The Farms.

Western Star, Issue 346, 24 April 1880, Page 5 (Supplement)

The Farms.

OANADTAN AGrItICULTURB.

‘ (Froth a Delegates Journal.)

September 29.—Left Niagara for Toronto by -way of Hamilton; passed through some fair,good country, but; forthe..moat, part badly farmed, fruit and r wheat being the principal crops, the pastures having a poor appearance,! After, leaving .Hamilton the farming improved. Coming along we saw a good number of well-bred, cattle in the. fields. . , •„ t.:: ; September-30.-—Set; off for London by Grand Trunk Railway, which we reached at Ip.m. Passed through a;good country most of the way, fairly well farmed. Very little pasture land, and what there was looked poor and. cleanly .eaten.; A. good; many fairly, bred cattle glpng the route. v :: October 2.—Left London by 5.40 a. Mi, train for. Dothwell, from whence we drove to Dresden, by way of Florence, through a middling country. ;The, soil •very-un-equal-—in some parts. lightand sandy, while others again were - strong £ clay j and sometimes would pass through good loamy soil, in parts very badly. farmed. -The straw apparently is of no value to the farmers, as in many instances it is allowed to fpt in the fields, v From Dresden. to Chatham (the latter a fine;town of 800 inhabitants), ..through a - fingf. country, and; many portions of it well farmed, although the wasteful practice of leaving the straw in the fields to rot, and in many instances : burning if;, was being very generally practised.

October 3.—Took an extensive circuitous drive thiaforenoon, when we saw by for the best land w$ ; had \ yet seem. Saw..very fine farms.on both of ; the River Thames, upon which, there is com-? muni cation with the ; lakes;; by . steamboat. The l iand in this district is. of a strong, loamy nature, and will grow 5 anyt kind of crops in abundance year after yearn with?; out manured , Wei saw large fields; of very , fine maize in this.district; also great fields of wheat grown successively .thereon,;for many years. It is also a very• good grazr inglffMiwfery.. Some pf; the; farmers - here fatten a large number of?cattles for?export to Britaiii,, which they r informed lus yhaft paid them very well, and to all appearance; it is a trade which will extend very rapidly. In the afternoon we drove.by way of Buckhorn ,to Blenheim; i through & very fine; country,, and generally iWeIL - farmed. Grapes, peaches,- and-applesare/Very :exr' tensive grown in thisi district. We drove for many miles- alonguthe’i highwayj ? with: orchards on ! .-both -sides, which Extended all the’iWOy t° DefcroitJ:a~,distance bf over . 30 miles.,, The, fruit was most abundant, andis : a ; very profitablercrop. j They are; starting sugar-beet factories in this district.; The,sugar-beet grows here to perfection —trpnfe 4.0 -to. 50 :toa, per acre-rand - for which they, get 5 dol.-per ton at the fac'lory. ?rI; - consider a great/portion >of the. land I saw to-day as good ssjiand in many instances, much bet terthanthelandaround Edinburgh ; acid,;as l said before, it will grow wheat and maize -years after yeafi without manure..- -n

again-to-day great (stack's of straw barning—a mostwasteful practice. - Driving through the district? in company with! thesslxeriffy -T drew? his. attentiom to fhis, and suggested that he should pass an ' Act making il criminal to putsuchgood fodder. . Into flames, at which he laughed,;and said be thought it . a good idea-, f’ Tib reference to this-, the sheriff toldnne of. an ? enterprising farmer &ho haflshifted? his? barns three: times to get rid of; accumulated manure; The sheriff Had also seen -large quantities of straw pitched in r the river from -the -1 threshing machine.:;:. Farms here' can : be‘ bonght-fiora 20 to: 7*si dols; ! per acre/ad« : cording? to the state of dqultivation* 5 and hnildingSi '1 ’ '■ October 4.—Drove this morning towards the lake, o'fhe land-is good,-with a-gentle sSope 'ancl southern? exposure, • and- grows any -kind of fruit to-perfection. '’ Some farma here could be bought from 30-to : 50? dols.' per’acre ; looked - ? like a 'good ment; - Driving to Rtdgefdn; Where they;' had a.local show, ! which-fraS'a ( Treafyscredi* hie exhibition;'and thence tP-Thainesville, where we took train for IngersOh i t Between Blenheib and« ThaiPesville the'-soih is various;* mostly light,--good-portion ?Pfew; country partly cleared;;? Leaving the train at Ingefsol,’ Vre drove*’to Woodstock,- in county Oxford. Light gravelly soil most©f the way. o/ v-o-y* Jo,*iernw.v'an? October s.—Drove to Eastwood;?a farm of l()G0- acreS—2oo-'td; Cleanup? beautifulplacntd reside? We;'^erh ; hospitably entertained - by Mr :; Paterson-.''- He wishes to? sell the place, and asks *50;600 dole. fdr r if? The? Ihnd between 5 this 5 4 add IWoodstocklookedpodr'and Worn cuff 1 --" I; 5 October 6.-- Went ‘by Bowpafk ferm^about; great portion; of If And' InSbedfed aR the 1 dr the largest’inlfhe .world, ;.(upr wardbPf 4b0); besides l 4ob pCdws’ ’kept ftp nurses, &c. We were Vety ! hospitably entertained by-the enbrigetit^Si'aEfagfef,* sfr many hod - Bpent*a? ! pleasant^and«profitable

afterhboh. bburilry thrdagh ’which we passed was in part very good land, hope being grown to a certain extent. - l October 7.—Our drive from Woodstock to-day was through a very fine country, where we saw some very good, wellfarmed land. Visited several large cheese factories, which seemed to be well managed, everything beihg- the perfection of cleanliness. Mr Smith, whom we called-’ upon, has just tied up forty cattle to feed, which he informed us were, very profitable. We stayed to dinner with Mr Donaldson, originally from Cumberland, who has a fine farhr of 300 acres,; for -part of which he paid 85 dols. per acre. lU His barns and stables are well arranged and substantial, and everything well managed. ; From this we drove to Ingerspl, through a. Verygbod country as a rule, rather more hilly than any we had yet seen. Saw very considerable numbers r of cattle and sheep; in the fields, 1 mostly fair softs. - Principally a dairydistridt/ alb the milk, sept into the cheese . factories,’ Cows,'we are informed, will fetch; 30 to 40 dols. each. \Obtobef -Bi—Frofn Jngersol to Norwich we drove through a very fine country, Where s we saw- a great many farms ’-with fine brick houses and other - substantial out-buildings. Judging from outward appearances, farmers in this district seem to be in a very .prosperous condition. - There is'here a very considerable extent, of grazing; land, wfII stocked with good cattle. From Norwich <t6 - Woodstock the; land much the same. All the farmers 1 seemed prosperous. Houses and. outbuildings good, and the land well cultivated. Farms here Would sell . from 70 t 6 80 do!, per acre," hut not, very many in this district for 1 sale.' ■V ’ ~ . 1 r " J ■

lOctoher ?.—-Went by rail from Wood-, stock^to^irnCoCjiin,County ;pfincipaily. through a poof, sandy. .country. “

jdctober 10.?—Driving by Lake; Erie shbre along. wi£hr;,Mr Hunter as ;far, as Fors' Dftveri. we ; saw a number ; pf,good /arms.- He gaye ; me a very good,report of -the country generally -for fariniag.H irltthis Own words, ; ft,you can grow; lanyidtind of rcrbp to perfection.”’ He has grown some, seasons t {;400 ; - bushels i of • .carrots ?,(60 >lb . a .bushel)’jUpon a quarter ; of ; an ;!i ao.re. --j He. also says, “ Put sheep on the worst land in jGanada,; and,, it.-will .make them- thick fat, which ;I can corrohoraj: e, - - having > never seen a lean sheep while there, :- . ;

>:d Qotober the Guelph Agricultural i GoHegeftand* Model Farni-i: 560 ‘ acfesidn extent"; ! established about-five ■yeaifs aga fit isi an excellent;institution, and doubtless will; be of great .benefit ) to the ■; There is geuerallyi&bout 100: students/ who perform • most; of* the work Uppa£, %he farm, and undergo a rspecial co'irse bf training to fit them: for) farmers. Thp various-breeds of cattle and; sheep are kept, and all the different grains, roots, and vegetables': grown upon-the farm, of -which a is kept, enabling > them to judge which is the; most profit'ahlbii i ' ’' *• i --dj /’ . .October 241—Left Toronto for Montreal, ; a fourteen hoars’ journey, passing through a great diversity of country. Some of it was very good, .upon which hops 5 were gfowii to a considerable ’extent. One portion of;"the■journey'’ extended; about 30 miles through a . very poor district. -J ’ , u

- Octpbei;. 27^ Montreal, by- train for Cbokshire, iu. the Eastern Townships. Crossed the St. Lawrence; by. .|he tubular bridge, mearly 2 miles passed ;fchrbugh, a,; very extensive" £ract r ;nf .flat land,' mostly/pccPpied by French settlers. .Apparently good-land, but very, much exhausted—in’ parts nothing ..but,,a bed of thirds: ! Pfotn there %e passed through a swampy, ■ scrubby country ’to Richmond, and thehdd-jbn td Sherdbrodke. Did not : . think Richly of: this ' part of the. country . The passed. ; thf ohgh : a PwajPpy, poor country. ..

'' I have described;-, the v.couatry ..tHrough 'Which I as I<wakabie to jiidge. rJVith .regard ; to ; .farnaes[ fipiigrat-: itig: to-Ontario .on.-the,eas^iern^townships,,. Phaye nofc .the/-[slightest hesitation Jn.yet commending do .so* as.l am,;,satisfied, ' Iroaii ; w|iat j L r savv,. that, men;; .with, moderate, .capital could there ■than they, ,c%a at f home.., In the .first place, you can., buy and stock a, farm for little more than.it takes to stock .ope at : .liome i ;, then there is no ren.t to pay, and taxes are Very lighf., They dp not exceed ; from. 4d to lOd per acre, according to ; the yalpe of 'the!prpp.erty,--;.Y°u can jmakejdie most, of ! the land by growing ; the, most ,profijba,ble; ■crops,* anil.,thqse : best,.suited P ,tp, your, soil ; and climate.;} Again,, a,-, m.an., going ; , there ■with a family can get a •.first-cla.ss ,ednca r • tibn for his/children r frpe, yrhieh pf mphey*, .luppnsider,. 'their, educational oysiem one, pf ; the ; veryi; b'est £p a new, country. there are, mahy i . / rpps®ji OKP or twiiie? apd .ppenings.; always turning up than there is in an ,old> 'bbuntry, that ypppg,jae.a-jpjLinlelligence' and enterprise" can "take "advantage of. '■ Rfegardlpg } hSSfe.l lb¥g& } captCl ( and’ Wishing to farm extensively;-:! do not think fthd country so well suited,-as a difficulty ■would-be foundnn getting'adarge tract-of ian|d;in one-block at a” modefateplhcei

me logan’s report. ' ; ■

■ Mr Logan read a report, opening with a reference to some famous herds and farms in the eastern townships of Canada. We take the following extract, embodying the conclusion at which, at the close Of his journey, he had arrived. , Notwithstanding all the beauty of Ontario, I must give a preference to Manitoba as the place to which we farmers must all emigrate. Any one going to Manitoba having Ll6O can : take up one-half section (320 acres of land), viz., 160 acres of homestead, which he gets free from the Canadian Government by agreeing to reside on the property and cultivate it for three years; he can also take up another 160 acres “ preemption,” for which he has to pay Idol v per nere, paying by instalments, the first I instalment with interest being payable at the end of three years. Of course the 'settler can take up Md near to a railway, for which he has to pay on pre-emption 2£ dols. per acre.'7, In my opinion this will be the cheapest. ; It must be understood, when saying that a man with Ll6O may succeed, any one having L3OO or f L4OO will get on much' better. Laborers’ wages per day being 1| to 2 dols.; and female servants per month, with board, from sto .6 dpi.; ploughmen, J£ dol. per day. Estimate for a settler going to Manitoba and taking up a quarter sectlon i - ' , ■7 , Provisions for one year ... , ..8200 One yoke of oxen ..- .. .. .. 130 One waggon .. .. 80 One cow .. .. ... - •• 30 Plough and harrows ' .. ..' .. 30 :ci ■ Chains, spades,;forksj&c. .. 20 Stove and bedsteads 35 Seed .v .. .. 120 Building house and stable .. .. 155 . ■ • iioo ‘ equal to L 166 13s 4d of British money. This sum may perhaps surprise some people in this country, but it has. been done for even less. • - ' ' r-, Mr Snow reported—-the following is an extract:— - ' As to the right sort of people to go out, that largely depends upon circumstances. For working men there will be employment on railways for some years. The pay when we’ were there -was 6s per day, and ■the Contractor fed them for 12s a week ; v but in winter they would require to‘go to other employment, such as iwood cutting, i For young men—say if two were joining together " having LSOO to LIOOO, they would do well either wheat or cattle raising'; but they would reqdire to he cautious as to their start. It would not be dost time boarding themselves but for a season- - with a farmer before making their final selection, and they* must make up their minds to rough it. But countries such as -grow up with marvellousTapidity. Population poursjjin; cities,* churches, schools 1 f arise where-a few years, before nothing was heard but the howl of a wolf. The country seems also well adapted for such'darge' speculations as Dalrymnle’s farm in Dakota, Tvbere 8000 acres of wheat was grown last year. This concern ds 'carried- on by a private company, and .is understood to -be * very-'successful. You ] ask-~-Has this country no drawback 1 Certainly it has ; it ks a long distance from market;i it has a long winter; there are mosquitos, although we neither saw nor felt them. It may have grasshoppers, ’ but I ‘neither heard : .n[or saw of any.; ; I simply take the people; the cattle, and' crops. > I saw all three healthy and thriving like, and I came to' the conclusion that it is a good country to go to for those who feel they are_ cramped■ at home, and can’make their mind up to rough it for a few years. ;