FARM- CROrs OF CANADA IN 1001 25 



By Mr. Davis: 



Q. In dealing with the North-west Territories and Manitoba you haven't said 

 anything about the grasses at all. That is a question in which I am greatly interested, 

 are you going to take that up at some other time ? 



A. That is usually left to be taken up by Professor Fletcher, ou^r botanist and 

 entomologist at the experimental farm. He is our expert upon grasses and will, I 

 know, be glad to discuss this question fully. .^ 



Q. I should be glad to get information about it, and to have it taken up. 



By Mr. Richardson : 



Q. Is the irrigation svbtem a government enterprise or was it established by a 

 «ompany ? 



A. It is a company enterprise. The Xorth-west Irrigation Company built th? 

 canal at their own cost. 



Q. They got the land, did they ? 



A. Yes; I iinderstand tliat the land was given to them as part of their subsidy 

 for building the railway, in alternate sections as is usually the case where land is 

 given to a railway company. But before they began the construction of the canal 

 they made an arrangement with the government so that they got their sections of land 

 in a block running along the district where they proposed to build the canal. They 

 would not have attempted to build a canal of that magnitude if every alternate section 

 of the land along its banks was owned by other people. About 200,000 acres of land, 

 it is estimated by the company, can be watered by this canal, running a length of 115 

 miles. 



By Mr. Boss (Victoria) : 



Q. How is it built ? 



A. The canal is maiiily a matter of excavation. In many cases the soil is compact 

 enough when you get down to the subsoil to hold the water without much waste, but 

 occasionally a loose piece of ground is met with and in these places and also in low 

 spots they have to build sluices of timber to carry the water across. 



By Mr. Bohinson {Elgin): 



Q. I suppose the parties owning the properties there have to make arrangements 

 with the canal company to get water * 



A. The canal company from what I can learn propose to make very reasonable 

 and liberal arrangements with parties buying the land with regard to water. Tliey 

 have built the canal with the object of making money out of it, of course, and the 

 settlers going in there will have to pay a reasonable price for the water. 



Q. At so much per acre I 



A. So I understand. 



By Mr. McGowaii: 



Q. Have you any knowledge of the detailed cost to the company of constructing 



the canal '( 



A. I understood that the cost was from $350,000 to $100,000. The Mormoils did 

 a large part of the work of digging the canal. They came in there in considerable 

 numbers and contracted for the work. They were to have a certain price 'per cubic 

 yard for all the material lifted of a certain character, and for material of a more diffi- 

 cult nature a higher price. There were several different classes of material excavated, 

 end the prices ranged from 12J cents to 25 or 30 cents per cubic yard. Tho proportion 

 of heavy material to move was, I understand, much larger than was originally cal- 



