WHEAT-FARMING 



These figures show the development of wheat-farming in Canada 

 since 1871, and the export trade since 1903 : — 



Wheat Production 



1907124,432,786 19.566,017 804,937 630,349 25,480,127 20,379,629 

 1908 43,002.541 39,349,602 114,926 102,699 43,654,668 40,004,723 



The Wheat Belt 



The western prairie, though by no means containing the whole 

 wheat area of Canada, is the great wheat belt of the country, to 

 which in this section we wish to call special attention. It is com- 

 posed of very variable land. There is the bald-headed prairie, 

 level and treeless ; there is the rolling prairie, rising and falling 

 like the waves of the sea ; and there is the prairie of slough scrub 

 and light timber, more commonly known by the name of the park 

 lands. There is wet land and dry land ; there is rich black loam 

 and light sandy soil. The climate is not quite so varied as the soil. 

 The temperature ranges from 100 degrees Fahrenheit in summer to 

 40 or 45 degrees below zero in winter. There is one region somewhat 

 different from the others, the semi-arid region in Southern Alberta, 

 over which the chinook winds blow, where the temperature is not 

 so extreme as in other parts. The rainfall is deficient over a large 

 part of the region, and the science of wheat-farming on the prairie 

 is the cultivation of the soil in such a way as to retain the moisture 

 and escape the frost. 



1 Nine months. 



127 



