DISCOVERT OF MAEQTJIS WHEAT 183 



At Fort Vermilion, in 1909, 35,000 bushels of wheat 

 were grown with an average yield of 24 bushels per acre. 

 The wheat varieties with which this success was obtained 

 were all more or less early ones and included Ladoga, 

 Preston, Early Riga, and Eiga.*'' 



In the spring of 1917, 9,000 bushels of wheat were 

 shipped from Fort Vermilion to Fort William by Mr. 

 Sheridan Lawrence from his own farm. The wheat was 

 transported upon the steamship D, A. Thomas 280 

 miles up the Peace River, then 311 by the Edmonton, 

 Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway to Edmonton, 

 and finally 1,446 miles by rail from Edmonton to Fort 

 William, the total distance being 2,037 miles. The long 

 haul and high freight rates were overcome by the high 

 price for wheat prevailing at that time. This, however, 

 is not a normal condition and, until railway facilities are 

 provided for shipping the grain, the Fort Vermilion dis- 

 trict must find its markets nearer home. Upon his farm 

 Mr. Sheridan Lawrence has operated a stone flour mill 

 for over twenty years and recently has had a roller mill 

 installed.*® These facts indicate some of the possibili- 

 ties of the Northland. 



XV. Marquis, Ruby, and Prelude 



To meet the exigencies due to short seasons in the 

 northern parts of the Prairie Provinces, Dr. Saunders has 

 striven to produce new kinds of wheat which, in addition 

 to having a high yield and the excellent baking and milling 

 qualities of Marquis, ripen even earlier than this variety. 

 One of these wheats, an approximation to his ideal, which 



^T Experimental Farms Reports for 1909, p. 7. 



*8 F. H. Kitto, The Peace River District, its Resources and Oppor- 

 tvmities, Department of the Interior, Natural Resources Intelligence 

 Branch, Ottawa, 1918, p. 41. 



