The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-04-22
PROVINCE IS ADDED
TO CANADA
OPENING Up OF NEW TERRITORY
ADDS MANY THOUSANDS
OF ACRES.


thousand square miles Of new terri
tory, most of which is suitable for
agriculture, is about to be opened up
| by the Canadian government as part
| of its policy of conservation and rail-
road building. The exact extent and
| possibilities of this new domain,
which is larger in size than half of
| New England, has just been reported
to the Canadian parliament by the
| commissioners of the eastern section
of the National Transcontinental rail-
way, which is a government project.
| The territory which will be opened
| up forms part of the vast region of
| Northern Ontario and Quebec, which
| the early pioneers passed by, because
| it lay north of the main route of west
| ward travel, but which has since
proved to contain immense agricul-
tural possibilities. Stretching in a
| long semi circle from Lac Seul and
| Lake of the Woods it sweeps east
north of Lake Superior and Georgian
| bay to Montreal and Quebec. Lake
Temagami and the Cobalt country lie
on it's southern flank and northward
it merges into the vast plains south
of Hudson Bay.
The act of the Dominion in opening
up this great country will be eauival-
ent in its results to the creation of a
new province. over 100000 acres of
the land, the commissioners report is
suitable for cultivation. In district
I "C'' the available region begins four
miles east of Bell river and extends
westerly to the Ontario boundary. In
| this tract there are about 3,712, 900
acres, of which about 100000 acres
will make good farming land, and
most of the rest can be drained. In
district 90" there are about 1874 900
acres of land, about so per cent. Of
which can be described as arabic land
From mile post 1856 to 2S5 there is an
immense tract of land which Is equal
to any agricultural land in Canada
1t contains 600 acres of good
arabic land. In district "E" there
are two tracts of good land, aggregat-
ing about 100000 acres.
The new line runs from Monction,
New Brunswick, to Winnipeg, where
it will connect with the western sec
ton of the Grand Trunk Pacific.
Work of construction is progressing
rapidly, according to the commissions
ers Grading had been completed over
6GS miles at the first of the year and
300 miles of track had been laid Con-
tracts for 174S1S gross tons Of so
pound steel rails have been awarded
to date and more contracts have been
let for steel superstructures The line
when completed will cut the time be-
tween the Atlantic and the Pacific and
Will open up valuable wheat and tim
Der lands in western Canada as well
as the farming region now engaging
the attention of the government.
Much of this latter country is now
timbered, but specimen acres have
been cleared and planted to wheat,
oats and barley, with results which
surprised the Dominion and provin-
cial agricultural departments. Frank
Moberly one of the investigators who
reported to these departments, recent
ly concluded an interesting series of
experiments regarding the soil fer
Unity of the new country. Moberly
spent four years in the clay belt of
northern Ontario and Quebec
This country is generally a pretty
level clay and clay loan country"
he reported very little rock showing
except along the main height of land
and some of the lake shores. The
banks of the rivers are generally of
a good height ana wooded with pop
lar. The ground falls away into
spruce sWamps for distance and then
rises gradually to a possible 100 feet
or so to divide before reaching the
next stream valley. The timber is
generally black spruce. not very
large, but along the river banks and
ridges it is composed of poplar, white
spruce, halsam, jackpine, birch, of a
fair size tamaraCk and balsam. The
natural drainage is everywhere good
when the moss is removed, and the
land Is easily cleared the tree roots
being largely on the surface
There are summer frosts and will
be until the land is cleared and culti-
waited but will grow grass. oats, pota-
toes and such crops and in time will
develop into wheat growing coun-
try, and will furnish traffic for the
transcontinental eastern section when
the wheat along the Grand Trunk Pa
cific in the west is being shipped out
by Prince Rupert to compete with
Manchuria and Siberian grain on the
Pacific.
The first year I sowed wheat. oats
and barley, all of which matured The
second year, which was very wet and
unfaVorable, l raised potatoes and
some vegetables which did fairly we'll
and planted currant bushes, apples,
native plums from Lake Temiskaming
and some shrubs. The third year
CAST season. l had twenty three kinds
of vegetables, including cucumbers,
and they nearly all did we'll: also
quite a variety of flowers among
which sweet peas and pansies were
particularly fine, also planted the ma
tive plum of Dakota and elms, ash
maple and oak trees but do not, of
course, know yet the results of win
tering. This season if all goes we'll
hope to make further test of both
plants and trees