Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-08

bushel in the local market. Unfortunate
ly we have no way to make use Of the
straw. We have to burn it, because we
have no place to ship 1t to. There is no
of money. and labor is so scarce here
that we cannot utilize it ourselves. The
experiment that has been going on for
some time has demonstrated that our
coarse stray Is suitable for fabrics, for
cordage and Tor binding Irvine. and we
ought to have factories in Saskatoon that
will utilize a large share of the CROP
We have not been very much embar-
raised by the lack of labor. We are used
to it. Everybody farms by machinery
and there are as many gasoline engines
as there are men on most of our farms.
About 5000 harvesters were brought into
this district during the last few weeks
from ontario and the United States. and
certain number Of men are necessary ON
a large farm, but all the planting, Guilt
waiting, reaping and thrashing is done by
traction engines. We break the land. We
pack 1t, disc 1t, seed 1t and harrow 1t all
in one operation by a gasoline engine. In
harvesting we hitch from four to six
binders back OF an engine and cut a
swath of from twenty-four to thirty-six
feet in width When the crop is removed
from the field we prepare the land for
next years seeding all in one operation.
When thrashing time comes, instead of
pitching the shocks into the thrasher
with fork we have an elevator hauled
ty team which picks up the shock and
drops IL into the bundle wagon fast
enough to keep the thrasher going, there
by eliminating more than three-uuarters
OF the men that were formerly employed
This introduction of machinery has
increased profits by lessening the cost
of farming by at least
Introducing go per cent, because
Mooh;r.rv the great part of the
machinery. expense under the old
system was for men and horses II
would require 100 men and 100 horses
to run my farm in the old way, but
! never employ more than twenty men
and have only a half dozen horses, but
have four gasoline engines and any
amount of other machinery. The work
is done 100 per cent better than would
be possible under the old system, and
the saving in cultivation is at least
so per cent.
The farmers in this part of Can
ada are passing into mixed farming
more and more. Formerly it was q
one-crop country. 1t has been found
more profitable to raise hogs, cattle
horses, poultry and other live stock ant
potatoes. cabbages. onions and other
vegetables. We cannot raise corn. /,
mas never been u success up here but
we are growing alfalfa in great shape
and are making a success of diversified
farming. although the land is new and
we nave to grope our way carefully
along in the dark
we owe the movement toward diversi
ned farming to the influence of the agri
cultural college, which is doing a won
derful work in this province. The uni
Versity's extension work is particular,
important. Hundreds of our young mel
! VIII come in from the farm to study tn,
science of agriculture at the new uni
versity. and they will be many times a.
We'll qualified to work out their destin,
and enrich this country than if they ha,
ialled TO receive the instruction. but there
are several thousand farmers quite as
eager to learn, who cannot leave then
places and go to college. therefore, the
university extension work was organized
10 reach them. and it has been tire.
mendous success. The professors from
the agricultural college announce in ad.
vance that they will be at certain vii
lage at certain time, and they take In
all the towns in turn. At every place the
farmers come in by he thousands to
iisten 10 the demonstrations concerning
the best methods of farming of applying
fertilizers, of making the most profitable
use OF their labor, and they learn a great
deal that is of the highest Importance to
them They appreciate the privilege. This
is shown by the fact that more than
2o.OOo farmers attended the demonstra-
tons last year.
Nowhere in all the world is the value
of education appreciated SO highly as ir
saskatchewan. You can recognize thai
by the number and the size of our school.
houses and the average attendance. which
/ venture to say, is as high as has ever
been recorded in any city of our pOpula-
ton, although We are only eight years
old. This is a public-spirited community
as well as an enterprising one, and they
insist upon having the very best of every
thing. especially in education
You have doubtless seen the buildings
that are being erected for the University
of Saskatchewan. They
Saskatchewan will give you an idea OF