20 The Afjr'unhural Hesource9 of Canada. 



dryiu'MH of tho atmoHphere, and the almost continuous cloudless sky, 

 render it much eauier to bt^ar than equal temperature on the Atlantic 

 coast. Judging from the ap(><>ttranc«' of the inhabitants, the climiite 

 must Ix' a lu-altliy one, the children enpecially looking remarkably well. 

 Its drawljacks are wtorms and blizzards, and summer frosts. Hail- 

 Ktorm.H in some parts damage the wheat crops; but most of the farmers 

 insure against hucU a loss, which they can do for a small sum. This 

 summer hot winds came, and ri[>ened the crops too soon, and caused 

 oon!<idHrable losses. >* ^^ f-ilU in November, covering the earth to a 

 depth of about 18 inches, it remains continually on the ground, 

 without thunderstornis, thaws, miii, or fog, until March, or the 

 beginning <>t" April, when it gDes away. Ml day the sun shines 

 brightly. There are no cyclones in Manitoba. The rainfall is small, 

 and is lieavier in May and Junt-s than in other months. The favourite 

 mode of travrlling in winter is by means of sleighs. 



As soon as the snow clears comes the busy time of the farmer. 

 He must then put in his wheat crop. It is wonderful how cheap they 

 can sow their wheat per acre. It is difficult there, as here, to say what 

 cultivating land costs, as it depends so much on the condition of the 

 land previously. If summer fallowed, a good deal more expense is 

 incurred. Breaking prairie is also more expensive ; but if it is oidy 

 pJoughing stubble, the cost is very little. The following particulars 

 were given to me by a farmer in whom I had every confidence : — 



The wheat harvesting is nearly all done by the self-binder. These 

 machines will cut and bind about 10 acres a day. It takes two men to 

 stook the wheat after one machine. They place from 15 to 20 sheaves 

 in each stook. The wheat is cut froui 9 inches to a foot high, as 

 straw is of no consideration there. On threshing days the straw is 

 burned to raise steam. The rest is drawn into the fields and burnt. 

 To me this appeared to be a great waste, in view of the great scarcity 

 of straw in this country. They make their stacks in groups of four 

 on the fields, and place the thresher between them. A good deal 

 is threshed straight from the stooks. Two men cut the ties and attend 

 to the feeder, one on each side. The straw being short, it is no wonder 

 they can thresh such an enormous quantity in a day. At Indian Head, 

 a machine threshed 2,260 bushels in eight hours, the week before we 

 were there. It is easy to calculate how much corn is threshed, as it is 

 put in 2-bushel bags or sacks. The average da/s work is from 1,500 



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