FARMING IN ALBERTA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 434, 17 February 1909, Page 5

FARMING IN ALBERTA.

A NEW ZEALANDER'S IMPRESSIONS. ' A LAND OF PROMISE. ' Mr.- John A.Macdonald, of .Mangawcka,; has just returned from a nine ■ months' visit 'to '/Western' Canada. /•':/ The' extraordinary opportunities ■ which, ho says, aro offered to 'investors, ;.within' the fall wheat belt "in. .southern, -Alberta ■. . have... induced - Mr./ MuO: douald to invest/in. 800 acres of prairie land; Yesterday he gave, to a , Dominion representative some 01 his impressions of this land of ptomiso. :/:; ;: /' : It is/only within tho last few years,, Mr. Macdonald stated, .that it. has been discovered 'that'faU.'wheat can be grown,in. the'Albert^. ; . district]-'; The ranchers who have had the. 'run 'of.■;this;fine country, all to themselves; for many ..years did. rill- they could to. keep the grain man out. Astonishing Grain Yields. • ; A few Americans . tried.- grain growing. Tho results havo been astonishing, . yields going from .30 .to |40 bushels of wheat per acre of .breaking, and as high as 57 of properly-worked ground. . Oats . often goas' high/'as/100 ; bushel's -per/..acre;..-;The-land is, good, black' soil on' a clay subsoil, all ready 'fpr;/the.;;plough,::'and, .can ,;be put ;in.' 'three, times,-seeding;: including cost of best seed—for 275. per 'acre. Harvesting costs about 14s. per acre. These are contract prices -: at which. contractor s >/do. very weU'.' : there: are. ;no' labour .troubles;in'-Caihada'.V Hie. poorest crop to expect .'woujd be. 30 bushels per acre, which is 'Worth -per 'bushel, giving ,a /re-/ turn of £410s. for an outlay of 41s. Sowing ! a" ; costs very much less,/'and., as-tho ground, is/better prepared and provides' a hotter' seed bed gives a far greater crop.

Cost of Labour. //Breaking the; prairie sod costs 12s;', 6d. per. acre:.vThis-/is ' contract-'■; price; ./and. farmers; wh<> employ labour and do the, work-' "themselves can do so for a great deal less. Firstclass ploughmen cost £2-and board per weok. G.ood experienced: farm hands got 355. per .week.//In harvest' time: mehare p'aid'-a little better, but unskilled labour is not 'so well paid as in Now Zealand.. ; /"/; .".'/1. ;•:'Grain- is.;'.all,'handled'-loose.:". Some/of the farmers/ have, small/ portable granarie>s . built,, These'/hold; ;1300 /bushels,,; and tho "grain. is; dumped ::direct/rfrqm>;th'o.;;,thresher.itov the 1 granaries;'.ahd'/stor«l;;'there -.tyi /it';/is':.'; sold.; carted to tho railway cars'or elevators.• •/ V,; Stock-raising; is { also ' very,. profitable. / Many; ranchers ; havo. a holding of-160 acres for a -and, have/hundreds of cattle; and. horses ; running-JooSo; ment;is now going on,-so fast that'these, find, the. land; being : fencM inj and, ''lbosing .their : runs: from this, cause,; are/going further, back; or soiling out and going into!'grain-growing instead.. . Hay is so good and cheap in/Alberta that straw is. nover chaffed as in New •Zealand/ 5 ./ After./threshing, / tho; straw;' is-' left /in tbe./field, to' form;stock.shelter;during';win- : ter • and .is burned in. spring. ' Sugar-beet .groWihg/is' .another.A -'sugar factory has been "started at Raymond,. and. farmers got. £1 Os.':Gd.-per;ton for beet _load«l on/the/cars. ;//;The"-.Saver- ! ; iage'.crop is 11/tpns.-periacre. /'There.is;hbwV. ever,. moro _ work attached to'. beet-growing ttfan to grain. ; . ;^ ; :/:-':-p;'^/?//" Cllmato'and Irrigation. ! /r.The;climate,,omng to the warm wind which' ! blows'>:from /the ; Pacific, in. winter.../is very' mild-as,/compared/ with':. |hat of-. tho'rrestV-of: Canada. ' Tho snowfall is. very light, and snow is;/selrloni- seen dn tho ground- many' days after, it falls. ■ Most of; the winter is brightland suiiny;' ,-Thd stiii'shone.foiyY hours i 0 ,minutes on /the/'shortest/ day,; and./the, grourid,^except/in,/shady.'places;;., was,: quite clear of. snow; Land is sold at. from £3 25,. 6d. to £0 'Is. per acre; / iVi.':;

:':The,;;/Cariadiah'/Pacific;'. Railwaynow carrying /oiit. a very complete sys.tem,' of irxi-: gation.The Dominion . Gotornment: turned over., a huge block of 3,000,000 • acres; to them .to,irngate'./;;It is/for.jtho;.irrigable .portions'of : this land that -£5 4s. is. charged. /; ' It also carries; a; waterrent ''(said to^"'be^'thi'' cheapest on /earth)/ 2s; Id,; por\acre. The dry ' lands; of; this' block/'are; sold, settlers: getting" their,. pick,at]£3.2s. 6d; pier acre 5 one-tenth cashi Bal?: ance in nine annual payments. The averago rainfall; is -18'inches,/nearly all; of which falls .'during:': tho'f growings months;' Irrigation is; not, necessary;for'^grain'frrowing; ; but, as there/ is-abundance" of. flowing.by,;iri the' Bow River;it';wiis;cpnsidered'advisable/to irrigate; as this' ; means Z close '/settlement V> in time. Lucornei ' Timothy, and all /kinds / of', 1 garden, produce are very profitable. The' irrigation' block, is-only . a few miles east of'CalgarjJ Alberta's largest city. This'.town.. isjgrowing. very fast-. The. population ■is now .25,000, : though a few years / ago' it was only a small ranching 'centre/ /'Calgary has a very fine appearance.-; Most of.-the city is built of the flocal/hard; sandstone.. An electric street car; service nbw' being; installed./'/.Thero are : : only ; a /dozen or, so butter : factories in Alberta as -yet; these belong to the suppliers, hut-are: worked'by-, tlw Royernmentj: who'put/ good; men,in to ( ' niai!,}ro them. Tlio cost of tho -ahd'plant is first supplied by,' the/Government and a. certainv^araqunt:is; stopped .'each year'-to pay off .that; expense:. The/whole:of^^-the.,^^ -findsl.a'.''ready, salein Western Canada. Ranching and.graiih growing'; is / so:'/prpfitable that it is hardly likely that-.there will ;be 'much more/done in dairying while land is so cheap. ' V/*'. It is reported that a number of /New Zea.khdors :i ,are / going / to. Australia 'to', look for land. It is not desirable that' tliev should leave New Zealand, but if ,they., mean/to. do so, it,would be. well for them to go and see the-true/state of; 'things in Southern Alberta firstV : /Thero are crowds of tho best class of American^:'coming; in .every jyear, . and/these people, who aro used to' farming" on prairie lands, are; getting extraordinary results, ■