FARM CROPS OF CAXADA IN 1901 , 21 



A. 5,120 acres. 



Q. "What sort of a fence is it and where is it situated ? 



A. The land inclosed by a common fence is outside the town in each case, and the 

 area inclosed is eight sections. 



Q. And has each person the deed of his own land ? 

 A. Yti- ; each jjcrson has his own land. 



By Mr. Henderson: 

 Q. What kind of a fence have they ? 

 A. The ordinary barbed wire with posts about a rod apart. 



By Mr. BolinKon (Elgin): 



Q. Has the land been surveyed in that section ? 

 A. Yes ; all the land settled has been surveyed. 



By Mr. McEiicn: 



Q. Is it wooden or iron posts ? 



A. Wooden posts are used. These can be had in the river bottoms, but are mostly 

 poplar, which is not a very durable wood for such use. The posts are all driven into 

 the ground, so it is not much trouble to renew them when they decay. 



By Mr. Davis: 



Q. I understand they are starting a beet root sugar factory ? 



A. Yes; I will refer to that presently. The streets are wide and each house has 

 about an acre of land which in most instances is well cultivated with garden vege- 

 tables, flowers and small fruits. Evidences of industry and frugality were everywhere 

 seen. The vice of drunkenness is scarcely known among the Mormons, a very large 

 proportion of them being total abstainers. Further a considerable number of them 

 drink neither tea nor coffee, but instead of these beverages use milk or water as they 

 believe this practice to be healthier and find it also more economical. These people 

 were very anxious to gain information likely to be useful to them in their agricultural 

 work and I had many applications, which have since been supplied, for the reports 

 and bulletins of the experimental farms, and many requests have since come in from 

 that district for samples of best and most productive varieties of grain, &c., such as 

 are being sent out from the experimental farms and especially of such varieties as are 

 likely to be suitable for their climate. They seem very anxious to test everything 

 which is likely to be useful to them. I found much intelligence and skill manifested 

 in the methods adopted for the management of their settlements all of which were 

 making extraordinary progress. The principle of co-operation was general among 

 them and they have made during the time they have been in southern Alberta much 

 more progress than any other settlement I have ever visited in the North-west. Poly- 

 gamy, which is usually associated with Mormonism in the minds of most people, seems 

 to be practically dead. It is said to be no longer a doctrine of the church and at any 

 rate, so far as could be learned, there was not the slightest evidence of such a practice 

 existing anywhere among the Mormons which I saw in this country.. They seem to be 

 an industrious and law-abiding community whose methods of co-operation are very 

 helpful and productive of contentment among their people. In each settlement the 

 head of each family is visited once a month by two of the leading men of the com- 

 munity, the wife being also visited by two of the leading women. During these friend- 

 ly visits inquiries are made as to the health of the family, and as to whether the sup- 

 plies of food are sufficient and when cases of suffering or want are discovered, efforts 

 are at once made to relieve them. 



One of the funds avail-able in the community for relief purposes, is known as the 

 ' fast ' fund. Every family is said to have a fast day once a month and on that day 



