At Maple Creek, one of the oldest towns in Saskat- 

 chewan and known in its earlier days chiefly as being the 

 centre of one of the best stock-raising areas in Western 

 Canada, the convention opened. 



Addresses on various phases of irrigation engineering 

 and irrigation agriculture were the main features of the 

 convention there, the actual demonstration of the pos- 

 sibilities of irrigation farming being left for the concluding 

 sessions. 



In the Maple Creek district considerable irrigation is 

 practised, however, and although the programme of the 

 convention did not make any provision for organized trips 

 into this irrigated area, many of the delegates took the 

 opportunity to see as murh as they could of the country in 

 the limited time at their disposal between the sessions. At 

 the present time about 50,000 acres of land are under 

 irrigation in this part of the country. The water is sup- 

 plied by numerous small systems, most of which are 

 privately owned, and it is used largely by the large stock 

 ranchers to increase the growth cf hay. The water is 

 comparatively cheap, and as the individual areas under 

 irrigation are generally large, it is not used to as good 

 advantage as it is in British Columbia and Alberta. 

 But a better appreciation of its proper use is becoming 

 discernible in the many excellent fields of alfalfa that 

 were seen in all directions. 



Possible to Irrigate 100,000 Acres 



By the proper storage of water it is estimated that 

 about 100,000 acres of land can be brought under irrigation 

 to the south of Maple Creek. The locating of suitable 

 reservoir sites for the conservation of the immense run-off 

 of water from the Cypress Hills in the spring is necessary 

 before this extension can be accomplished. 



That the farmers throughout the district have a proper 

 realization of the benefits of irrigation and wish to have 

 them extended as much as possible was indicated by two 

 resolutions that were passed by the convention at Maple 

 Creek. One dealt with a decision reached by the Inter- 

 national Joint Commission with regard to the division of 

 the waters of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers between 

 Canada and the United States. The Commission ap- 

 portioned the water of these rivers and their tributaries 

 equally between the two countries, but as it would be more 

 advantageous to the people on the Canadian side to be 

 able to use the flow of some of these streams exclusively 

 and for the people on the United States side to use the 

 whole of the water of other of the streams, a resolution 

 was passed asking that the water in certain streams be 

 allotted exclusively to the people of each country, the 

 equal division of the total flow of water in the two streams 

 being, of course, maintained. 



Another resolution which two farmers put forward 

 stated that they and many others were keenly desirous of 

 proceeding immediately with the construction of works to 

 irrigate their lands, and urged the Irrigation Branch of the 

 Dominion Reclamation Service to make as soon as possible 

 a definite recommendation in regard to the feasibility of 

 their project so that they could proceed with the erection of 

 their district and the completion of their system. These 

 two resolutions are mentioned as showing that the farmers 

 of South-western Saskatchewan are alive to the benefits 

 that would accrue to them from increased irrigation 

 development. 



Brooks, a Prospering Community 



But the real demonstration of the value of irrigation 

 when applied to the rich lands of Western Canada was 

 given at Brooks, where the concluding sessions of the 

 convention were held. The town of Brooks is the centre 

 of the Eastern Section of the Canadian Pacific Railway's 

 Irrigation Block. Here is an immense area of more than a 

 million acres of land, of which about 400.000 acres is 

 rapidly being brought under irrigation. Far less than ten 

 years ago all was open, treeless prairie. To-day the 

 landscape is scattered with clusters of neat farm homes, 

 surrounded by trees and brightened by flowers of all shades 



and tints. Golden grain and green alfalfa fields meet the 

 eye in every direction. Behind shelter belts of trees, the 

 oldest of which have sprung up to a height of from twenty 

 to thirty feet within a short period of six years, heavily 

 laden bushes of raspberries and currants of all sorts, 

 delicately flavored strawberries, and many other small 

 fruits are growing in profusion. There are also tomatoes, 

 squash, pumpkins, melons, cantaloupes, and all kinds of 

 vegetables, from the homely potato to the aristocratic 

 asparagus, all of the highest quality and all yielding 

 heavily under the magic of irrigation. 



The development that is taking place in Brooks and in 

 the surrounding country was a revelation not only to those 

 who saw the results of irrigation for the first time, but to 

 many others who are well acquainted with the possibilities 

 of irrigation agriculture and horticulture in Western 

 Canada. Indeed, the manner in which everything grows 

 in the Brooks district has been an agreeable surprise to the 

 farmers themselves, who are continually finding that not 

 only can they produce many crops they had not thought 

 possible before, but also that the yields and the quality of 

 such crops are superior to what they had previously known. 

 Experimental Farms Demonstrate Possibilities 

 The Experimental Farm of the Dominion Government 

 where tests are being made to ascertain the amount and 

 manner of application of water required to give the best 

 results with many different crops under varying conditions 

 and the Canadian Pacific Irrigation Demonstration Farm, 

 both of which are situated close to the town, were among 

 the places visited. The first named is operated by the 

 Irrigation Branch of the Reclamation Service, and the 

 result of the experiments carried on under the supervision 

 of Mr. W. H. Snelson are already very valuable to the 

 farmers in the district. One of the features of the 

 Demonstration Farm of the Canadian Pacific Railway is 

 a tree nursery in which hundreds of thousands of slips have 

 been planted and become good-sized trees. These are to 

 be used for further planting on the farms throughout the 

 district. 



Why Business Men should See Canada 



Under the above title, The Canadian 

 Manufacturer, in the August issue, contains 

 an article which is of particular interest to every 

 Canadian business man. The Easterner who 

 has not seen the West and the Westerner who 

 has not seen the East are working under a 

 severe handicap. 



That the Montreal business men are keenly 

 aware of this fact is indicated in the recent 

 tour of the Montreal Board of Trade to the West, 

 who had, as their guests, a number of British 

 industrial men, members of Parliament and 

 financiers. Knowledge is power, and the 

 soundest knowledge is that which is obtained 

 directly by oneself on the ground, heard with 

 one's own ears and seen with one's own eyes. 



It is an extraordinary thing nevertheless a 

 fact that there are in the East generally many 

 prominent business men who, year after year, do 

 business with the West, yet who have never 

 personally visited it. They make frequent trips 

 to Europe and to the United States, but when 

 it comes to personally visiting the Western 

 section of their own country, they "pass it "up 

 in favor of some other trip. The United States 

 slogan "See America First" might well be 

 adapted to "See Canada First" by those 

 business men who can, if they will, see more of 

 their own country. The article referred to is as 

 follows : 



186 



