February i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
66.1 
MANITOBA FOR HARDUP PLANTERS. 
A planter writes : — " I am desirous of obtaining 
some information about Manitoba, and shall be much 
obliged if you can give it. In the first place, I 
wish to know what is the cheapest and quickest 
way of getting ihere, and, if there is any way of get- 
ting there without going home tiist. If s-3, 1 should be 
glad to get an idea of the cost of passage. I en- 
close a letter from my brother who lias been there a 
little over a year. It is in answer to one I wrote 
some months ago. You will see by it that, for a 
young man who started with almost nothing 
will see by it 
i more than m 
m to run down 
hose who have 
it, but I thin! 
even a day labourer ca 
coffee planter. Not tha 
planting. Par from it. 
Capital, there is no li 
will agree with me that, for a man win. has" no 
capital, bu't who has heal h, strength, and energy, 
Manitoba is a better lield than Ceylon." We are 
sorry we cannot tell the exact sum which a passage 
to Canada costs. There are vessels occasionally 
leaving Colombo and Galle for New York, and by 
one of these no doubt our correspondent might ob- 
e at a moderate cost. We make the 
acts from the letter referred to by our 
Manitoba a great change from 
s. To begin with, the climate 
sr from November till March, 
ng as thaw, but a steady frost 
ionally. Some days atejextrenae'ly 
e in Scotland. The summer is 
Irier than at home. 1 did not 
iny way disagreeable, but you 
ter living so long in the tropics. 
. f or my part, I like the coun- 
u can readily 
tain a passage at. j 
following extracts fr 
correspondent : — 
" You would find 
Ceylon in mauy wa 
is very cold in win 
There is no such tl 
with a little snow occ; 
cold, but the general 
to a hard frosty til 
a little warmer and 
find th« winter in 
might Rnd it colder 
It is extremely hi alth 
try in all respects ver 
understand that any new country such as this can 
not have the social advantages of older countries. 
In my opinion, it is the best country in the world for 
any healthy energetic man or for men with capital. 
Free-grant lands are- to be had in all new settle- 
ments, and land along the route of railways can 
be had at 10s per acre payable in instalments 
I have written to the Minister of the Interior to 
forward you pamphlets with the latest land regulations. 
1 will tell you what I have been doing since com- 
ing here, and you will then have some idea of what 
your Ufe would be here at first. I had fifty acres 
of gram, mostly wheat. I sowed it with a seed- 
ing machine and harrowed and rolled it all myself. 
Lhrred a se'f-bmding reaper to cut it, which' cost 
me (is per acre, and stooked it myself, and with 
tho help of one man at 8s per .lay for five days 
1 drew it all m and stocked it. Threshing wdl 
cost me about 4s per acre, and the seed-whoat 
2 bushels at 4s=8s, oats 2 bushels at 2s=4s, 
per a ire respectively. The total cost of crop per 
•ore on an average would he 17f, besides my own 
labor, and the yield I expect will he: wheat 25 
bushels at 4s, oats ;>() bushels at 2s 5(1. You will 
sec from these figures thai farming pays prcth well. 
MgMnes and all other mots do well, but, of 
grr 
course, 
our staple crop < ne man can work about 
100 aees ot land himself, with tho help of one baud" 
in harvest. Owing to labor hem, so high (in dome 
Mb* 12a daily) „„„ has to do all the «..rk him- 
nelt at tiist. but Id< t consider li, t any hard- 
•ship All „ur houses an- w 1, , tly built by 
■ mrselves and neighbour-. H) the way, stock would 
pay well, but 1 have no' been able to gets any yet: 
only my horses, Butter bns never wen lower than 
Is per lb, since I came, and tho feeding conts no- 
thing only the labor of cutting hay for winter. Cattle 
at three years old are selling at §30 per pair for 
labor and cows abut $19 each. Of course, I don't 
expect these prices will be so high for many years 
either for stock or grain, but they will always be 
at paying prices. Even though one sold nothing, 
after they are started, and all debts paid, he could 
live weli, as we produce everything we require, ex- 
cep'ing tea and sugar. My land is one mile from 
railway station, and there is woott and water 
in the pljee. The land is as good as any can be. 
I began with very little money and have sold no- 
thing up to this but my income this year will be 
about £300, or about £l'60 clear cash. This will clear 
up an\ thing I owe and set me on my feet. So you 
see it is far ahead of farming at home. At 
, where there is nearly £-,000 invested, there 
has not been one pound cleared for years. If I had 
£2,000 here, I am safe to say I could clear £1,000 
yearly. Money is very dear : 12 per cent bank in- 
t'iest and on short conveniences 15 |.er cent. You 
could start comfortably on £'J 0. Many have started 
on less than half that amount and done well. A 
lazy man is no use here. Every one must be alike 
and work hard, when the work is to be done, but 
one has about six mouths of the year to himself 
only to haul and cut enough wood to burn, and 
feed your team, &c. The mosquitoes are pretty trouble- 
some for a couple of months, and then the winter 
is colder than one could wish, but' for any strong, 
hard-working young man, I unhesitatingly say : ' Come 
here.' Every one can'i make a fortune, bui all may 
make an honest livelihood. Your knowledge of busi- 
ness might stand you in good stead here, as store- 
keeping pays better than farming, if one only has 
the stamps ' to go in.' Retail prices are 3S per 
c ut over wholesale." 
SLAVERY AND PLANTING IN BRAZIL 
The first deca 
completed on tl 
have all been pi 
sung, a brief in 
may not be ami 
ae emancipation act of 1871 was 
ult. Now that the eulogiums 
ed, and the pams have all been 
into the workings of the law 
is well, perhaps, that this tenth 
u celebrated with eenerous 
nomage lortne man, tne visconde do Rio Branco, who 
achieved so much against so great an opposition. It 
is well, also, to give credit to the act itself, imperfect 
as it is, because it is a step toward emancipation, aud 
has already broken the chains of many slaves. And 
too, it is well to refer to the work accomplished with 
words of praise and pride, and then to picture the 
coming of that time when the crack of whip anil 
clank of shackles shall no longer be heard tbroughout 
this whole land. All this may be done with perfect 
propriety, providing, however, that the elogium doc3 
not stop short just there. Beyond all this s. ntiuieut 
there is a practical record, an inuer result, which should 
not be concealed and smoothed over with glowing 
figures of speech. The world will want to know the 
practical results of Brazilian emancipation, anil the 
sincerity with which it has been carried out. It will 
want to know how many slaves have been liberated, 
how much has been expended, what steps have been 
taken to improve their condition, mid bow much Ion U 
it will take to accomplish tin gr» at work. This tenth 
anniversary should have answer) d the e quesiious. but 
it did not. The day w;us honored aud cclobrat* d, but 
it brought forth no record of the work accomplished, 
no definite promise for the immediate future. 
The 1 iw of tree birth whs passed on the 28 Ul of 
.September 1871, and it proudid not only for the 
freedom of nil chililion born «>* sla-o mothers tht-ic- 
after, but also for th am Ual liberation of slaves. 
The total slave population of toe empire, according to 
