10 Th: Agricultural liesources of Canada. 



cattle, and grow some crops. In this district were several sheep farms. 



My personal impression is that splendid sheep-walks could be made 



h(»re. A fivnnor who was our fellow-travelh^r for some distance, and 



who had a cattle ranch and a horse ranch, told us that, in his oninion, 



sheep had better prospects than any other animal in this district. 



Another farmer, who hu,d been sheep-farming in New Zealand, told us 



that he considered this place better for making money than New 



Zealand. A young man could start a sheep ranch with very small 



capital. A good class of sheep could be bought for about flB3 or i$4 



(128. to 16s.) each, and a stock of 500 would be a fair start. AVool, 



owing to the McKinley tariff in the States, is not high at present, 11 



cents (5|d.) per lb. being the average price. Wolves are the only 



dangerous animals in this neighbourhood, but they do not run in packs. 



The town of Edmonton is situated on the banks of the Saskatchewan 



liiver. The river is 1,000 ft. wide, with banks rising 200 ft. high. 



The town is in two parts, the oldest being on the north bank of the 



river, and the new part on the south side, where also is the railway 



station. There seems to be much rivalry between the two parts of 



the town. There is some gold found by the river side in the form 



of dust. The gold-washers earn from $2 to SB4 a day. Seams of coal 



can also be seen cropping out of the ground on the river banks. We 



went to see a coal mine near the town. We walked about 100 yards 



along a level to see the coal before it was mined. There seems to be 



any quantity of it, and it is sold in the town for $2^ (10s.) per ton. 



There are four or five coal mines near the town. There are also 



brickworks there, and some very good bricks are manufactured, and 



used on some of the best buildings. 



On the 22nd we drove along a circuitous route to St. 

 St. Albert, Albert. On our way were some of the heaviest crops of oats 

 and barley that I ever saw. The barley was of excellent 

 colour. In the village of St. Albeit we found a large number of 

 farmers — mostly half-breeds — horse-racing. They could find time to 

 do this, although most of their grain was in the fields, not beinc: 

 carried. On the bank of the river Sturgeon is situated the Roman 

 Catholic cathedral, together with the Bishop's palace. We were 

 received by the Vicar-Ger'eral, his Lordship being away from home. 



The land in this district seems to be very rich ; it has a depth of 

 several feet of black mould, under which are several feet more of 

 marly clay. There have been some very heavy yields of oats — as much 

 as 1()0 bushels to tiie acre; of barley, 65 bushels; and of wheat, about 

 40 bushels. 



, On the 23rd we drove to Fort Saskatchewan, 20 



Fori miles down the river. This is the headquarters of 



Saskatchewan, the Mounted Polict^ of the district. Travelling back 

 by the south side of the river, wo had our first 

 experience of the trouble the fencing in of the land makes 1/ 

 shutting up the trail. We completely lost our way. We passed 

 several new settlers ; and as we got nearer Edmonton we saw many 

 old settlers, several of whom had good and well-made houses. I 

 am of opinion that this district has a splendid future, on account 

 of its rich soil. It will grow all kinds of corn and vegetables. It 



