w IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 [fi I.I M IIIII2J ■- iwm IIIII2 2 ^^^^ Hill ^'^ It |f country is capable of giving as large a wheat yield per acre as the heavier lands of Manitoba. (See Manitoba Crop Eeports of 1883.) 2nd — That a fair crop can be obtained the first year of settlement on breaking. 3rd — That for fall seeding with spring grain on the western plains, a satis- factory result cannot be looked for with any degree of certainty. 4th — That cereals, roots, and garden produce can be successfully raised at an elevation of 3000 feet above the sea level. 5th — That seeding can be done sufficiently early to allow of all the crop being hnrvested before the first of September. '«•• WEATHER REPORTS. 5ee an SECRETAN. MAPI.E CREEK. GLEICKN. May 1881. May- 1881. May- 1881. 10— Cloudy. 10— Light rain during night. 11— Light steady rain. 12-Clear. 12— Light rain. 12— Light frost, no damage to 13- '• 13-Clear. grain or garden. 13— Brij^ht ana clear. 11- " 16— •' 1»- '* 17- " L>-Clear. 16- " 19— Light shower. 20- '^ 16- " 17— Cloudy, rain during iiiKht. 17— Ijght rain. 21— (Tear, alight frost, no da 18-Foggy. 21-Clear. 19— Clear. Light rain during 22— " mage. night. 23— (No report received.) 22-Clear. 20— Cloudy. Light shower du- 21- 23— " ring night. 25- 26— Light showers. 21— Rain during night l-20th 26— Light shower. 27- of an inch. 27— Cloudy. 28— Steady rain. 22-Clear. 28— Rain. 23- " 29— Light rain 21— " 30-Clear. 25- " 31- " 26- " 27- " 28-Cloudy. 2&- " Rain 2-5ths of inch. 30-Clear. • 31- Cloudy. June June— June— 1— Clear. 3 -Clear. 1— Clear. 2- " 1 -Cloudy. 2— " 3- " 5— Rain. 1— Heavy rain during nighc 1— Cloudy. Rain 1-lOth inch. 6— Steady rain. 5— Showery. 5— Cloudy. 6— " Heavy rain all night 7— Light rain 6— Light rain. 9- " 7- ' 7— Clear. Steady rain from 8 10— " 8 — Light showers. a. m. to 3.30 p. m. 11- Rain all day 10— Clear. 8— Clear. Light rain at night. 12- " 13— Heavy rain 9 " 13— Light shower. U-Cloudy. 10- " 11— Cloudy. 15— Heavy rain. 11— Cloudy. Heavy rain. 16— Hail storm. 16— " and thunder. 12- " 17-Clear. 18-Clear. 13— Rain. (8- " 20— " 11— Cloudy. Heavy rain and 19- '• 21— •' thunder storm, Jin. rain. 20- " 23— Heavy rain during night. 16— Cloudy. Light rain. 21— Rain. 21— Heavy rain. 17— Clear. 22— Clear. 25— ^'ceady warm rain 18- " 23-Cloudy. 26— Rain m morning. 19- " 21— Heavy Rain. 2&-Clcar. 20— " 2i- " 21— Cloudy. Light rain. 26— Cloudy. 22— Clear. 27— Light rain showers. 23- " 28— Raining. 21— Heavy rain, li in. at niijht 25— Clear. Heavy showers du- 29—Showery. 30-Cloudy. ring night. 26— Cloudy. Heavy rain. 27— Clear. Light rain 9 p. m. 28— Cloudy, light rain at night •29- " 30— Clear. July July— July— 1— Cloudy, 3-10th8lnch rain 1— Clear. 2— Rain in afternoon. during night. 2— Cloudy. 1 Showery. 2— Cloudy. 3- " 12- Cloudy. 3— " 1— Liglit rain. 13 -Light showers. 1— " MOth in. rain at night 5— Clear. n -Steady rain. .>— Heavy rain showers. 6-Cloudy. 7— Heavy rain. 15 -Rain. 8— Light shower 16— Steady rain. 7— 3-lOthB inch rain at night. 9-Clear. 17— SECRETAN. WEATHER REPOET CONTINUED. MAPLE CREEK. SLEICHEN. t I i »— Light showers. 9-Clear. ! 10- '• i 11- " 12— Cloudy. la-CIear. 14— Cloudy. 15— Clear. 16— 1-dth inch rain at night. 17— Steady rain. 18— Clear. 19- " 20— " Light thunder show- ers during night. 21-Cloudy. 22— Clear. 23— " 24 " 25— Cloudy. Heavy thunder storm. 26-Clear. 27- " 28— Cloudy. 29- " 30— Light rain. 31- ACGUST 1— Heavy rain during night. 2— Heavy rain, 3— Clear. 4- " 5— Cloudy. 6— Clear. 7— Cloudy. 8— Rain. 9— Tight rain showers duringi i light. 11— Clear. 12- " 13-Cloudy. I 15— Light rain during night. | 16— Clear. Light frost. Grain! not touched. ; 17— Cloudy. 18— Rain and thunder storm 19-Clear. 20- " 21— Light rain during night. 22— Showery during night. 23— Clear. 24-Cloudy. 25— Clear. 26— " 27— Cloudy. 88— Clear. 29 " 31-Cloudy. Skptembkr 1— Light shower during night 2— Cloudy 3— Heavy rain during night. 4— Light rain. 5— Steady rain all night. 7— Cloudy. Light frost. Grain not hurt. 8— Steady rain all night. 9— Cloudy. Light frost. Har- vestmg completed. 10— Clear. Heavy frobt. 11- Cloudy, light rain at night 12- " " i 13- " I 15- " I 10— Clear. 11-Cloudy. 12- " 14- Heavy shower. 15— Clear. 16— St«ady rain. 17- " 18— Light Shower 20-Clear. 21- " 2»- " 24— Cloudy. 26-Clear. 27— " 28— Light shower. 29— Clear. 3Q •> 31-Cloudy. I 21— Clear. 1 22— Thunder shower. ! 23— Clear. 24- " 28— Thunder shower. 29— Light shower. 31— Light rain. August— 1— Heavy rain 2— Steady rain. 4-Clear 5— " 6- " 9— " 11- " 12- " 13- " 14— Light rain. 15 — " showers. 16— Cloudy. 18- " 19-Clear 20- " 21- " 22- " 23- " 25- " 26- " 27- " 28- " 29- " 30- " September- 1— Clear. 2- " 3-Rain. 4 — Light rain. 5— Steady rain. 6- " 7— Clear. 8— Heavy rain during night. Light fall of snow. 9— Cloudy. Light fall of snow. 10— Heavy shower. 12- Light rain. 13- '^ 16- " NT August— 1 — Steady rain. 2— Light rain. 3-Clear. 6- " -. ': 8- •' 9- " 11- " 12— •' 14— Rain. 15-Cloudy. IB— Clear, slight frost, no da- mage. 17— Light rain during night. 18 -Heavy rain shower and hail. 19— Clear. 20- " 21-Rain. 22-Clear. 23- " 25- " 26- " 27-CIoudy. 28— " Skptembeb- 3— Showery, 4- " 5- " 6— Heavy rain showerd. 7— Clear, heavy frost, 8— Uleai. 9- " 10-Cloudy. 12— Steady rain. 13- 15— Heavy rain. NOTB.— Some of tlie reports were ratslald, otliers were not recelveil owing t« tlie (UgnrranKeiiientol'the wires and other causes. Similar reports were received t^-oni several other farms. These are open for Inspection at the office of the Company in Winnipeg. The above were chosen as being from the farms at the remote ends and centre of the district. It was thought a fair Idea could In this way be arrived at throughout. t Opinions on tlie Soil and ProJncts of tlie Experiinental Farms. i !.« da- ht. Ind of the )eu for at the gliout. Views expressed by the Honorable Alexander MacKenzie, late Premier of the Dominion of Canada : " I arran^i'ed to visit seven out of the ten experimental farms commenced by the railway company, to ascertain first the effect of the alkali deposits, which prevailed to fiome extent in some districts, upon cereals and roots, and secondly, to ascertain what the result was in a general way of these farms, considering soil and climate. I observed throughout the whole length of the re ad that there was scarcely any poor soil to be »een. In quarters, notably between Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw, there was an appearance of dryness in the general aspect of the prairie visible, which was not apparent where the land had been ploughed. There is a sort of crispness in the grass in some places that would seem to indicate a prevailing dryness. This, however, is not uniformly the case. What is known as buffalo grass, where it has a dry appearance, still continues to pre- serve its nutritious qualities, and cures as well standing as if cut. Such is the general statement made co me by old settlers. I visited seven out ol the ten experimental farms, namely, those at Gleichen, 784 miles from Winnipeg ; Tilley, 713 miles; Stair, 668 miles; Dunmore, 650 miles ; Forres, 615 miles ; Maple Creek, 596 miles, and Gull Lake, 546 miles from Winnipeg. The three not visited, although they were within sight, are those at Swift Current, Rush Lake and Secretan, the latter being 442 miles west of Winni- peg. The whole of these farms cover a district of about 350 miles from east to west. The farms should evidently be taken as a test of the capabilities of the country for farming operation^, and the suit- ability of the climate, I was careful to observe the quality of the crops, as well as the respective kinds. The wheat was uniformly a fair crop, not as heavy as some seen in the district around Calgary or in Manitoba, but would probably average from 17 to 20 bushels to the acre. One remarkable feature of the whole country is the num- ber of stalks of grain from one kernel. In one instance we counted no fewer than forty-six heads from one root. The oats and pease yielded a fair crop, while rcots, such as potatoes and turnips, showed quite as good a result as any of the larnis in better known districts of Manitoba On several of the farms I observed tomatoes (in one case nearl}'' ripe), melons, cucumbers and citrons. The district em braced bv these axperimental farms covers the larger part of the i — 14 — district generally believed to be more or less arid in its chai-acter, and .subject to alkali deposits — alkali, however, is found in the Pro- vince of Manitoba as well as in the North- wesc and western districts. In the vicinity of Brandon, for instance, I observed considerable por- tions of the fields showing traces of alkali deposits. The uniform tes- timony of those who have cultivated the lands where alkali prevails is to the effect that it is worked out of the land after a few croppings. Some authorities, notably Professor Macoun, maintain that it does not at all injure the land. There is no doubt, however, but what it affects at least the first crop, and, I think, probably one or two others, more or less prejudically. Some of the fields I observed near Brandon where an excellent crop was carried, showed a spot here and there of inferior quality, such inferiority being the result, so I was informed, of alkali deposits. As to the quality of the soil from the Red River to the mountains it will be pronounced equal to any other tract of country, although there is a considerable quantity of poor land in some places, but the percentage ot such lands is small over the whole area. Immediately around Winnipeg, for many miles westward, southward, and northward, the soil is exceedingly rich, and only wants draining in some parts to make it the most fer- tile land m the world. The central district, which I have just des- cribed in connection with the experimental farmw, may be consider- ed a continuation of the quality of land which prevails from Bran- don westward to Regina and Moose Jaw. In some places the soil is comparatively shallow, and will require careful farming to maintain itself, but, generally speaking the aoil is deep and good. Some dis- tricts well north of the railway, described by Palliser as more or less arid and sandy, I did not see." The Hon. Sir- Hector Langevin, in his speech at the banquet tendered to him in Winnipeg, referred to the farms and the country in which they are placed in the following terms : " The soil was so good that he had not found an acre of bad land in all his travels. There had been stories about a great desert, but it did not exist. In place of barren, sterile land, there was a very good fertile country. He had visited the 0. P. R. model farms in order to ascertain whether the land there was as good as in other parts of the Northwest and in Manitoba where settlers had established themselves. He had come at this period of the year to see the crop standing, and also in places after they had been cut. He had found on these C. P. R. experimental farms most beautiful wheat, also the best oats possible, also flourishing roots. The fatras were as good as the best in the country. At Calgary there were some of the best farms he had seen. Some of the best settlers from the eastern town- ships in the Province of Quebec were about to settle there, after having examined carefully the land." 4 m i 4? 1 — 15 — Opinion of ^\r Richard Temple, a prominent member of the British Assoeiatiovi for the Advancement of Science: " Ahnost everywhere they saw rich soil. Most of them had ex- pected that they would find tracts <»f arid waste, or that if they saw lich soil it would l^e largely interspersed with specimens of gravel, rock, and soil not suitable for cultivation; but this idea })roved to be entirely false, for he declared without exaggeration that on the whole way from Winnipeg to the foot of the Rockies there was hardly a foot of ground that did not seem to be capable of being turned to human use. Estimating the distance to the foot of the Rockies at a thousand miles, there was for this distance one unbroken area of land more or less fertile and capable of being turned to the advantage of man. Cereals were grown upon many farms exclusively ; some of the greatest farms in the country were wheat farms almost entirely. They saw in many parts of the country specimens or exhibits of the products of the farm. The C. P. R. Company had set a very excellent example by having model or pattern farms close along the line of railway, to show that the countiy was capaV^le of producing. In in- specting these, while they find nothing to equal the monster cabbages shown at the exhibition here, yet they saw good turnips and pota- toes. They had heard in England that there woukl be great diffi- culty in growing wheat at the altitude of this country, it being too high above the sea, but this idea was entii-ely falsified by what they saw, for wheat grew well 2,000 feet above the sea; at Calgary at 3,000 feet; and at Padmore at 3,.500 feet. Hence there j was noth- ing in the altitude of this country to prevent wheat being grown on an immense scale." Facts to be Remembered. The Cniiadiaii Pacific Kaihvav owns the odd numbered sections contained in a 'oeU twenty-fbui- miles on each side of their line between Winni}H'j4' and tlie Kockv Mountains. The Company select only lands fit for settlement. These selected lan