CHAPTER XLIII. 



The Great North- West — Continued. 



TESTIMONY AS TO THE SUITABLENESS OF THE NORTH-WEST FOR AGRI- 

 CULTURE AND STOCK-RAISING FROM THE SETTLERS THEMSELVES— 

 THE "DISCONTENT" EXPLAINED — THE RESOURCES OF THE NORTH- 

 WEST. 



tLREADY a pretty extended account of the vastness and 

 immense resources of the Canadian North-West has been 

 given. We have read the testimony of travellers and 

 " G ^ s " eminent men on the suitability of the country for agricul- 

 ture and stock-raising, and its extensive natural resources. To this 

 may be added the evidence given by the settlers in the country 

 themselves. The Canadian Department of Agriculture, a year or 

 two ago, sent out questions to farmers in the North-West, and 

 received written answers from one hundred and fifty, testifying : — 



(1.) That both the country and the climate are very healthy. 



(2.) That the soil everywhere is exceptionally rich, yielding 

 excellent crops without manure. 



(3.) That they have found good water plenty, and that in nearly 

 all cases wood is not hard to be got. 



(4.) That natural hay exists in unlimited quantities, and may be 

 had, almost everywhere, for the cutting and hauling. 



(5.) That the effects of the long cold winters are not unfavour- 

 able to either man or beast. 



Thirty-seven farmers testify that Indian corn can be ripened 

 successfully. Eighty-nine testify to an average yield of wheat, per 

 acre, of twenty-six and three-quarter bushels in 1877 ; of twenty-six 

 and one-third in 1878 ; twenty-six and three-quarters in 1879 ; and 

 of twenty -nine and one-third bushels in 1880. The weight of this 



