102 REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



be difficult, and even the making of ordinary grass, clover, or green 

 oat-hay may mean in many parts an amomit of labour, which the 

 farmer may consider would be better employed in growing a crop 

 of wheat or barley, for which he can get a readier market and a 

 quicker payment. There is a very large area naturally of unim- 

 proved land. Much of this is in the hands of what may be called 

 the non-resident holder, the speculating investor, individual, or 

 company. This unimproved land is of two kinds — bush or scrub 

 land and bare prairie. The former is found in the parts where 

 rainfall is more abundant. The scrub, which is composed of bushes 

 five to fifteen feet high, of varieties of willows, poplars, and alders, is 

 probably both a cause and a consequence of the greater precipitation 

 of moisture ; and if judged from appearances alone, the scrub 

 country forms a much more ideal cattle grazing than the bare prairie. 

 It may not be so well suited for cattle ranching on a large scale, 

 owing to the difficulty of finding the stock, but it is more suitable 

 for smaller " bunches " of cattle that have more personal attention 

 bestowed on them, so in the scrub areas considerable numbers 

 of cattle were seen, cows, calves, young steers and heifers all grazing 

 together, an old cow or other recognised leader being furnished 

 with a bell to indicate the whereabouts of the herd. These are 

 not necessarily grazing on the holding or holdings of their owner. 

 In many cases they are allowed to roam over neighbouring un- 

 occupied and unfenced sections that have been bought up, and are 

 being held till some one comes round willing to give the price 

 which offers sufficient inducement to the seller. The speculating 

 boom of the past ten years has interposed a great many sections 

 of unimproved land among the settled sections, and while it has 

 produced a state of isolation and loneliness for the homes of many 

 settlers, it has provided a cheap grazing close at hand of which 

 many have been ablg to take advantage. Thus we find a very con- 

 siderable increase in recent years in the cattle population of these 

 provinces. In addition to the Range Cattle Traders' Association, 

 called the Western Stock Growers' Association, the breeders of 

 pedigree cattle have an organization called the Alberta Cattle 

 Breeders' Society. This Society holds an annual spring Fat Stock 

 Show, and a bull sale under its auspices has become one of the 

 oiggest institutions of its kind on the continent. The breeders 

 have shown great enterprise in importing some good bulls and 

 choice females to put at the head of their herds. The breeds best re- 

 presented are the Shorthorn and Hereford. There are also a few herds 

 of Polled Aberdeen Angus and Galloways, and Jerseys, Holsteins, 

 and Ayrshires are being introduced in some districts where more 

 attention is being devoted to dairying. It seems almost a pity, 

 from a beef-producing point of view, that this should be so, 

 as the introduction of these " antibeef " breeds means a general 

 lowering of price of young stock as stores for fattening, from 

 uncertainty as to their breeding. Attention to the production 

 of good milking strains of Shorthorns would seem to the out- 

 sider to be a better policy to adopt in a country where dairying 

 may require time and many changes for its full development. 



