Successful Initiatives 215 
     
    
   
   
    
     circles for egg production. The latter were established on the Island 
     
     in 1913 and regrouped the following year to form the Egg and Poultry 
     
     Co-operative Association of Prince Edward Island''®. This movement 
     
     proved to be important for farmers since the sale of eggs brought in 
     
     an appreciable income. We should also add that the institutes took 
     
     a keen interest in the younger generation, and organized school fairs 
     
     and clubs for young livestock producers. 
     
    

    
     One of the main accomplishments of the institutes in the parishes 
     
     of Egmont Bay and Mont Carmel was the organization of an agricultural 
     
     fair. In 1903, the Urbainville branch of the Union Institute decided 
     
     to organize an exhibition for its members. The event was so successful 
     
     that it was repeated the following year but with the participation of 
     
     the other Egmont Bay branches. The ones in the parish of Mont 
     
     Carmel joined in 1905; thus was formed the Egmont Bay and Mont 
     
     Carmel Exhibition Association which is still operating today'"'. 
     
    

    
     Acadian priests played an important role in the organization and 
     
     promotion of these societies. Some of them were influential farmers 
     
     who practised the best methods of cultivation and livestock produc- 
     
     tion. Disposing of greater financial means than most Acadians, they 
     
     were able to procure purebred stock, the best seeds and the most 
     
     modern farm machinery. Father Pierre-Célestin Gauthier was first 
     
     president, then secretary of the institute in Palmer Road. Father Pierre- 
     
     Paul Arsenault’s influence was felt in Mont Carmel for a long time. 
     
     When he died in 1927, someone wrote: “He merits the title of the 
     
     apostle of agriculture and co-operation for his work towards the im- 
     
     provement of agriculture, and for his help in the founding of the 
     
     Farmers’ Clubs, Agricultural Fairs, and the Prince Edward Island Co- 
     
     operative Egg and Poultry Association and many other such ventures 
     
     (TR)'”. Monseigneur Jean Chiasson from Rustico and Father F-X. 
     
     Gallant, a priest in Bloomfield and Egmont Bay, also distinguished 
     
     themselves as leaders through their support of Acadian farmers. 
     
    
   
   
    
     LAND USE 
     
    
   
   
    
     Based on the dairy industry, mixed farming gradually replaced 
     
     extensive farming which, as we have seen, produced mainly oats and 
     
     potatoes for export. The new system helped to maintain the fertility 
     
     of the soil.