36 ONTARIO. 



are about half the price in Canada that they are in 

 England. 



Agricultural societies are a great institution in Ontario. 

 Each county has one of its own, and so have many of the 

 townships. The subscription of members is trifling, gene- 

 rally $1 per annum. The Legislature aids each society with 

 a grant. This money is expended in improving the breed 

 of cattle and the quality of seed. These societies have 

 yearly shows, which are well attended by the farming 

 community, and to a certain extent take the place of old- 

 country fairs. Prizes are given at these shows not only 

 for stock but for all sorts of farm produce ; emulation is 

 thereby aroused, and farmers have an opportunity of 

 seeing the difference between good and bad farming, as 

 evidenced by the produce displayed, and have thus an 

 opportunity of educating themselves. Each member gets 

 a copy of a weekly or monthly farmer's journal. High 

 farming, rotation of crops, and drainage of land are en- 

 couraged. The latter is a very necessary step to high 

 farming in Canada. Drained land is fully a fortnight 

 earlier than undrained land. In wet seasons it is of 

 course an advantage, and, strange to say, in protracted 

 summer droughts drains have also been found to be an 

 advantage to the crops, preventing the soil from baking. 

 Canadians, as a rule, dislike sinking much capital in the 

 improvement and cultivation of the soil. Land is more 

 plentiful than money, and they see that when the forest 

 is cleared, the soil for the time brings forth abundantly 

 without much labour ; therefore they go on chopping and 

 sowing. As we have seen before, this gives a favourable 

 opportunity for the immigrant farmer who has been brought 



