Canadian Ar/nculture. 
293 
farms were submitted for the official inspection of the examiners 
of the Winnipeg Board of Trade, with the result that the 
wheat from four of the farms came within the No. 1 Hard Grade, 
which necessitates its being of the RedFj fe variety, containing 
not more than 10 per cent, admixture of softer varieties, and 
being sound, well cleaned, and weighing not less than 60 lbs. 
to the measured imperial bushel. The wheat from Dunmore 
was of special merit, and was graded " extra." 
Cattle Ranches of Alberta. — Though cattle are to be found in 
some numbers in the rich pastures around Turtle ISIountain, 
Moose Mountain, the Wood Mountains, the Cypress Hills, and 
in the valley of the South Saskatchewan, it is in the Bow River 
district, south of Calgary, that the best grazing lands occur. 
The rolling lands, the coulees, the foot hills of the Rockies 
flanking the lofty summits that loom grandly against the 
western sky, afford plenty of ground shelter to cattle in this 
well-watered region ; and the warm Chinook winds from the 
Pacific coast on the south-west rush through the Kootenay, 
Crow's Nest, Bow River, and numerous other passes. Luscious 
herbage, abundant and nutritious, grows in this favoured region, 
and it is here, in the south of the district of Alberta, that the 
Canadian ranches are to be seen. Stock-raising on an exten- 
sive scale is, however, a much younger industry in Alberta than 
in many of the Western States of the Union. Up to the spring 
of 1881, the number of cattle in the Bow River district did not 
exceed 3000 : a year afterwards the number had, by importa- 
tion of fresh cattle and the establishment of new ranches, risen . 
to 15,000 ; and the increase has since been, and still is, pro- 
gressive. The Dominion Government grants leases of sections 
of these grazing lands at the nominal rent of 1 cent {^d.) per 
acre, and the lessee binds himself, within three years, to place 
upon the land one head of live cattle for every ten acres of land 
embraced in the agreement, the term " cattle " implying bulls, 
oxen, cows, or horses at least one year old. The contract is for 
twenty-one years, during which period the lessee agrees not to 
apply any part of the land to other than grazing purposes, nor 
to graze sheep upon the land without the consent in writing of 
the Minister of the Interior. Should the Governor in Council 
at any time during the twenty-one years think it to be in the 
public interest to open for settlement the lands devoted to 
ranching, or to terminate the agreement for any reason, the 
Minister of the Interior may, on giving the lessee two years' 
notice, cancel the agreement at any time. The leases are 
limited to the area of 100,000 acres, the full extent of which, 
however, is generally taken up. 
As a general rule, in the western districts, a mild winter and 
