in the report, cards, B.I.U. units, formulae and mountains ately following high school graduation. if adopted, result in savings in education costs? of paper shifted, filed, stockpiled, xeroxed, "If education is man-centred," says the Dr.