Mr. Joftn Rof^frtMt ReiMrt. 27 



to 2,000 bush«'l«. The farmers are not in a hurry to carry their wheat, 

 as there is no danger of rain at thai time of the year. They do not 

 thatch their ftaclcs, and no trouhle iii taken for the sake of app<»aranc<\ 

 The wheat is carried «*trai((ht frrnn the htooks an<i the thresher to the 

 elevator, where it is cloanetl and NtonKi, to the h«'i«;tit of alxmt 70 feet. 

 If our wheat was carrieti in th« same m^mntT, and st4»r»Hl, it would only 

 he tit for the manure heap. The quiiiity of the Manitoba No. 1 hard 

 is so well known that it does not r't^u r»« any praise, it is always in 

 demand at Liverpool and other corn marketn, and comuiands the high- 

 est price. 



These territories are situated west and north-west of 

 The North-West Manitoba, the chief town being Kegina. In Alberta 

 Territories. the climate is not so cold as in Manitoba. The 



"chinook" winds — that is, warm winds from tlu» Pacific 

 — blow over the country, and soon melt away the snow and ice. It is in 

 this district that tho large cattle, horse, and sheep ranches are situated. 

 The animals do not requii'e much winter shelter, nor much winter k(»ep ; 

 but no farmer is safe who does not provide for a possible exceptional 

 winter. The cattle in the Edmonton district were in ve'vy good con- 

 dition. We also saw in the same neighbourhood very fine lots of sheep. 

 In my opinion, this district is eminently suitable for sheep, being a 

 rolling prairie, with plenty of good water. Up to the present time 

 sheep-ranching hns not received the attention it deserves— at all 

 events, in the districts we visited. 



The crops we saw in the Territories were the best we saw in our 

 travels. The wheat crops at Indian Head, and the oats and barley at 

 Edmonton, were far superior to anything we saw elsewhere. The wheat 

 is said to have yielded in some cases as high as 55 bushels per acre, 

 oats 100 bushels, and barley 45 bushels. These, of course, would bo 

 exceptionally fine crops, and the average would be under this. The 

 great drawback of the country is the distance from good markets. 

 Of course, as the district gets better populated, this will be partly 

 remedied. The best course at present is to put the produce in as 

 condensed a form as possible, such as cheese, beef, wool, &c., «fcc. 

 Owing to the quantity of coal to be found, no doubt many manufactures 

 will spring up, the development of the country being only a question 

 of time. 



Land can be secured at a very cheap rate from either the Canadian 

 Piicific llailway Company — who are large holdeis of land, and whose 

 prices vary from 8s. an acre upwards — or from the Dominion agents. 

 If the purchaser pays cash, he gets his deeds at once ; but payment may 

 be spread over nine ;ears by paying one-tenth down, and paying 

 interest for the remainder at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum. Free 

 lands, consisting of a quarter-section — 160 acres — may be obtained by 

 any person who ii the head of a family, or by anyone over 18 years of 

 age, by paying $10, and complying with the conditions as to building 

 and cropping. Full particulars of terms, &c., can be obtained from any 

 of the Dominion land agents. My advice to new-comers to these Ter- 

 ritories, as well as to other parts, is not to rush to buy a farm as soon 

 as they get there. It would be much better for them to work on 



