Homesteading 



the acre, it is sometimes a very profitable crop, 

 and is often grown on new land. Indeed, it is 

 said that one good crop will sometimes pay for 

 the land it is grown on, and under favourable 

 conditions this may easily be the case. It has 

 disadvantages for the beginner, being very liable 

 to weeds, and unless one can ship a car-load, which 

 means a large acreage, there may be difficulties 

 in disposing of it, as the elevators may refusev 

 it, especially when busy with other grain. 



At present but little use is made of the straw 

 or fibre, though attempts have been made to 

 manufacture binder twine from it with some 

 success. Manila, however, seems more in favour. 

 Cattle will pick it over, and parts would seem 

 excellent food for them, but most is burnt in the 

 fall or spring, and on several occasions we had 

 fine bonfires of straw of different kinds as we 

 finished threshing. 



As these short autumn days passed into night, 

 the stars came out one by one and shone with 

 a brilliance uncommon in the British atmosphere, 

 and occasionally we had a wonderful display of 

 the northern lights, which, however, are, I believe, 

 usually a precursor of bad weather. Be that 

 as it may, auroral displays were common during 

 this autumn. The centre of such beautiful natural 

 phenomena appeared to be in the direction of the 



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