AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH-WEST CANADA. 223 
In Rouban District 1909 
New Land | Old Land 
| Per Bushel | ! Per Bushel 
Per Acre | (at 30 per | Per Acre | (at 30 per 
Acre) Acre) 
| | 
| = —S eS ee — i \ =| —— 
Breaking ; ¢ ; . .| $4.50 | $01500 | — —_ 
Cultivation . : ; F |. 3.50 0:1167 $2.60 | $6:0867 
Seed : : , : : salpees Lee 00433 1.40 | 0-0433 
Harvesting, ke... : : - | ast. 01250 | 3.75 | 01250 
a —| 
Cost at farm . 5 : ; : 13.15 04350 $ 7.75 0 2550 
| Hauling grain ; 5 j - 1.50 0:0500 1.50 0:0500 
| Costatelevator . . . .| 14.65 04850 9.25 0°3060 
| Freight to Port Arthur . . sal — 0:1200 | = 071200 
sha a | 
| — = $0°6050 | $ 01250 | 
———— = Pen wat Sd. om 
It is to be observed that, with the exception of seed and binder 
twine the whole of the above costs are costs for labour, which on a 
small acreage the farmer may, with his family, render himself. His 
actual outgoings are thus small; but if he is a new comer, working 
on new land, he has to compete with others whose land has already 
been in cultivation for years, and whose net earnings are therefore much 
greater, whether they employ labour or not. 
The costs above enumerated vary with the district and with the 
season, so also does the net price obtained, and therefore the profit. 
Any attempt to strike an average must therefore result in an arbitrary 
figure which would be almost destitute of value. The above schedules 
are given chiefly with a view of suggesting how such costs might be made 
up. In addition to the enumerated items there are to be considered 
. also three others, one of them variable in different districts, although 
easily ascertainable, viz., taxation; the others are very difficult to 
estimate. These are the value of the farmer’s labour of superin- 
tendence — his physical labour has been provided for—and the 
amount of his rent or the interest upon the purchase price of his land, 
with depreciation or improvement taken into account. In the case of 
production upon new land the balance of the cost of cultivation over 
that of old land may fairly be spread over, say, five years. In this 
way the net mean annual cost of his wheat to the farmer in the cases 
quoted would be reduced. His net profit in any one year would, how- 
eyer, depend upon the proportion of new land which he brought into 
cultivation. 
At a Winnipeg price of 75c. per bushel the farmer would probably 
make a gross profit, out of which the three last-mentioned items would 
haye to be defrayed, of approximately 20c. per bushel, upon such of 
his wheat as might reach the standard for which this price was obtain- 
able. Out of this gross profit the farmer has to provide his wages of 
superintendence, interest upon the amount paid for his land, interest 
upon his agricultural capital, and, besides, an insurance fund against 
the fluctuations of the seasons and the markets. 
