No sane man can doubt this, for a glance at the map will tell him that there is actually no limit, but the want of a market, to the wheat crop of the North-West. When the rulers or England awake, as they soon must, to the fact that within the Dominion of Canada exist to-day, as virgin soil, threefourths of the wheat lands of North America, and that it is to her they must look for their future supplies of food, whether it be beef or flour, we will receive that amount or attention and consideration which, as England's greatest colony, we deserve. What we want is men and money, and both these a judiciously framed emigrant policy on the part of Great Britain would give us. Year after year her people are passing by thousands into the United States, there to become alienated from the parent state, whilst one of her own colonies offers superior advantages, and reconciles every dissatisfied son to the old mother-land across the water. The hand writing is on the wall and few care to read it, but it stands there in flaming characters,-Give us land for it is the people's-it is ours. A few short years and the words change, and now they are -We take the land which is ours by our heritage of labor, and we will get it. A few millions given now to assist emigration to the new North-West would relieve the pressure and convert rebellious sons into loving grateful children. There is land enough for all, and there is no reason why we should not receive men for our offer of free land. Nelsonville........ Black loam from 18 inches to 2 feet. Scratching River.. Nelsonville............ Green Ridge. Westbourne Portage la Prairie.. Poplar Point..... Portage la Prairie. Emerson.. Poplar Point Portage la Prairie. Portage la Prairie. St. Agathe...... Headingly. West Lynne G. Turner Lower Fort. J. G. Maley. A. Hepburn.. CHAPTER XIII. Cereals, Root Crops, Seed Time and Harvest, Roads, &c. Barley-Its great Weight in the North-Bay of Quinte Baricy-Additional 100,000,000 Acres Suited to Barley North of the Wheat Belt-Uses of Barley in the WestTestimony Regarding its Culture in Manitoba-Average Yield for Four Years-Compared with the United States-Enormous Yield of Oats-Testimony of Residents in Manitoba Average sixty Bushels per Acre-Nearly Three Times Greater than Ohio -100 Bushels per Acre often Raised-Potatoes a sure Crop to the Arctic Circle— Rotten ones Unknown-Chipweyans as Potato Cultivators-Remarkable size of Potatoes at Hay Lakes-Late Growth of Potatos-Feeding Stock an Easy MatterPumpkins, Melons, and Cucumbers in the North-Melons Grow and Ripen North of St. Petersburg, or 1,200 Miles Northwest of Winnipeg and 900 Miles North of the Boundary-Extent and Capacity of the Country Beyond the Range of Average Comprehension Testimony of Residents Regarding the Productive Powers of the Soil— Timothy an Excellent Crop-Good Fall Pasture-Wild Hops-Clover-Flax-Hemp -Why all Crops Succeed so Well-Southern Russia a Parallel Case-Commencement of Spring-Setting in of Winter-Seed-time in the North-West-Varies in Certain Localities-Harvest Time-Earliest in the Qu'Appelle Valley-Always Free from Frost-Qu'Appelle Valley Compared with Saskatchewan-Time for Taking up Roots -Testimony Regarding Seed Time and Harvest-Roads of the West merely Cart Trails-No real Roads other than Railways in the Country-Description of Leading Trail How Trails are Formed-Where they Lead to-No Attempts made to Improve them-Travellers Tell of their Own Incapacity-Experienced men Never get "Stuck"-How to Cross a "slew" with Loaded Carts-Trails or Roads of Ten Years Since-How they were Formed-Indian Trails-Roads of the Future. BARLEY as a crop cannot be over-estimated when speaking or writing regarding the North-West. Doubts may be cast on the successful cultivation of wheat in many parts, but regarding barley there can be no question, as it ripens fifteen days earlier and resists fall frosts better. It is a northern grain and reaches its highest developement in the far North-West. Barley grown on Peace River weighs 58 lbs. to the bushel, and is so plump that it delights the eye of an Englishman when he sees it. Samples brought by myself from numerous points on the above river, were weighed in Winnipeg by the Inspector of Inland Revenue, and pronounced by him the finest in every sense he had ever examined. It is well known to residents in Ontario that Bay of Quinte barley fetches a higher price in the United States than that raised south of the lakes. This is not so much owing to soil as to climate. The great heat of the south causes it to ripen before maturity, and consequently the grain is shrivelled. In the north although the days are hot the nights are cool and ripening is a slower process. If 150,000,000 acres be given as the approximate number of acres suited to wheat culture, another 100,000,000 acres could be added if the raising of barley be taken into account. On the shores of Hudson's Bay it has been raised for many years. A round every post south of the Arctic Circle, the Hudson's Bay Co's employés cultivate it. On the Youcon it has been grown for many years within the Arctic Circle. From every point the same report comes that the grain is in all cases plump and well filled up. As food for hogs and horses it cannot be beaten, and practical farmers seem to think it superior to oats for the one, and peas for the other. Within the settlements it is extensively sown, and outside of them it is the principal crop, as it can be used for food by both man and beast. That barley can be grown very successfully in Manitoba, will be shown by the following table. The quality of the grain is excellent, its color fine, and brewers pronounce it second to none for malting purposes. Average Yield for four Years. John Ferguson.... A. P. Stevenson. Max. Wilton.. A. J. Hinker.. F. Ogletree... A. V. Beckstead.. Charles Begg. Alex. Polson, Jr.... W. A. Farmer.. Average yields according to the above, and many other instances for 1877 were 43, 1878, 38, 1879 39 and 1880, 41 bushels per acre. The following statement tells its own tale : Canadian North-West, say 40 bushels per acre. Throughout the North-West Territories barley is a sure crop, and the farther you proceed to the northwest, the plumper the grain and the greater the yield. For malting purposes no finer barley can be found in the world. Oats produce enormously, and are very plump. Their |