1913-14 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, FOEESTS AND MINES. 105 



of Hearst, 130 miles west of Cochrane. The land on which the experiments were 

 made was chopped and cleared in the early part of May, and planted at different 

 intervals between the 15th May and the 1st July. In the growth of grain, roots 

 and vegetables, good results were met with, as in nearly every instance they 

 matured. Spring wheat, oats, barley, rye and peas were not damaged by the 

 summer frosts and were of good quality, and compared favourably with similar 

 crops in Older Ontario. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, radishes, etc., did 

 exceptionally well and produced large yields, maturing early in the season. Beans, 

 corn, tomatoes and a few other vegetables were more or less injured by the 

 summer frosts, but not more so than in parts of Old Ontario. Where the land 

 was well cultivated and drained and fairly large clearings made, the settlers 

 throughout the district did not suffer materially from summer frosts. 



Judging from the crops we produced with a reasonable amount of cultivation, 

 I am confident that there will be no great difficulty in growing almost all classes 

 of grain and vegetables in Northern Ontario. Timothy, clover and alfalfa grow 

 in great abundance almost everywhere along the line of railway both on the low 

 and high lands, and did not suffer from the summer frosts; and good pasture 

 was abundant up to the end of the first week in October. 



During the months of July and August the weather was extremely dry and 

 hot, but notwithstanding this fact, the growth of the crops was not much retarded 

 where the land had been properly cultivated. 



When inspecting the different districts along the roads which have been 

 constructed during the last three years, I find that good progress is being made 

 by the settlers; along these roads, nearly all the vacant land suitable for settle- 

 ment is being taken up and improved. In the valley of the Rainy River excep- 

 tional progress has taken place; the settlers are now able to reach markets along 

 the Canadian Northern Railway, which three years ago were inaccessible. Hereto- 

 fore where no roads were constructed, the settler was merely marking time; 

 since the construction of roads, he has taken courage, and is now clearing up 

 large areas of land, and in other ways improving his social condition. This will 

 apply to almost all the sections where good roads have been constructed. It has 

 encouraged the settlers to build schools, and has made it possible for the children 

 to attend them. This in itself has done much to stimulate settlement, as in the 

 past the want of schools and their inaccessibility for lack of roads, I have found 

 to be one of the great obstacles in the way of settlement. 



Along the Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury trunk road; along the trunk roads 

 extending in different directions out of Port Arthur and Fort William; between 

 North Bay and Mattawa; from Sudbury into the agricultural sections to the 

 north and east, the roads are now in such a condition that the settler can reach 

 a market at all times of the year; it has given to his products an increased value, 

 and has removed much of the monotony heretofore found in the life in the new 

 districts. On most of the main trunk roads it is now possible to travel over 

 them in an automobile, and what is probably of greater importance, it has made 

 it possible for a farmer at a distance of from 15 to 20 miles to market his 

 produce, and return the same day. 



Splendid progress has been made in the country north of Haileybury along 

 the line of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway and its branches, 

 in the way of clearing up land. 



Along the Transcontinental Railway settlement has not taken place as 

 rapidly as might have been expected, but a good deal of this is owing to the 



