Canadian Agriculture. 



163 



this part of the country have found it increasingly difficult to 

 compete with the western settlements in the cultivation 

 of wheat, and, as a result, their energies have been directed to 

 more remunerative branches of farming, and particularly to 

 dairying and fruit culture. In Manitoba and the North- West 

 Provinces wheat is " king," and it is on the immense areas 

 •of fertile virgin soil of this region that the bulk of the 

 wheat produced for export will continue to be grown. 



The prominent position occupied by agriculture among the 

 industries of the Dominion may be illustrated by reference to 

 the relation the value of the exports of the products of the 

 farms and orchards bears to the total value of the exports of 

 all kinds of Canadian produce, excluding coin and bullion. 

 For the past three years these values compare as follows : — 



Year. 



Value of all 

 Exports. 



Value of Exports 



of Agricultural 

 Produce (excluding 

 timber). 



Percentage of 

 Agricultural to all 

 Exports. 





£ 



£ 





1894 



21,636,000 



9,959,000 



46 



1895 



21,423,000 



10,111,000 



47 



1896 



22,856,000 



10,152,000 



44 



Over four-fifths of the aggregate value of the agricultural 

 produce exported, excluding timber, is accounted for by the 

 consignments to the United Kingdom. The principal articles 

 included in these exports are live-stock, grain, meat, cheese, 

 peas, and apples. The value of Canada's exports of farm 

 products to the United States, her next largest customer, 

 has ranged from ^950,000 to 1,460,000 annually during the 

 past three years, the principal items being wool, hides, barley, 

 hay, horses, and sheep. 



Timber is not included in the foregoing statement of the 

 value of the exports of agricultural produce, but the products 

 -of the forest constitute a considerable item in the external 

 trade of Canada. During the past three years her average 

 -exports of logs, lumber, and square timber have amounted 

 to a sum exceeding ;^5,ooo,ooo* annually, of which about 



" This does not include the export of bark, firewood, wood-pulp, wood for wood- 

 pulp, which amounts to about ;i^25o,ooo in value annually. The exportation of wood- 

 pulp is increasing. 



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