ONTARIO. 



SUPREME JUDGB. 



"William W. Johnson, Republican 392,918 



Charles D. Martin, Democrat 318,965 



James K. Grogan, Greenbacker 8,808 



John W. JKosenborough, Prohibition 8,178 



MEMBER OF BOARD OP PUBLIC WORKS. 



Charles A. Flickinger, Eepublican 393,885 



John H. Bender, Democrat 376,002 



William B. Ogden, Greenbacker 3,528 



W. J. Kirkendall, Prohibition 9,164 



Twenty-one Congressmen were elected at 

 the same time. In some of the districts, Pro- 

 hibition and Greenback candidates were voted 

 for. 



ONTARIO. The Government. The year 1884 

 found a Liberal Government in power in the 

 province, under the Hon. Attorney-General 

 Mowat. His majority in the Assembly was 

 not large, and strenuous efforts were made by 

 the opposition members to defeat his ministry. 

 The test case on which the ministry were 

 to be defeated was Kirkland's timber - limit 

 scheme, in connection with charges of brib- 

 ery. Everything was in readiness, when, at 

 a signal, both Kirkland and an adventurer 

 named Wilkinson were arrested for conspiracy 

 to overthrow the Government. The trial lasted 

 for weeks. Wilkinson was admitted to bail, 

 but now resides in the United States. Kirk- 

 land, a lawyer and a very able man, pleaded 

 that he did not understand the defeat of the 

 ministry to be so serious ; thought it was the 

 same as in Wisconsin, where it made no dif- 

 ference to the party which way a man voted ; 

 and repudiated any connection with Wilkinson 

 and his confreres. Being without friends, and 

 personal bail not being acceptable, " the Ameri- 

 can," as he was called, was honored by Prof. 

 Goldwin Smith, who came into court " to be- 

 friend a stranger in a strange land." The plot 

 having been fully exposed, and the chief crimi- 

 nal being a mere party tool and beyond reach 

 of the law, the case was allowed to lapse. 



Crops. Ontario has a very complete Bureau 

 of Industries, which ha been in operation for 

 several years. In Ontario the year 1884 was 

 highly favorable for fall wheat. With the 

 exception of a few western counties, the 

 wheat wintered well, and finally ripened in 

 a healthy condition. In some instances the 

 thrashed grain weighs from sixty-four to six- 

 ty-six pounds a bushel. The barley is plump 

 and heavy, but owing to the rains in harvest- 

 time is discolored, rendering it, as a rule, unfit 

 for No. 1 Canadian. In the Lake Huron re- 

 gion, the barley, as well as the oat crop, was 

 somewhat light, both in yield and in weight. 

 Oats, as a rule, turned out well. Rye was not 

 so good as usual. Peas, this year a most excel- 

 lent crop, were almost entirely free from the 

 bug or worm. There will be a large surplus 

 for market. Corn turned out well. Sorghum, 

 beans, buckwheat, etc., are not much culti- 

 vated in Ontario, but yield fairly welt where 

 tried. Clover-seed, a valuable product of On- 

 tario, this year turned out to be destroyed by 

 the midge. The first, or hay crop, was mag- 



nificent; the second, until near the time of 

 cutting, seemed as fine as the first, but a few 

 days rendered hundreds of acres unfit for cut- 

 ting. Those who pastured the fields till June, 

 and allowed the crop to grow to seed then, 

 were the only ones that were successful with 

 clover. Boots are, as a rule, extra good. The 

 potato-crop is well gathered ; only one district 

 reports a rot, and this is in the extreme eastern 

 part of the province. Turnips, many acres of 

 which were plowed up early in the season, 

 did not yield so much as is the rule. The dry 

 weather in early stages of the crop was the 

 cause. Mangolds, now extensively grown in 

 Ontario, produced a remarkable yield. The 

 majority of farmers plant as many acres of 

 these as of turnips. 



There is a large surplus of apples this year, 

 but prices are low. The best qualities bring 

 only from one dollar to one dollar and a half a 

 barrel. Pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and 

 grapes were, excepting in a few localities, very 

 poor crops. Berries were very abundant. 



Live-Stock. Live-stock farming is one of the 

 rising industries of Ontario. The grades of 

 cattle are yearly improving, owing largely to 

 the various exhibitions, fairs, etc. The al- 

 most universal practice with farmers now is to 

 house the cattle during winter, and feed them ; 

 instead of, as formerly, letting them " run the 

 barn-yard and feed from the straw-stack." 

 There are hundreds of Ontario farmers now 

 who turn out their ordinary stock in spring as 

 sleek and fat as their beef-cattle would be some 

 years ago. Nearly all the better class of farm- 

 ers have fine stone stables, usually built as a 

 foundation for the barns, in which cattle, roots, 

 etc., are housed ; while on the barn-floor above 

 is found the straw-cutter, run by horse-power. 



Dairy. Butter and cheese factories are com- 

 mon all over the province. The farmers sell 

 the milk, and receive the whey and the cash 

 in return. In many localities the factories are 

 managed on the joint-stock principle. In either 

 case the result, as a rule, is satisfactory. One 

 enterprising man has established a Jersey dairy 

 between the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. 

 In each city he has a depot, where persons 

 wishing milk for invalids may be supplied. 

 Though instituted for but a few months, the 

 experiment is very successful. 



Draining. Great attention is being paid to 

 tile-draining. During this year many hundreds 

 of miles were put in. The enormous increase 

 of tile-draining in this, as compared with for- 

 mer years, is attributable to two causes, the 

 greater knowledge of its usefulness, and the 

 fact that open drains are great hindrances to 

 reaping-machines; and the general introduc- 

 tion of self-binders has rendered the closing up 

 of the open drains a necessity. The Provincial 

 Government assists municipalities in draining, 

 subject, of course, to special circumstances. 



Labor. Farm-labor is plentiful and rather 

 insolent ; wages low. The old custom of hav- 

 ing the hired man live in the family through- 



