155 



Canadian Agriculture. 



According to the census returns of 1891, over three-fifths of 

 the total surface returned as occupied for agricultural 

 purposes in the Dominion was situated in these older 

 provinces, and nearly half of the entire area of improved land 

 (14,000,000 acres out of 28,500,000 acres) was accounted for 

 by Ontario. West of the last-named province lie Manitoba 

 and the three organised territories comprised within the 

 prairie section, and there the natural conditions are favour- 

 able to the pursuit of all branches of agriculture ; but the 

 country is for the most part only sparsely settled and has 

 yet to be developed. It has been estimated that Manitoba 

 contains about 4,000.000 acres of some of the best wheat- 

 growing land in the world ; the area under all kinds of 

 crops in the province does not, however, exceed two million 

 acres, of which rather more than half is devoted to wheat. 

 British Columbia has sometimes been represented as a "sea 

 of mountains;" but agriculture is making great progress in 

 this province, and the climate in the lower mainland and 

 Vancouver is very favourable to dairying and fruit-growing. 



The area of occupied land in the Dominion at the last 

 census was sixty million acres, of which nearly half was 

 returned as improved. This surface was distributed among 

 the various provinces and islands as shown in the following 

 statement: — 



1 



Total 

 Area 

 Occupied. 



Distribution of Occupied Area. 



Crops. 



Pasture. 



Woodland 

 and 

 Forest. 



Gardens 



and 

 Orchards. 



British Columbia 

 Manitoba - 

 New Brunswick - 

 Nova Scotia 

 Ontario 



Prince Edward \ 

 Island - j 

 Quebec 



The Territories - 



Acres. 

 3,329,660 

 5,228,272 

 4,471,250 

 6,080,695 

 21,091,698 



1,214,248 



15,961,763 

 2,910,144 



Acres. 

 50,126 

 1,226,439 

 1,018,704 

 969,548 

 10,366,281 



536,175 

 5,542,780 

 194,773 



Acres. 



713,437 

 3,765,990 



479,607 



994,113 

 3,461,623 



178,072 



3,054,539 

 2,637,407 



Acres. 

 2,558,342 



230,171 

 2,961,460 

 4,086,998 

 6,933,746 



496,156 

 7,290,817 

 75,964 



Acres. 



7,755 

 5,672 

 11,479 

 30,036 

 330,048 



3,845 



73,627 

 2,000 



Total - 



60,287,730 



19,904,826 



15,284,788 



24,633,654 



464,462 



