Aim TEE 9AWADIAN NOSTE-WMST. r 



bem deelar«d to be among the abwlately hoaltUeft coontriM on the globe, and moft 

 pleasant to lire in. 



How is the supply of liVood f Wood for bnilding and fencing 

 purposes is a matter of great importance in a prairie country, and in thia respect the 

 Canadian North-west is peculiarly favoured. 



Although there are sections where wood is scarce, as a general rule there is a 

 well-regulated supply throughout the country. As we hare already stated, the 

 plains abound with wood in clumps ; and in other parts there are tracts of forest 

 so erenly interspersed that farmers can generally obtain a good wood lot in close 



Ktximity to their prairie farms, besides which the numerous rirers are inrariably 

 ed with wood on each bank. 



Elder, oak, elm, maple (hard and soft), and basswood may be planted, and will 

 grow successfully ; but cottonwood, poplar and willow will grow very rapidly, and 

 for ordinary purposes on a farm they are most useful. The following descriptions 

 of woods are found in the Canadian North-west : oak, white and red cedar, birch, 

 poplar, spruce, white ash, cottonwood, tamarack, cherry, white willow, balsam ash, 

 maple, pme, elm, and box-elder, the latter being very valuable, as it is comiag into 

 use extensively for the purpose of wood-engraving. 



In connection with tree planting, the following recommendation from a resident 

 fittmer in Manitoba is worthy of attention : 



" I would suggest that intending settlers in the North-west who come to settle 

 down on prairie land should break up an acre or two around where they build, on 

 tiie west, north and east, and plant with maple seeds. Plant in rows four feet 

 •part, the seeds to be planted one foot apart ; they can afterwards be thinned out 

 «ad transplanted. I have them twelve feet high, from the seed planted four years 

 ago, and Uiey will form a good shelter. " JAMES ST£WABT, 



"HighBlufiC 

 " [00 miles from Wlnnipag.]" 



Is "Water Plentiful and Good t A supply of good water is an 



indispensable necessity to the farmer, not only for household purposes, but also for 

 stock. The Canadian North-west has not only numerous rivei s aud creeks, but also 

 a veiy large number of lakes and lakelets throughout the whole country, and it has 

 now been ascertained definitely that good water can be obtained almost anjrwhere 

 throughout the territory by means of wells ; in addition to which there are 

 numerous clear, running, never-failing springs to be found throughout the country. 



Wbat are the Prospects for Coal f The coal mines of the 



ooontrr, although as yet in an undeveloped state, are now attracting the attentien 

 of capitalists. Very extensive deposits are known to exist in many parts of the 

 tenitoiy. The opening of these mines will solve any doubts that may exist as to 

 the fuel supply for the future cities and towns of the Canadian North-west. The 

 Canadian Pacific Railway being now open to Thunder Ray, on Lake Superior, will 

 alao enable coal to be imported and sold at prices as reasonable as those which 

 obtain in the adjoining States. 



Is there an abundance of Hay t There are between forty and 

 fifty Tarieties of wild grasses. 



The first point a farmer would note about them is the abundance of the foliage 

 of nearly all tne species. While the grasses of £astern Canada are nearly all culm 

 or stem, most of them having only one, two or three leaves, most of the North- 

 western grasses have ten or twenty leaves. Of course this is an extremely valuable 

 feature in grass, as the leaves are more easily digested than the culms. 



The culms arf exceedingly fine in the prairie grass, and this again would strike 

 a farmer as indie iting a good quality of grass ; add to this that there are in some 

 species such an abundance of seeds as to make the fodder partake of the nature of a 

 feed of grain, and it will be seen that the tales about the readiness with which stock 

 wUl fatten on prairie hay are not overdrawn. 



The following are a few of the varieties found : the brown-top or cedar grass, 

 one of the most valuable kind, has fine stem with abundant foliage, and there are 

 MTeial speeies of red-top very nutritious ; the pea grass, a kind of vetch, affords eood 

 ' fn> stock in winter; the beaver hay, much superior to the grass of the 



