The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-30

80 o o 800 o 90 80 % o.
If the bumper crop of 1901 made West
ern Canada, the crops Of 1902 put the
finishing touches to her remarkable
success as a grain producing country
The figures given above look large, but
they are right. They were furnished
by G. N. Bell, secretary Of the Win,
nipeg Grain Exchange, who based ane
compiled them on facts and figures OBJ
tanned from the most reliable sources
Mr.. Bell when giving out this latest
estimate on the crops Of Western Can
ada, for 1902, said: II never make gues-
ses The wheat yield Of the Canad-
ian west this year will be almost g.
100000 bushels. Deducting from this the
amount used for seeding, and for Local
consumption, and the farmers are left
with sixty million bushels or over, fol
export. My figures are based on an ex.
perience Of seventeen years in the bust
ness. data in my hands, and on pre-
vious results. The estimate can be con.
sidered a broad one, and while the fig
ures are approximate, I believe that
they will tally closely withJtha inspec.
ton returns" :: - -: -
Last year when Western 'Canads
raised over 100000 bushels of wheat
from two and a half million acres Of
land, farmers in the United States and
in Eastern Canada were almost in
credulous. They had for years cOnsl
dered the plains Of Western Canada a
wilderness, which had not been tested
by the agriculturalist, and which ir
their minds comprised at the best, but
an immense territory, sparsely popu-
lated They needed not the words Of
practical economists who years agt
said that these same plains would some
day be the huge granary Of the
continent. But the good news got
abroad. The government, or officia
figures, on the record crops Of 100:
were published. and in time reached
the farmers Of nearly every state ir
the union, of Great Britain, and a
matter of course Of Eastern Canada.
Thousands of farmers anxious to bet
ter their condition began to make en-
quiries about country. which could
give yield of twenty-five bushels OF
wheat, forty bushels Of barley anc
forty-eight bushels Of oats, per acre az
an average. None were more keen thar
the American farmer, who not satisfied
with the literature on the country OBJ
tained from Dominion and provincial
immigration officials. visited the coun-
try personally and verified the pub
lished reports. In this manner did the
American invasion of Western Canada
commence how it progressed or is
progressing is told in another column
1902 Crops Heat All Records. i
+ Western Canada, as has been truly
said. was made by her record crops in
1901. The result was shown early
this; year in the train loads of home
seekers and investors who spread
over the country, spying out the land,
and. seldom leaving without either
purchasing or i demonstrating. "Can
the remarkable performance of 1901
be repeated by the country i'm 1902 q
was the question then asked. The
latest returns to hand and the esti-
mates Of conservative, experienced
men show that it has been more than
repeated. Z It has been -eclipsed.
Manitoba. with 2,039,94O acres de-
voted to raising wheat will this year
give a yield Of about 54,OOO,OOO bush
els of that cereal This estimate is
made. by an official from the latest
returns. and Is considered conserva-
tive. Is The average yield per acre he
puts at 81 bushels, or an Increase of
two bushels an acre over the yield Of
1901. The September 1902 crop bulla-
tin issued by the government Of the
Nor Invest Territories, which includes
Assiniboia, Saskatchewan and Alber-
Ia. states that with wheat area Of
5S5,576 acres, the yield of that cereal
this year will be 14,649, 500 bushels.
The yield Of oats will amount to
10,725,500 bushels and of barley S44,-
900 bushels.
s Large Increase in Acreage
The remarkable success that crown
ed the efforts Iof Western Canada
farmers last year. and the influx Of
new settlers. resulted this year in a
largely Increased acreage in both Mani
toba and the Territories. The follow
Ing official figures are given for
Manitoba: Increase 4 in area under
wheat. 28.1O5 acres; oats, a5,1O9 acres !;
barley, 13S,7S1 acres, flax, 20,222 acres.
In the Territories the wheat acreage
increased 80,S79 acres; oats, 5O,SM acres,
and barley, 6,329 acres. With the in
creased acreage. the people Of Western
Cana a were 4 confident that the crops
of last year would be repeated. Few
Thought. however. that they would be
sclipsed, and the ftgures just. COM
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