There is no more profitable industry in British Columbia than that of raising cattle. Dairying is carried on extensively.There is no more profitable industry in British Columbia than that of raising cattle. Dairying is carried on extensively.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
BRITISH COLUMBIADominion Electoral Divisions shown in Colour.Lands in Peace River Block, as well as those alongthe Canadian Pacific Railway within shaded line,are administered by the Dominion Government.
Timber.—Next in importance, at the present time, are the timber resources. It is admitted that the largest remaining areas of first-class building timbers in the world are in British Columbia. The lumber industry has increased enormously of recent years owing to the demand from the rapidly growing Prairie Provinces. For many years to come it will have to undergo constant expansion to keep pace with the ever-growing needs of the untimbered prairie regions. The principal woods are Douglas fir, cedar, spruce, tamarac, pine and hemlock.
Fisheries.—This Province has risen to the rank of the greatest fish-producing Province in the Dominion. Besides its extensive salmon fisheries, it has, lying within easy distance of the northern part of its coast line, extremely rich halibut grounds, while herring are in great abundance all along its shores. These various branches of the fishing industry are being rapidly developed, but there is yet room for great expansion. The value of the fisheries of the Provinces for 1913 amounted to about 11 million dollars.
What Premier McBride says:
"Millions of British money is finding investment in British Columbia, and there is scope for millions more. One of the advantages of British Columbia is that all of its industrial and other enterprises are of a permanent character. There is room for millions of people. We have the resources, the geographical situation, and the climate that will appeal.
"Our elementary school system is free and compulsory, and one of the most efficient in the world, making ample provision, as it does, for ambitious students to pass on to the universities of Canada, the United States, and England. But we are also to have our own University."
Much attention has been attracted to the result of the opening of the Panama Canal on the shipping future of the ports at the coast.
Lakes and Rivers.—The most important are the Columbia, which has a course of 600 miles in British Columbia; the Fraser, 750 miles long; the Skeena, 300 miles long; the Thompson, the Kootenay, the Stikine, the Liard, and the Peace. These with their tributaries drain an area of one-tenth of the whole of the North American continent. The lake area aggregates 1½ million acres.
On the lakes and rivers first-class steamers give accommodation to the settlements along the banks and in the valleys, and afford excellent transportation for tourists. There are lines of steamers in service between Vancouver, Japan, and China; between Vancouver and Australia; between Vancouver and Mexico, and between Vancouver and England via the Suez Canal. These ocean communications of British Columbia are highly important. Vancouver is the terminus of the shortest route from Liverpool to Yokohama and all important points of the Far East. The Province has a considerable coasting fleet, having direct connection with Yukon and Alaska. There is not as yet a large Pacific marine of Canadian registry. Although in the service of Canadian interests the tonnage is largely British.
A Rich Province.—British Columbia coal measures are sufficient to supply the world for centuries. It possesses the greatest compact area of merchantable timber in the world. The mines are in the early stages of their development, and have already produced about 400 million dollars, of which coal contributed 122 million. The value of the mineral production in 1911 was 30 million dollars. The fisheries return an average annual yield of nearly 10 million dollars. British Columbia's trade, per head of population, is the largest in the world. The chief exports are salmon, coal, gold, silver, copper, lead, timber, masts and spars, furs and skins, whale-oil, sealskins, hops, and fruit.
Railways.—The Canadian Pacific Railway has two main lines and several branches making connection with United States railway systems, as well as operating on Vancouver Island. With the exception of one or two small gaps the Grand Trunk Pacific will have its line completed through Central British Columbia this year. This will open up a very large area for settlement. At the Pacific terminus in Prince Rupert, splendid steamers connect with other portions of the Mainland and with Vancouver Island.
The Canadian Northern has secured low grades across the Rockies and, making its way down the Fraser and North Thompson, finds an easy outlet at Port Mann near Vancouver. The Great Northern enters the Province at points in the boundary. The provincial railway mileage is 1,854 miles with 1,000 miles under construction.
Stock.—Dairying pays handsomely in British Columbia. The local demand for butter is constantly increasing and the prices secured are higher than in Eastern Canada. The Province possesses many elements necessary to constitute it a great dairying country. There are extensive areas of pastoral land in the interior, while increased cultivation in the lower country will form the necessary feeding ground. With a plentiful supply of good water, and luxuriant and nutritious grasses, there is every required facility added. Cattle raising on a large scale was formerly one of the chief industries of the Province, and many of the large ranches are still making money, but the tendency of late has been for smaller herds and the improvement of the stock. Sheep raising is another branch of agriculture capable of great expansion. Hogs, in small farming, are probably the most profitable of live stock, owing to the general demand for pork, bacon, ham, and lard, and much attention is now being given to raising them. Over 1 million dollars of hog products are imported annually, and prices are always high. The demand for good horses, especially heavy draft and working animals, is always increasing, and prices are consequently high.
Dairy Products.—In 1912 this industry reached a valuation of nearly 4 million dollars. Poultry raising is a branch of general farming which is beginning to receive special attention in British Columbia. The home market is nowhere nearly supplied either with eggs or poultry, large quantities being imported from Manitoba, Ontario, California, Washington, and elsewhere. Good prices prevail at all seasons of the year. Every portion of British Columbia is suitable for poultry raising. In the Coast districts, hens, ducks, and geese can be raised to great advantage, and the dry belts and uplands are particularly well adapted to turkeys.
Grain.—Wheat is grown principally in the Fraser, Okanagan, and Spallumcheen Valleys and in the country around Kamloops. Barley of excellent quality is grown in many parts of the Province. Oats are the principal grain crop, the quality and yield being good, and the demand beyond the quantity grown. Potatoes, turnips, carrots, mangolds, and all other roots grow in profusion wherever their cultivation has been attempted. Hop culture is carried on in the Okanagan, Agassiz, and Chilliwak districts. British Columbia hops command a good price in England and recently Eastern Canada and Australia have bid for them. Some attention has been given to the cultivation of sugar-beets, tobacco, and celery, and in each case with the most gratifying results, ensuring an early expansion of operations in all of these lines.
In 1912 there was a total agricultural production in the Province of about 14½ million dollars, but there was imported another 15 million dollars' worth.
British Columbia agriculturists and fruit growers are particularly fortunate in having a splendid home market for their products, and for their surplus there is the enormous present and illimitable future demand of the Prairie Provinces, assuring always good prices and ready sale for everything they produce.
Game.—For big-game hunters there are moose, wapiti, sheep, caribou, goat, deer, grizzly, black, and brown bear, wolves, panthers, lynx, and wild cats; in the way of small game there is the best snipe shooting procurable anywhere, and duck and geese, prairie chicken, grouse, and quail abound. In addition to sport with rifle and shot gun, salmon fishing, unknown elsewhere, trout and grayling fishing, unsurpassed in any other country, may be enjoyed at a minimum of cost and inconvenience.
In Central British Columbia there is an area of agricultural land that is unexcelled anywhere. Wonderful yields of all small grains are reported.In Central British Columbia there is an area of agricultural land that is unexcelled anywhere. Wonderful yields of all small grains are reported.
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The adaptable and friendly man going into Canada will find a welcome awaiting him. There is room for everybody. The man already established, the railways, and the Government are equally anxious to secure further immigration of the right kind. The new man is not looked upon as an intruder but as a producer of new wealth, an enricher of the commonwealth. The new man should buy his tools as he needs them. Until he has more than thirty acres under crop he can work with a neighbour, in exchange for the services of a binder. He may not need to build a granary for two or three years. A cow is a good investment, and a vegetable garden easily pays its own way.
A few broad general suggestions might be made to the settlers who come in with varying capital at their command.
The Man Who Has Less Than $300.—This man had better work for wages for the first year. He can either hire out to established farmers or find employment on railway construction work. During the year, opportunity may open up for him to take up his free grant or make the first payment on a quarter-section that he would like to purchase.
The Man Who Has $600.—Get hold of your 160-acre free homestead at once, build your shack, and proceed with your homestead duties. During the six months that you are free to absent yourself from your homestead, hire out to some successful farmer and get enough to tide you over the other half of the year which you must spend in residence upon the land. When you have put in six months' residence during each of these years and have complied with the improvement conditions required by the Land Act, you become the absolute owner.
The Man Who Has $1,000.—Either homestead a farm or purchase one on the installment plan, and get to work at once. A small house and out buildings will be required, with horses or oxen, a plough, a wagon, etc. Working out in the harvest season will be needed to bring in money to tide over the winter and get the crop sown in good condition. As the crop grows, opportunity is given to make the house comfortable, to look around and plan ahead.
What $1,500 Will Buy.—No farmer should come expecting to make a homestead pay its own way the first year. He needs buildings, an equipment, and money for the maintenance of himself and family, until his first harvest can be garnered. After securing his land and putting up his buildings, $1,500 will give him a fairly good equipment to begin with. This will probably be expended as under:
1team of good horses$ 450.001harvester165.004milch cows at $65260.001seeder113.001strong wagon94.004hogs at $25100.004sheep at $832.001set strong harness35.001rough sleigh37.001disc harrow36.001breaking plough25.001mowing machine60.001stubble plough20.001harrow20.00Other smaller tools40.00Barnyard fowls40.00Total$1527.00
If the settler locates early in the season he may get in a crop of potatoes or oats in May or early June.
Will a Quarter-Section Pay?—"Will the tilling of a quarter of a section (160 acres) pay?" when asked of those who have tried it provokes the invariable answer that "It will and does pay." "We, or those following us, will make less than that pay," said one who had proved up on a homestead. Another pointed to the fact that many of those who commenced on homesteads are now owners of other quarters—and even larger areas, showing that they have progressed in obtaining more land, while others still have stuck to the homestead quarter and this year are marketing as much as $2,000 worth of grain and often nearer $3,000.
Shall You Buy, Rent or Homestead?—The question is one that Canadian Government officials are frequently asked, especially in the homes of a family of boys who have become interested in Central Canada. If the young man has grit and inexperience let him homestead. Treating this subject in a newspaper article, a correspondent very tersely says, "He will survive the ordeal and gain his experience at less cost."
Another has ample knowledge of farming practice, experience in farm management, but lacks pluck and staying power and the capacity to endure. The food for thought and opportunity for action provided by the management of an improved farm would be just the stimulus required to make him settle into harness and "work out his own salvation in fear and trembling."
Many men make excellent, progressive, broad-gauge farmers, by renting, or buying an improved farm in a settled district and keeping in touch with more advanced thought and methods. Their immediate financial success may not be so great; their ultimate success will be much greater, for they have been saved from narrow-gauge ways and withering at the top.
Let the boy take the route that appeals to him. Don't force him to homestead if he pines to rent. Don't try to keep him at home if homesteading looks good to him. The thing to remember is that success may be achieved by any one of the three routes. If the foundation is all right, hard work the method, and thoroughness the motto, it makes little difference what road is taken—whether homesteading, buying, or renting—Central Canada is big enough, and good farming profitable enough.
Alfalfa is a crop that is now assured in any of the Provinces of Western Canada. The above is a Manitoba illustration, but will apply to the other Provinces.Alfalfa is a crop that is now assured in any of the Provinces of Western Canada. The above is a Manitoba illustration, but will apply to the other Provinces.
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Contentment is not necessarily achieved by accomplishments that benefit the world—the world outside the small sphere in which we move; but when accompanied by such accomplishments how the satisfaction broadens! The genius whose inventions have been of service to mankind is in a plane far above that of the simple-minded individual who finds contentment in the little things of life affecting himself alone.
Feeding the world is no mean accomplishment. Nor is it a vain or trifling boast to say that this is what the farmer of Western Canada has started out to do. He is sure to find contentment. Part of his contentment will be the consciousness of doing world-wide good; part of it will be the personal enjoyment of an inspiring liberty and independence. Afield and abroad his friends will learn what he is doing. Soon they too will become partners in a work that not only betters their own condition, but ministers to the needs of the whole world in the raising of products that go to "feed the world."
It is to those who desire this broad contentment that the Canadian Government extends the heartiest welcome, and to such men it offers the vast opportunities of a country richer in possibilities than any other in the present century. To the man on the farm in other regions, whom success has followed with slow tread; to the farmer's son, who has watched with unsatisfied eye the unrequited efforts of his forbears, seeing the life that has made his mother a "drudge," noting the struggle which has stooped his father's shoulders, dimmed his vision, dwarfed his spirit, and returned nothing but existence and a meagre bank account—it is to these men, father and son, that the opportunities of Western Canada are presented. To them an invitation is extended to secure the contentment found in personal progress and world-wide benefaction.
The possibilities of Western Canada are no longer new and untried. Twelve or fifteen years of cultivation have made it a vital, living land, and placed it on the level with the greatest of the food-producing countries. That same redundant energy will shortly make it the richly laden "bread basket" not of England only, but of the entire world.
Here every condition is a health bringer as well as a wealth bringer. A few months in this "New World" to which you are invited and where rejuvenating physical and mental changes are wrought; where before hard work was drudgery, it is now a delight; where nothing but fresh trouble darkened the horizon, the outlook is now a rainbow of promise. Industry is seasoned with the compelling spirit of adventure, and the thought of the coming harvest constantly lightens the burden of labor.
The crowded city dweller, curbing those natural desires for home-building that are as natural as breathing, will find in Western Canada a country where nothing is so plentiful as space. And in building his home here he is surely laying the foundation for a competence, and very often for a fortune. Along with prosperity there is abounding happiness and good fellowship in the farming communities. The homesteader, beginning in a modest way, rears his first habitation with practical and serviceable ends in view. His next-door neighbours are ready and willing to help him put a roof over his head. There is a splendid lend-a-hand sentiment mixed with the vigorous climate. The first harvest, like all succeeding harvests, comes quickly, because the soil is a lightning producer. All summer long the settler has dreamed of nothing but acres of waving grain; with the autumn the sight of hopes fulfilled compensates him for his months of toil. In due time the crop is harvested and marketed, the debts are wiped out, and the settler proudly opens his bank account.
When he has turned the golden grain into the golden coin of the realm he realizes for the first time what it means to be liberally paid for the work of his hand and brain. The reward of the farmer in Western Canada is sure; and as the soil responds faithfully to his husbandry, year after year, he looks back upon the old conditions he has left with devout thankfulness that they are past.
After the bumper harvest the happy young farmer can send for the wife or the bride-to-be whom he has left "back home." A few years ago "down on the farm" was an expression synonymous with isolation, loneliness and primitive living. Not so to-day. Whatever his previous outlook, the settler in Western Canada cannot go on raising large crops and selling his products for high prices without enlarging his view of life in general and bettering his material conditions. He needs to practice no rigid economy. He can afford to supply his wife and children with all the best the markets provide. An up-to-date farm house in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or Alberta has very much the same conveniences as the average home of the well-to-do in any other part of the world. Nine times out of ten it is because he feels confident he can increase the comfort and happiness of his wife and children that the settler emigrates to Western Canada.
Western Canada is no longer a land calling only to the hardy young adventurer; it calls to the settler and to his wife and children. And with its invitation goes the promise not only of larger financial returns, but of domestic happiness in a pure, wholesome environment.
Railroads bring to the doors of the settler the fruits of all countries and here is to hand the use of every modern idea and invention. The climate is the most health-giving, all-year kind. There is latent riches in the soil, produced by centuries of accumulation of decayed vegetation, and the fat producing qualities of the native grasses are unexcelled in any part of the world.
The soil produces the best qualities of wheat, oats, barley, flax, and all kinds of vegetables and roots in less time than many districts farther south in the states. There are inexhaustible coal deposits and natural gas and oil fields, as yet unknown in extent or production. The Canadian Rockies, forming a western boundary to the great agricultural area, supply the needed mineral and building materials. In the north and west there are immense forests. Lakes and rivers are capable of an enormous development for power purposes, besides supplying an abundance of food and game fishes, and forests and prairies are full of big and small game of all kinds.
But all this is yet undeveloped and unused. All kinds of live stock can be raised here for less money than in the more thickly populated communities.
One Western Canada farmer in 1912 secured a crop of Marquis wheat, yielding 76 bushels per acre. This is spoken of as a record yield, and this is doubtless true, but several cases have been brought to notice where yields almost as large have been produced, and in different parts of the country. During the past year there have been reported many yields of from 35 to 45 bushels of wheat to the acre. Oats, too, were a successful crop and so was the barley and oat crop. Wheat that would yield 40 bushels per acre, would bring on the market 70 cents (a fair figure) per bushel, a gross return of $28 per acre. Allow $12 per acre (an outside figure) there would be a balance of $16 per acre net profit. This figure should satisfy anyone having land that cost less than $100 per acre.
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Owing to the number of questions asked daily, it has been deemed advisable to put in condensed form, such questions as most naturally occur, giving the answers which experience dictates as appropriate, conveying the information commonly asked for. If the reader does not find here the answer to his particular difficulty, a letter to the Superintendent, or to any Government Agent, will secure full particulars.
1. Where are the lands referred to?
In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and in British Columbia.
2. What kind of land is it?
The land is mostly prairie (except in British Columbia) and can be secured free from timber and stones, if desired, the soil being the very best alluvial black loam from one to two feet deep, with a clay subsoil. It is just rolling enough to give good drainage, and in places there is plenty of timber, while some is underlaid with good coal.
3. If the land is what you say, why is the Government giving it away?
The Government, knowing that agriculture is the foundation of a progressive country, and that large yields of farm produce insure prosperity in all other branches of business, is doing everything in its power to encourage settlement. It is much better for each man to own his own farm, therefore a free grant of 160 acres is given to every man who will reside upon and cultivate it.
4. Is it timber or prairie land?
The province of Manitoba has considerable open prairie, especially in the southwest; towards the centre it is parklike with some timber belts in parts.
The southern parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta are chiefly open prairie with growths of timber along the streams. As you go north or northwest about 20 per cent of the country may be said to be timbered.
5. Then as to climate?
The summer days are warm and the nights cool. The fall and spring are most delightful, although it may be said that winter breaks almost into summer, and the latter lasts until October. Winters are pleasant and healthful. There are no pulmonary or other endemic complaints. Snow begins to fall about the middle of November and in March there is generally very little. Near the Rockies the snowfall is not as heavy as farther east, and the chinook winds have a tempering influence. The absence of the snowfall would be regretted by the farmer. Nature has generously provided for every mile of the country, and there is really very little choice with the exception that farther west the climate is somewhat milder.
6. Is there sufficient rainfall?
A sufficient supply can be relied upon. The most rain falls in May and June, when most needed.
7. What are the roads like?
Bridges and culverts are built where needed, and roadways are usually graded up; but not gravelled or macadamized. The natural prairie road is superior to most manufactured roads, and afford good travelling in ordinary seasons and every fall and winter.
8. What sort of people are settled there, and is English generally spoken?
Canadians, English, Scotch, Irish, French, and English-speaking Americans (who are going in, in large numbers), with Germans and Scandinavians. English is the language of the country, and is spoken everywhere.
9. Will I have to change my citizenship if I go to Canada?
An alien, before making entry for free homestead land, must declare his intention of becoming a British subject and become naturalized before obtaining patent for his land. In the meanwhile he can hold possession, and exercise right of ownership. If not a British subject he must reside three years to become naturalized. To become a British subject a settler of foreign birth should make application to anyone authorized to administer oaths in a Canadian Court. An alien may purchase land from any of the railway or land companies and hold title deed without changing his citizenship.
10. How about American money?
American money is taken everywhere in Central Canada at its face value.
11. Can a man who has used his homestead right in the United States take a homestead in Canada?
Yes.
12. If a British subject has taken out "citizen papers" in the United States how does he stand in Canada?
He must be "repatriated," i.e., take out a certificate of naturalization, which can be done after three months' residence in Canada.
13. What grains are raised in Central Canada?
Wheat (winter and spring), oats, barley, flax, speltz, rye and other small grains, and corn is grown chiefly for silo purposes.
14. How long does it take wheat to mature?
The average time is from 100 to 118 days. This short time in accounted for by the long hours of sunlight which during the growing and ripening season, will average 16 hours a day.
15. Can a man raise a crop on the first breaking of his land?
Yes, but it is not well to use the land for any other purpose the first year than for raising garden vegetables, or perhaps a crop of flax, as it is necessarily rough on account of the heavy sod not having had time to rot and become workable. Good yields of oats have been reported on breaking.
16. Is there plenty of hay available?
In many parts there is sufficient wild hay meadow on government or vacant land, which may be rented at a very low rental, if you have not enough on your own farm. Experience has proven that timothy, brome, clover and other cultivated grasses do well. Yields of brome have been reported from two to four tons per acre. Alfalfa under proper cultivation in many places gives successful yields.
17. Do vegetables thrive and what kinds are grown?
Potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, onions, parsnips, cabbages, peas, beans, celery, pumpkins, tomatoes, squash, melons, etc., are unequalled anywhere.
18. Can fruit be raised and what varieties?
Small fruits grow wild. The cultivated are plums, cranberries, strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, currants. In British Columbia fruit growing of all kinds is carried on very extensively and successfully.
19. About what time does seeding begin?
As a rule farmers begin their seeding from the first to the fifteenth of April, sometimes continuing well into May. The average yield of all grains in Central Canada would be largely increased, did not some farmers unwisely do seeding until the middle of June.
20. How is it for stock raising?
The country has no equal. In many parts cattle and horses are not housed throughout the winter, and so nutritious are the wild grasses that stock is marketed without having been fed any grain.
21. In what way can I secure land in Central Canada?
By homesteading, or purchasing from railway or land companies. The Dominion Government has no land for sale. The British Columbia Government sells land to actual settlers at low figures.
22. Can I get a map or list of lands vacant and open to homestead entry?
It has been found impracticable to keep a publication of that kind up to date, owing to the daily changes. An intending settler on reaching the district he selects should enquire of the Dominion Lands Agent what lands are vacant in that particular locality, finally narrowing down the enquiry to a township or two, diagrams of which, with the vacant lands marked, will be supplied free. A competent land guide can be had.
23. How far are homestead lands from lines of railway?
They vary, but at present the nearest will be from 15 to 20 miles. Railways are being built into the new districts.
24. In which districts are located the most and best available homesteads?
The character of homestead wanted by the settler will decide this. Very few homesteads are vacant in the southern districts; towards the centre and north portions of the provinces, homesteads are plentiful. They comprise a territory in which wood for building purposes and fuel are plentiful.
25. Is there any good land close to the Rocky Mountains?
The nearer you approach the mountains the more hilly it becomes, and the elevation is too great for grain raising. Cattle and horses do well.
26. If a man take his family there before he selects a homestead can he get temporary accommodation?
At the following places the Government maintains Immigration halls with free temporary accommodation for those desiring such and supplying their own provisions. It is always better for the head of the family, or such member of it as may be entitled to homestead, to select and make entry for lands before moving family:
Biggar, Brandon, Calgary, Caster, Cereal, Edmonton, Edson, Emerson, Entwistle, Gravelburg, Herbert, Kerrobert, Lloydminster, Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, North Portal, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Strathcona, South Battleford, Swift Current, Tisdale, Unity, Vegreville, Vermilion, Viking, Virden, Wainwright, Wilkie, Yonkers.
27. Where must I make my homestead entry?
At the Dominion Lands Office for the district.
28. Can homestead lands he reserved for a minor?
An agent of Dominion Lands may reserve a quarter-section for a minor over 17 years of age until he is 18, if his father, or other near relative live upon homestead or upon farming land owned, not less than 80 acres, within nine miles of reserved homestead. The minor must make entry in person within one month after becoming 18 years of age.
29. Can a person borrow money on a homestead before receiving patent?
No; contrary to Dominion Lands Act.
30. Would the time I was away working for a neighbour, or on the railway, or other work count as time on my homestead?
Only actual residence on your homestead will count, and you must reside on homestead six months in each of three years.
31. Is it permissible to reside with brother, who has filed on adjoining land?
A homesteader may reside with father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister on farming land owned solely by him or her, not less than 80 acres, or upon homestead entered for by him or her not more than nine miles from entrant's homestead. Fifty acres of homestead must be brought under cultivation, instead of 30 acres, as is the case when there is direct residence.
32. How shall I know what to do or where to go when I reach there?
Make a careful study of this pamphlet and decide in a general way on the district in which you wish to settle. Then put yourself in communication with your nearest Canadian Government Agent, whose name appears on the second page of cover. At Winnipeg, and in the offices of any of the Dominion Lands Agents in Central Canada, are maps showing vacant lands. Having decided on the district where you will make your home, the services of a competent land guide may be secured to assist in locating.
33. What is the best way to get there?
Write your nearest Canadian Government Agent for routes, and settlers' low railway rate certificate good from the Canadian boundary to destination for passengers and freight.
34. How much baggage will I be allowed on the Canadian railways?
150 pounds for each full ticket.
35. Are settlers' effects bonded through to destination, or are they examined at the boundary?
If settler accompanies effects they will be examined at the boundary, without any trouble; if effects are unaccompanied they will go through to the nearest bonding (or customs) point to destination.
36. In case settler's family follow him what about railway rates?
On application to Canadian Government Agent, settlers' low railway rate certificate will be forwarded, and they will be given the settlers' privilege.
37. What is the duty on horses and cattle if a settler should want to take in more than the number allowed free into Canada?
When for the improvement of stock free; otherwise, over one year old, they will be valued at a minimum of $50 per head, and duty will be 25 per cent.
38. How much money must one have to start grain farming and how little can he do with if he goes ranching?
See Chapter "What wins in Central Canada," page 37.
39. How can I procure lands for ranching?
They may be leased from the Government at a low rental. Write for full particulars to Secretary of the Interior, Ottawa, Canada.
40. In those parts which are better for cattle and sheep than for grain, what does a man do if he has only 160 acres?
If a settler should desire to go into stock raising and his quarter-section of 160 acres should not prove sufficient to furnish pasture for his stock, he can make application to the Land Commissioner for a lease for grazing lands for a term of twenty-one years, at a very low cost.
41. Where is information to be had about British Columbia?
Apply to Secretary Provincial Bureau of Information, Victoria, B. C.
42. Is living expensive?
Sugar, granulated, 14 to 18 lbs. for $1, according to fluctuation of market. Tea, 30 to 50 cents a lb.; coffee, 30 to 45 cents a lb.; flour, $2.25 to $3.00 per 98 lbs. Dry goods about Eastern Canada prices. Cotton somewhat dearer than in United States, and woollen goods noticeably cheaper. Stoves and furniture somewhat higher than eastern prices, owing to freight charges.
43. Are the taxes high?
No. Having no expensive system of municipal or county organization, taxes are necessarily low. Each quarter-section of land, consisting of 160 acres, owned or occupied, is taxed very low. The only other taxes are for schools. In the locations where the settlers have formed school districts the total tax for all purposes on a quarter-section amounts to from $10 to $14.50 per annum.
44. Does the Government tax the settler if he lets his cattle run on Government lands? If they fence their land, is he obliged to fence his also?
The settler is not required to pay a tax for allowing his cattle to run on Government land, but it is advisable to lease land from the Government for haying or grazing purposes, when needed. If one fences his land, his adjoining neighbour has to stand a proportionate share of the cost of the fence adjoining his property, or build one-half of it himself.
45. Where can a settler sell what he raises? Is there any competition amongst buyers, or has he got to sell for anything he can get?
A system of elevators is established by railway companies and others throughout the entire West. Grain is bought at these and forwarded to the great markets in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe. Canadianflour mills, oatmeal mills, and breweries use millions of bushels of grain annually. To the west and northwest of Central Canada lie mining regions, which are dependent upon the prairies for supplies and will to a great extent continue to be. Beef is bought on the hoof at the home of the farmer or rancher. Buyers scour the country in quest of this product.
46. Where can material for a house and sheds be procured, and about what would it cost? What about fuel? Do people suffer from the cold?
Though there are large tracts of forest in the Canadian West there are localities where building timber and material is limited, but this has not proven any drawback as the Government has made provision that should a man settle on a quarter-section deprived of timber, he can, by making application to the Dominion Lands Agent, obtain a permit to cut on Government lands free of charge the following, viz.:
1. 3,000 lineal feet of building timber, measuring no more than 12 inches at the butt, or 9,250 feet board measure. 2. 400 roofing poles. 3. 2,000 fencing rails and 500 fence posts, 7 feet long, and not exceeding five (5) inches in diameter at the small end. 4. 30 cords of dry fuel wood for firewood.
The settler has only the expense of the cutting and hauling to his homestead. The principal districts are within easy reach of firewood; the settlers of Alberta and Saskatchewan are particularly favoured, especially along the various streams, from some of which they get all the coal they require, at a trifling cost. No one in the country need suffer from the cold on account of scarcity of fuel.
47. Is it advisable to go into a new country during the winter months with uncertain weather conditions?
A few years ago, when settlement was sparse, settlers were advised to wait until March or April. Now that so many have friends in Western Canada there need be no hesitation when to start. Lines of railway penetrate most of the settled districts, and no one need go far from neighbours already settled. There is no longer the dread of pioneering, and it is robbed of the romance that once surrounded it. With farm already selected, it is perfectly safe, and to the prospective homesteader he can get some sort of occupation until early spring, when he will be on the ground ready for it.
48. What does lumber cost?
Spruce boards and dimensions, about $20 per thousand feet; shiplap, $23 to $28; flooring and siding, $25 up, according to quality; cedar shingles, from $3.50 to $4.25 per thousand. These prices fluctuate.
49. What chance is there for employment when a man first goes there and isn't working on his land?
There are different industries through the country, outside of farming and ranching, such as sawmills, flour mills, brick-yards, railroad building in the summer, and lumbering in the winter. The chances for employment are good as a large percentage of those going in and those already there farm so much that they must have help, and pay good wages. During the past two seasons from twenty to thirty thousand farm labourers have been brought in each year from the eastern Provinces and the United States to assist in caring for the large crops. The capable and willing worker is sure to succeed in Canada.
50. Can I get employment with a farmer so as to become acquainted with local conditions?
This can be done through the Commissioner of Immigration at Winnipeg, who is in a position to offer engagements with well established farmers. Men experienced in agriculture may expect to receive from $25 up per month with board and lodging, engagements, if desired, to extend for twelve months. Summer wages are from $30 to $35 per month; winter wages $10 to $15. During harvest wages are higher than this.
51. If I have had no experience and simply desire to learn farming in Central Canada before starting on my own account?
Young men and others unacquainted with farm life, willing to accept from $8 up per month, including board and lodging, will find positions through the Government officers at Winnipeg. Wages are dependent upon experience and qualification. After working for a year in this way, the knowledge acquired will be sufficient to justify you in securing and farming on your own account.
52. Are there any schools outside the towns?
School districts cannot exceed five miles in length or breadth, and must contain at least four actual residents, and twelve children between the ages of five and sixteen. In almost every locality, where these conditions exist, schools have been established.
53. Are churches numerous?
The various denominations are well represented and churches are being built rapidly even in the most remote districts.
54. Can water be secured at reasonable depth?
In most places it can be had at from fifteen to forty feet, while in other places wells have been sunk to fifty or sixty feet.
55. Where are free homesteads to-day, and how far from railway?
In some well settled districts it may be possible to secure one by cancelling, but such chances are few. Between the lakes in Manitoba as well as north and southeast of Winnipeg. In the central portions of Saskatchewan, Alberta and west of Moose Jaw and Swift Current. A splendid homestead area is that lying north of Battleford, and between Prince Albert and Edmonton north of the Canadian Northern railway. One will have to go at least twelve or fifteen miles from a line of railway at present, but extensions will soon make many homesteads available.