RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 171 



Canada as an experiment, but such a scheme could only succeed if 

 there was adequate capital available and if the main objects of the 

 Garden City Association were adhered to. The lack of capital has 

 prevented the English Garden City from becoming as quickly suc- 

 cessful as it would otherwise have been, and if the company had had 

 two or three million dollars to start with, instead of about $500,000, 

 there can be no question that much better results would have been 

 achieved. On the other hand, any temporizing with the objects 

 in order to serve some speculative purpose, would inevitably end in 

 failure. 



The town of Walkerville, Ontario, or at least the portion of it 

 which has been developed under the guidance of Messrs. Hiram Walker 

 & Sons, has important features in common with the garden city type 

 of development. The grouping, arrangement and durability of the 

 buildings, the paving of the streets and the preservation and develop- 

 ment of natural features, in this town, make it compare favourably 

 with the model village of Bournville and Port Sunlight in England. 



Started as a one-industry town, it is gradually losing that char- 

 acter, to the injury of its amenities, although possibly to the advant- 

 age of the community in other respects. What has been accomplished 

 by Messrs. Walker is only feasible where land speculation is pre- 

 vented and where there is adequate control over development. The 

 contrast between the well-balanced and orderly development on the 

 Walkerville estate with the scattered and disorderly development 

 outside its boundaries indicates how far short government regulation 

 is of attaining the best business standards of a private company in 

 the matter of land development. 



But the peculiar distinction of Walkerville, as compared with 

 other model communities, is that it affords us an example of that 

 combination of manufacture and agriculture which is a leading 

 feature in the Letch worth scheme. Immediately surrounding the town 

 of Walkerville, and lying largely in the adjacent township areas, are 

 large farms comprising thousands of acres which are controlled and 

 worked by Messrs. Walker as part of their business. 



A large dairy industry has been established on these farms and, 

 in addition, there are 2,400 head of feeding cattle. These animals 

 use up the by-products of the distillery, and, by this means, great 

 waste or loss is avoided and the soil of the surrounding territory is 

 much improved in fertility. What is practicable for a private firm 

 in such a case should not be beyond the power of governments. Such 



