farm literature on every possible subject is 

 available for the asking. In every devisable 

 manner the provincial governments show their 

 appreciation of what the farm youth means to 

 the country. 



One of the keenest and most widely enjoyed 

 pleasures of the country, especially in the winter 

 season, is reading, for here there is oftenest the 

 leisure and the desirable state for enjoyment. 

 Books in rural districts take the place of many 

 other and often less desirable and instructive 

 means of enjoyment. Reading under the cir- 

 cumstances becomes study, for matter is well 

 meditated and digested. Unfortunately, there 

 is often one drawback, the availability of 

 literature. Frequently a farmer is not in a 

 position to collect a library of his own, and the 

 city's facilities for borrowing books cannot be 

 carried into the country districts. This question 

 of supply, the provincial governments set out 

 to solve. 



The Operation of the System 



Under the system as evolved by the Agricul- 

 tural Extension Service of Alberta, Saskatche- 

 wan and Manitoba, a rural community has but 

 to make an application and a compact folding 

 case containing fifty volumes is sent to them. 

 These books cover a wide variety of subjects 

 with a substantial proportion of fiction. The 

 books are circulated among the different farms, 

 and when read are returned to the bureau 

 whereupon a new library comes along. 



This system of travelling libraries is doing a 

 splendid work both in brightening social rural 

 life, and in furthering the educational status of 

 the farm population of these provinces. The 

 best books only are to be found in these libraries, 

 and careful plans are laid for the cultivation of 

 desirable literary tastes. Whereas at first ninety 

 per cent of the volumes are fiction, this propor- 

 tion is gradually decreased, and the deficit made 

 up of more valuable works of economic thought. 



The Labor Situation 



The labor situation during the month of 

 April exhibited a further substantial decline in 

 the cost of living, as illustrated in the cost of an 

 average weekly family budget. According to 

 returns received from about 5,000 firms, there 

 was a slight improvement each week in the 

 average volume of employment, but the net gains 

 were smaller than the losses registered in the 

 previous month. The time lost in industrial 

 disputes was greater than in the preceding 

 month, but less than in the corresponding month 

 a year ago. 



Fluctuations were noted in iron and steel 

 during the month, resulting from the temporary 

 shutting down of railway shops. These were 

 re-opened towards the end of the month and the 



period closed normally. Logging, in which a 

 seasonal decline was expected, showed activity 

 towards the end of the month due to river activity 

 in Quebec and general operations in British 

 Columbia. Due to the resumption of activity in 

 sawmills, the lumber industries reported ^decided 

 gains at the end of the month. The textile 

 groups showed steady reductions, largely in 

 Ontario and Quebec. Much the same situation 

 prevailed in rubber products. Towards the end 

 of the month the leather industry, particularly 

 footwear, experienced a fairly substantial recov- 

 ery, chiefly in Ontario and Quebec. The only 

 notable movement in food products was the 

 seasonal revival of fish packing and canning on 

 the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Another gain, 

 of some importance, was in the tobacco industry, 

 chiefly in Quebec. Railway transportation, con- 

 struction and maintenance exhibited a general 

 decline, many employees being laid off. Water 

 transportation, on the other hand, increased its 

 operations, shifting from the winter ports of the 

 Maritimes to the St. Lawrence and Upper Lake 

 ports. The mining situation varied according 

 to districts. In Nova Scotia, the situation was 

 unfavorable, whilst in Northern Ontario metal- 

 liferous mining commenced seasonal activity, and 

 in the West the coal situation swung from a 

 decline in the early part of the month to a slight 

 advance during the last week. 



The downward movement of prices was 

 marked in hogs, butter, cheese, milk and eggs, 

 and in materials, in leather, textiles, metals and 

 building materials. In retail prices the average 

 cost of a list of staple foods in sixty cities was 

 $12.74 for April as compared with $13.23 for 

 March, $15.09 for April, 1920, $13.35 for April, 

 1919, and $7.51 for April, 1914. 



Pacific Coast Whaling 



Whaling on the Canadian Pacific coast, 

 though it can only be said to be in the elementary 

 stages of development and capable of large 

 expansion, is rapidly and steadily growing into an 

 important and profitable industry. The whaling 

 season of 1920 was, from the point of catch, one 

 of the most successful experienced for several 

 years, in all some 430 whales being taken by 

 Vancouver Island whalers. The year 1920 also 

 saw considerable expansion in the industry of 

 the manufacture of by-products and in innova- 

 tions in the modes of utilization which will tend 

 to greater future profit to the industry. 



The whaling grounds of British Columbia are 

 along the northern coast of the province and 

 from thirty to forty miles out to sea. The 

 principal species of whales caught are finback, 

 set, sperm and sulphur-bottom, which run from 

 twenty to ninety feet in length and weigh on the 



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