The Washington times., 1905-08-27
CANADIAN WHEAT
RIVALS AMERICAN
Growers There Aim to Pro-
vide England.
EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES
Person Can Ride Six Days and Still
Not Get Across Fertile
Wheat Belt.

Wheat Belt.
Canada is getting 70 be a dangerous
rival Of the United States in the grow
ing of what. The aim of the growers
there is to furnish ali the wheat needed
by England
If they succeed in this. they will ta,ss
from the United States one Of its best
-four markets. Canada produced 50. 900. 900
bushels of prime wheat last year. and
the farmers are talking about IOo. .0oo. 90
crop this year. The Dominion now send.
half Of her wheat to England. and this
proportion win increase as the annual
production grows in volume
The farmers OF the States have reason
TO fear their Northern neighbors in ths
struggle fer the privilege of feeding Eng
land with its breadstuffs. The wealth
Of Canada lies in her almost limitIess
areas in the western provinces, which
nature appears TO have intended for the
raising of wheat
Figures make dull reading, and those
that must be employed in telling OK Can
ada's resources and possibilities in this
regard are so large as to MAKE it difii-
cult TO grasp their real meaning West
ward from the province of Ontaria there
stretch the wheat fields of Canada
. a person can ride for six days and still
not get beyond the broad, never-ending
patches of beautiful green. which VIII
soon take on the rich. golden color of
ripening grain For fully 100 miles in
the direction OF the Pacific and 800 miles
toward the frozen North the wheat belt
extends.
One Hundred Million Acres.
The wheat-growing areas comprise the
province of Manitoba and the four dis
tricts of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Al
5erta. and Athabaska- These territories
contain 3s5 00o. 900 acres of land 1t is
estimated that 100000 900 acres are fit for
wheat cultivation
This statement viii be better under
stood when it IS known that this area is
equal TO tina of the States OF Minneso-
Ia, the two Dakotas. Wisconsin. Illinois,
Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, and two States
the size of Ohio. This section is one
great continuous prairie devoid of trees.
so that no clearing is necessary
The soil is rich black loam OF the
kind found in the best districts Of IL
linois and Iowa Everything is in readi-
ness for the pioneer. All he has to do is
to turn a very thin sod with the plow
and SOW his wheat
The whole country is divided into
blocks. each containing one square mile.
or $40 acres. A block is called sec
ton, and is divided into four quarter
sections. It is necessary for the Ca
madam farmer to get his wheat into the
ground at the first possible moment, in
order TO escape the fall frost He Will
SOW when barely an inch of ground is
sufficiently thawed to allow the seed to
be covered
Hot Sun as Grower.
The hot sun forces the grain with
great rapidity. so that on July 1 thd
plants measured as high as thirty-five
and forty inches.
Some of the well-authenticated stories
regarding the yield of wheat an acre
are so astounding as TO challenge belief
The average yield during fourteen years
has been twenty bushels an acre, and
the highest yearly average was tribe
less than twenty-eight bushels
The average wheat yield for ten years
in Manitoba. which is the banner wheat
section OF Canada. was. according to
official figures. p bushels an acre,
against 142 for Minnesota and Il for
Kansas. In some sections of Canada
80 bushels an acre n~--O been grown,
and on the government experiment
farm as high as 90 bushels have been
produced.
1t is declared that some day there
viii be 100000 acres devoted to wheat
in western Canada. which would mean a
production of S0o.0co. coo or .0o0. coo 900
bushels a year. 1t is hopefully asserted
that in ten years Canada viii have 2oO,-
oo099 bushels Of wheat for sale every
fall
Government Helps.
The Canadian government is helping
the wheat growers in the West by every
means in its power 1t maintains at
this place one Of six experiment farms,
where many scientific discoveries have
been made of great value to the men
engaged in this industry
Chief OF these was a scheme Of sum-
ner following. which has done away
with the danger of crop failures because
of the scarcity of rain IN the wheat
sections.
Now the government scientists are
trying to find a variety that will ripen a
week or ten days earlier than the Red
Fife variety When they succeed they
will add many millions of acres of land
TO the area available for wheat cuItiva-
tion.
Twent-- years ago Charles A Doug
lass left a small town in Iowa and struck
out for northwest Canada He brought
with him about $500. with which he
bought two oxen. a plow and a few
supplies necessary to set him up in busi-
ness on his homestead Industry and
good business management enabled him
to succeed. and today he is reputed