84 EXPERIUEXTAL FARMS 



1-2 EDWARD VII., A. 1902 

 A Proposed Beet Sugar Factory for Southern Alberta. 



One of the wealthy men of Utah, Mr. Jesse Knight, who is reputed to have large 

 revenues from mines in that state, takes a very active interest in the Mormon settle- 

 ments of Alberta. lie has recently purchased a large cattle ranch not far from the 

 irrigated districts, of 100,000 acres for one of his sons, stocking it with 5,000 head of 

 cattle, at a total cost of about $450,000. He has also bought another large tract of 

 land on which to found a new town and settlement, adjacent to the irrigation canal, 

 to be named after his other son, Raymond, where Mr. Knight is about to establish a 

 large beet sugar factory. A party of surveyors were working on the open prairie lay- 

 ing out this town site at the time of my visit, contracts had been made for the plough- 

 ing of 3,000 acres of land to be completed before the end of the season, and a number 

 of four-horse teams were then busily engaged in this work. Some of the pioneer set- 

 tlers for this new town had already arrived, and in the meantime were living in tents. 

 The 3,000 acres then being ploughed will be cropped with grain in 1902, and the follow- 

 ing year will be in condition for the growing of sugar beets. Each farmer coming 

 into the settlement will have eighty acres of land and will contract in his deed of pur- 

 chase to grow not less than ten acres of sugar beets each year, and in this way an 

 abundant supply of beets will be assured. Mr. Knight is an ardent prohibitionist, and 

 is having a clause put in each of his deeds of sale providing that in case of the estab- 

 lishment at any time of any saloon or drinking place on any part of this property, such 

 property shall be forfeited and revert to the original owner. It is expected that the 

 beet sugar factory will be completed during the year 1902, and be ready to utilize the 

 crop of 1903. 



A DRIVE OVER THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ROCKIES. 



Leaving Cardston a drive of fifty miles was taken over the rolling plains, which 

 form the base of the foot-hill country, crossing the Blood Reserve and ending at the 

 town of Pincher, which is situated on the line of railway through the Crow's Nest 

 Pass. Many settlers are coming into this district, and the crops throughout this part 

 of the country have been very encouraging. Notwithstanding its high elevation of 

 from 3,000 to 3,500 feet the climate is such that fall wheat is grown in many localities 

 quite successfully. This now forms an important crop, both at Cardston and Pincher, 

 many of the farmers reaping from 30 to 40 bushels per acre. The variety chiefly grown 

 at Cardston is a beardless red-chaff wheat known as Odessa ; that grown at Pincher is 

 a bearded wheat the name of which has been lost. In all these settlements the people 

 are in the midst of a good ranching country where cattle live in the open during the 

 winter and most of the residents own more or less stock. 



THE GREAT COAL DISTRICTS. 



After going through the Crow's Nest Pass a day was spent at Fernie, the centre 

 of the great coal producing district, visiting the mines. The output of the mine* there 

 at that time was about 1,200 tons per day. A large proportion of this coal is made into 

 coke which is vised for the smelting of ores in the mining districts. Three hundred 

 coke ovens were in operation at Fernie, and one hundred more were being built. At St. 

 Michael, 25 miles east of Fernie ; two hundred coke ovens were also in course of erec- 

 tion, and some fine seams of coal are being opened there. The supplies of coal in this 

 part of the Dominion are so vast as to be practically inexhaustible. 



