TEE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



cool the land surface, but render it equ- 

 able ill tenipiM ature, so as lo act auto- 

 niatioally on the air stratum above it, 

 cooling it wluMi too hot, warming it when 

 too cold ? Grasses, bushes, shrubs and 

 trees — the last being best of all, and tlie 

 slower-growing tlie better, because they 

 levy a lower tax upon the water in the 

 soil. Can any mechanical method lie less 

 costly than this natural one, which actu- 

 ally olfers men wages for condescending 

 to use it ? The deserts of the earth must 

 all be connected with deforestation, 

 whether natural or artificial, and prolialily 

 more of them result from the wastefulness 



of savage or barbaric man — whose fore- 

 sight is rarely longer ilian his uosi". Jt 

 is probably impossible lo aH'orest (luickly 

 any real desert. The work must pro- 

 ceed gradually from the edge of the more 

 fortunate area, extending year by year 

 into the waste, unless water can be i)ro- 

 curc'd from artesian wells or led ddwn 

 from the mountains. But deserts arc not 

 quite useless if they impress upon us the 

 necessity for forest economy. Clouds 

 will always condense sufficiently over 

 country bearing its proper proportion of 

 forest. 



Canadian Fafnt imgtiemenfs. 



By Ergates. 



I RECENTLY had the pleisnre of a 

 chat with Mr. J. Gumming, Trade 

 Commissioner of the Canadian Govern- 

 ment. He is making a tour through South 

 Africa with the object of improving the 

 trade relations of South Africa with his 

 country. His vocation across the Atlantic 

 is that of a miller, and more as a matter 

 of pastime he runs a small farm. He is 

 a most capable, all-round coinuiissioner, 

 and full of specific information on all 

 sorts of things. 



Of course, farming in Canada and 

 farming in South Africa are totally 

 - different. For instance, in Ontario, the 

 largest province, where the frost pene- 

 trates three feet into the ground during 

 the winter, the stock of all kinds must be 

 fed day and night for five out of the 

 twelve months. A common class of farm, 

 he said, was one of 200 acres. Such a farm 

 would run 40 cows and, say, 1.5 yearlings, G 

 horses, 20 to 30 sheep, and fatten otf lOO 

 pigs. The value of such a farm, well- 

 equipped with good buildings, well, wind- 

 mill, and all the improvements necessary 

 for Canadian farming, would be about £10 

 per acre. Cows are milked ten months 

 of the year. 



I asked him to give me the retail prices 

 to farmers of the following farm im- 

 plements, etc. 



Windmills. 



"Windmills," he said, "are found on 

 nearly every Canadian farm, and are 



much used as motors for all kinds of 

 machinery which can be advantageously 

 worked with intermittent power. I 

 recently had one put up on my own 

 farm, 12 feet wheel, tower 45 feet, well- 

 pump included. It was erected by the 

 maker, and the total cost was £25. Most 

 of my little farm is devoted to fruit, and 

 it may interest yon to learn in face of the 

 facts that our winters are extremely 

 severe, and that we export enormous 

 quantities of fruit, especially apples, that 

 we all have to spray against blights. 

 Every year my orchard is sprayed four 

 or five times. A couple of men do it 

 and if the spray pumps are good the work 

 is got through quickly." 



Farm Wagons. 



''The South African wagon is un- 

 doubtedly a splendid vehicle for the work 

 it has done in the past and the work it 

 has yet to do opening-up fresh Afi-icau 

 country, but to me !*■ seems altogether too 

 heavy and cumbersome for farm woi-k in 

 opened-up centres. I am speaking only, 

 of course, on general principles, for I 

 don't pretend to have any knowledge of 

 your local conditions. Our farm wagons 

 for 1^ to 2 tons, and well made of the 

 best material, are sold retail at £12. 

 Farmers' truck wagons, about 2 feet high, 

 with broad tyres, for going over soft 

 ground, and intended for hauling stone, 

 grain, and all kinds of produce about a 

 farm, cost £8. If the gear were only 



\ 



