396 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



PRESENT CONDITION AND PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES OF CANADA. 



The tour of His Royal Highness the Prince of 

 Wales in Canada, with the ample descriptive de- 

 tails of his journeyings and of the districts visited, 

 are calculated to attract attention just now to 

 Canada, to familiarize the public with its scenery, 

 capabilities, and resources, to remove many mis- 

 conceptions and prejudices respecting that country. 

 The tide of tourists as well as settlers is likely to 

 turn that way, now that steam communication is 

 so frequent and so cheap, and even the British 

 farmer may take his holiday trip in that direction, as 

 well as the jaded member of Parliament, or circum- 

 locution clerk. The emigration to Canada of late 

 years has been very small, as compared with former 

 periods; indeed, scarcely one-third of the number oJ 

 some previous seasons. The whole amount of emigra- 

 tion is now indeed only about one-half what it was 

 on the average of a few past years. 



Without touching upon the more picturesque features 

 of Canada— such as may attract the mere tourist or 

 pleasure- seeker — we may glance at the present condi- 

 tion and productive resources of this fine British 

 colony, to which we drew attention prominently about 

 two years ago. Two years in a British colony, espe- 

 cially an enterprising one like Canada, are marked by 

 great strides, and several events of prominent im- 

 portance have to be chronicled. Among these are the 

 completion of the magnificent railway bridge of two 

 miles crossing the St. Lawrence, of the gigantic works 

 of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, upwards of 

 1,000 miles in length, connecting the American 

 railway system west of the Great Lakes with the ocean 

 at Portland in winter, and at Montreal, Quebec, and 

 Riviere du Loup in summer. This presents probably 

 the most complete and comprehensive railway system 

 in the world ; and, taken in connection with the un- 

 equalled inland navigation of the St. Lawrence, it 

 cannot fail to attract a large share of the vast and in- 

 creasing traffic of the west, while it affords to the whole 

 province of Canada the greatest possible facilities for 

 inter-communication. The province is now traversed 

 by upwards of 2,100 miles of railway. By means of 

 its canal and lake navigation, vessels drawing ten feet 

 water can be taken from Fond du Lac in Lake Superior 

 to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a distance of twenty-two 

 hundred miles. The plank road, which had pushed 

 the venerable " corduroy" back into the woods, has 

 retired before the railroads, with which the province 

 is now traversed. The lakes and rivers are covered 

 by steam-boats, and every year is adding to their com- 

 fort and beauty. 



The towns and cities are something more than mere 

 colonial villages now ; and their public buildings will 

 compare favourably with those of many of the 

 European States, while the improvements that will be 

 made in the new capital, Ottawa, will draw population 



thither, admirably situated as it is in the centre of the 

 two provinces, and readily accessible from all quartei's. 



Canada may properly be said to have but three 

 seasons — summer, autumn, and winter. Indeed, were 

 it not for the change in the appearance of the foliage, it 

 would be difficult to say where summer ends and autumn 

 commences. Generally, as soon as the snow disappears, 

 warm weather sets in ; and vegetation is exceedingly 

 rapid, so much so, that, although the spring is about 

 a month later than in England, by the end of June 

 vegetation of all kinds is as far advanced as it is here. 

 Corn, on an average, is ready for cutting about a fort- 

 night or three weeks earlier than in this country, and 

 the grain when once ripe dries so fast, that it is not at 

 all unusual for corn to be cut and carried on the 

 same day. 



For many years the agriculture of the province 

 generally was at a very low standard, but within the 

 last few years it has made great advances, and is 

 beginning to keep pace with the improvements in- 

 troduced into England and Scotland. The emigra- 

 tion to the colony of scientific agriculturists, with 

 the extended establishment of agricultural societies, 

 has been mainly instrumental in producing this great 

 change. Stock of a diSerent and b>;tter description 

 has been imported, and much land that was previously 

 considered by the old proprietors worn out, has been 

 improved and brought back, by means of judicious 

 treatment, to its old capabilities. 



The following shows the exports of wheat and flour 

 from Canada for three years : 



Wheat. Flour. 



1855,... 3,193,748 bush 643,936 brls. 



1856 4,997,656 , 878,775 „ 



1857 .... 2,762,654 „ .... 743,949 „ 



The productiveness of the soil, and the high price of 

 wheat in some years, have tended unduly to encourage 

 the growth of this cereal to the neglect of other pro- 

 ducts of the soil. Hence by the rapid fall in the pi'ice 

 of wheat the value of the agricultural exports from 

 Canada fell from ^4,384,083 in 1856 to ^2,747,516 

 in 1857. 



The farmers of Canada ought certainly to turn their 

 attention more to the raising of live stock, particularly 

 in those sections of the country where the risk of the 

 wheat crop is the greatest. We have seen on the 

 bleak hills of Scotland several thousand sheep in a 

 single flock, and while the long winters of Canada 

 may present a great obstacle to the successful raising 

 of cattle, there can be no doubt, from the success of 

 some of the most intelligent Canadian agriculturists, 

 that sheep-farming could be largely and profitably 

 engaged in. We have no late returns of the live stock; 

 but in January, 1852, there were but 1,697,633 sheep 

 in the whole province, and 1,336,111 horned cattle. 



