CANADIAN AGRICULTURE. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 10

CANADIAN AGRICULTURE. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

OTTAWA, February 20. The Government has decided to establish direct isteamship connection with South Africa. Tlus is one of the results of the war, and no doubt your people are olso turning their eyes toward this promising market. It is believed that a large opening will be afforded there for our lumber, some of our farm products, and certain classes of manufactures. Shrewd commercial agents will be sent ahead to prepare the way for business, and, if possible, to prevent some of the mistakes which seem to be inseparable from the opening up of new commercial fields. We have already learned a lesson from our experience in Australia, ai-d it is the desire of the Government and cur business men to proceed along prudent line.*. There w ill inevitably be great rivalry among the nations for trade in South Africa -vhen that war-stricken country is restored to peace, and Canada ought to have a fair share of the demand for the products which she is capable of supplying. Of course, a considerable subsidy will need to be provided by Government to secure a first-class line of steamers. In this connection you may probably have seen something in the despatches of our humiliation w ith respect to tinned meats supplied to the forces in South Africa. With the demand for food of this character which sprung up with the war the canning industry was given a special impetus in Canada, and large hopes were entertained that the business would assume profitable proportions. Our people, however, are novice 8 in this line. They have not had your experience. The result was that complaints came from South Africa, and a commission was s\}pointed by Government to examine samples of tinned meats sent back to Canada. 'I he packing of four shippeis was submitted io te°t. Two were pronounced to bo excellent, one fair, and one unfit for hum in food. Your correspondent knows something of the character of New Zealand tinned meats, and it is his opinion they are the best in the world. This being so, it would seem to be probable that your packers must have received immense orders from South Africa. I hope this has been the case. Our American neighbours have been called upon to supply large quantities of tinned food, and yet the experts recently employed by -the Government pronounced two of the lots sent from Canada to be much superior to the United States product. Our farmers have been content to ahip live animals to Great Britain, and up to recently there does not seem to have been an inclination to embark in the canning business. We have been sending out from five to seven steamers laden with hay to South Africa each month, and it is not probable there will be any considerable competition from Canada in meats. The purchase of horses for South Africa continues throughout the Dominion, and it will probably continue for some time to come. Nevertheless, the call upon us in this regard has not been for more than 2 or 3 per cent, of all the animals bought by the Imperial Government. These sales have been profitable to our western ranchmen and to our farmers generally ; but it is not all clear gain. One of the immediate results has been to advance the price of horses throughout the country ; so that what has been gained on one hand has become a tax on the other. Even in the north-west it is difficult to get a good horse for farming purposes at a lower price than £25 to £30, which is a very considerable increase over the figure of three years ago.