Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-01-14

<AANS ~ oS'NA
we know how to work"
Another farmer, from Minnesota,
who settled in Central Saskatchewan
some years ago, has the following 20
say about the country;
My wife and / have done well
enough since we came from the States;
we can live, anyway. We came in the
spring of 1901, with the first carload
of settlers effects unloaded in these
parts, and built the first shanty be.
tween Saskatoon and Lumsden. We
brought with our car of settlers eff.
fects the sun of $500 in cash, to-
day we are worth $4,000. We proved
up one of the finest farms in Western
Canada, and bought 800 acres at IS
per acre. We took good crops Off the
land for four years, al the end OF
which we had $4,000 worth of i'm.
provements in the way of buildings,
etc., and had planted three acres OF
trees. Two years ago we got such a
good offer that we sold our land at S45
per acre. From the above you will
see that we have not done badly since
our arrival"
Prof. Thomas Shaw, of st. Paul,
Minnesota, with a number of other
we'll known editors Of American farm
journals, toured WESTERN Canada re-
Gently, and in an interview at Winni.
peg said, in part:
With regard to the settlement OF
the West i should say that it is only
well begun. l have estimated that
in Manitoba one-tenth of the land
had been broken, in Saskatchewan
one-thirtieth, and in Alberta, one-hun.
dred and seventy-ifth. ! am satisfied
that in all three provinces grain can
be grown successfully up to the six.
tieth parallel, and in the years to
come your vacant lands will be taken
at a rate of which you have at present
no conception. We have enough people
in the United States alone, who want
homes, to take up this land.
What you must do in Western Can,
ada is to raise more live stock. When
you are doing what you ought to do
in this regard the land which is now
selling for $40 an acre will be worth
from $50 to 500 per acre. 1t is as
good land as that which is selling for
more than 500 per acre in the corn
belt.
| would sooner raise cattle In West.
ern Canada than in the corn belt OF
the United States. You can get your
food cheaper and the climate is bet
ter for the purpose. We have a bet.
ter market, but your market will i'm
prove faster than your farmers will
produce the supplies. Winter wheat
can be grown in one-half OF the coun-
try through which l have passed, and
alfalfa and one of the varieties Of
clover in three-fourths of it. The
farmers do not believe this, but 1t is
true"
Keeping pace with wheat production,
the growth of railways mas been quite
as wonderful, and the whole country,
from Winnipeg to the Rocky Noun.
tains, will soon be a network Of
trunk and branch lines. Three great
transcontinental lines are pushing con-
struction in every direction, and at
each siding the grain elevator is to be
found. Manitoba being the first set.
tied province, has now an elevator ca
pacity of upwards of %, 1000, 900 bush.
els; Saskatchewan, 20, 900, 900, and AL
berta about 1000, 900, while the ca.
pacity of elevators at Fort William
and Port Arthur on the Great Lakes,
is upwards Of 20, 600, 900 more.
Within the provinces OF Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and Alberta there are
-four and oatmeal mills with a com.
bined capacity of $4,000 barrels per
day, and situated along some famous
water powers in New Ontario, there
are larger mills than will be found
anywhere in the prairie provinces.
Last year the wheat crop totalled
over 100, 900 bushels. This year
the crop will yield $1,000, 900 more.
A recent summary shows that on the
LIST of January, 1909, the surveyed
lands of the three western provinces
totalled 134, 900, 900 acres, of which
about 100000 have been given as
subsidies to railways. II. o0o, 900 dis
posed of in other ways, and $4,000, 900
given by the Canadian government as
free homesteads. being $4,000 home.
steads of 160 acres each. OF this
enormous territory, there is probably
under crop at the present time less
than 100000 acres; what the re-
suits will be when wide awake set
tiers have taken advantage of Canada's
offer and are cultivating the fertile