134 WHEAT 



CHAPTER XI 

 WHEAT GROWING IN CANADA 



A PART OF THE GREAT PLAIN 



" The western provinces of Canada are really one 

 vast prairie which is included in the great plains re- 

 gion. Commencing some fifty miles east of Winni- 

 peg this prairie extends westward over 800 miles to 

 the foothills of the Rockies. It is really a series 

 of three great plains, viz: (1) The Red River 

 valley, a low, flat prairie, 800 feet above the sea, 

 7,000 square miles in area, extending from about 

 the 96th to the 100th meridian, embracing the 

 richest wheat lands of Manitoba. (2) The middle 

 prairie extending from about the 100th to the 108th 

 meridian, with an average elevation of 1,600 feet, 

 about 105,000 square miles in area, one-half of 

 which is fairly level open prairie and mostly 

 good fertile soil. (3) The 'third steppe' extending 

 from the 108th meridian to the Rockies, including 

 Alberta and the western portion of Saskatchewan, 

 average elevation 3,000 feet, area 134,000 square 

 miles, topography more varied than the second 

 plain but containing much fertile land."* 



The prairie soils of western Canada are uni- 

 formly rich in plant food, especially in nitrogen. 

 The large proportion of organic matter and humus 

 gives these soils great moisture holding capacity 

 and an agreeable physical condition favorable 

 to the action of soil bacteria and rapid plant 

 growth. Actual determinations by Prof. Frank 



*Hand Book of Canada, 1897. 



