The Ordway new era., 1917-01-26
THE BASIS OF
CANADA'S RICHES
A Theme Discussed by the Wall
Street Journal.

statement tlAt Inc uas4s "a
riches Is the fertility OF the soil ana
no freak OF warfare can lnjure that,
while her grain will increase In de-
mand rs the population OF the world
grows, As an investment teld Canadh
is worthy of consideration. These
words are well worthy Of attention. es
pecialIy coming from such source as
this eminent financial journal. with
land area exceeding that OF the
United States and with ulinhie areas
coming under cultivation, the wealth
Of Canada's future can scarcely be esti-
mated. while the wealth today Is such
as to bring her most prominently be
fore the world.
During the past year thousands OF
farmers In Western Canada sold their
crops for more than the total cost Of
their land Lands at from Sl5 to $50
an acre produced crops worth $40 to
ST5 an acre. Stock raising and dairy
ing were equally profitable.
The year 1915 saw most wonderful
crops and magnificent yields over the
entire country. and many farmers
wiped out lndcbtednesses that had
hung over them long before they came
70 the country. and the year 1916 put
them In n condition Of absolute indie
pendence. \ report 10 hand verified
by n nigh official might seem marvel
Gus. were the particulars not well
known. and where are not other cases
that would seem almost as phenom-
eual. This i southern Alberta story :
A farmer wished to rent an adjoining
farm on which n loan company held
mortgage. The applicant said he want
ed the first ten bushels OF wheat, after
which he would divide. giving the loan
company oue-rh1rd. After fhreshlnG
he paid Into the bank at Calgary SIC
Per acre for every acre cultivated, to
the credit of the loan company. as
their share or their third Of the crop.
Sixteen dollars per acre rent His
two-thIrds was So and In addition the
first ten bushels Of wheGt. Land on
this same security can be purcha sed
for from SIG TO $50 per acre. Won
derful yields are reported from all
parts of this district. Recently 4.6+O
acres Of a ranch were sold to an I'LL
nois farmer: 800 acres OF wheat In
! 1916 produced a yield that averaged
+2i7 bushels Of wheat per acre. George
Richard. formerly Of Providence, r l..
! on southern Alberta farm got 2.0j2
! bushels OF wheat from a 50-acre field.
[ or over 40 bushels per acre. and from
! a 5O-acre field of oats got a return of
! I6 bushels per acre and still had some
Sh 1a+ Evr
A report just issued by the Alberta
government gives the yield OF wheat In
the showing of 1916 as IS bushels per
acre; i5 bushels OF oats and 30 bushels
Of barley.
Travellers through Alberta's wheat
belt have had revealed to them scenes
of agricultural productiveness unap-
| preached in any other part Of the
world.
Alberta farms. selected with even
moderate discretion. have raised men
TO independence and aftiuence with rec
ords Of wonderful development unsur-
passed amongst the phenomenal indus
/ trial success Of which Canada well may
/ DO; 81.
Many almost incredible yields have
been reported by reliable authorities,
wheat exceeding 30 bushels per acre
and oats l4j bushels.
/ Numerous records show that the cost
| Of farms has been more than repaid by
this years crop. In one instance, land
] purchased for 1920 produced wheat
| which was sold for a little over $4,000.
| During the year 1917 there will be
an immense amount of labor required
TO take care Of the crop in Manitoba,
| Saskatchewan and Alberta.
! One of the problems which Western
Canada has to face every year is the
I securing of an adequate supply of
labor TO handle the harvesting and
threshing Of its big crops This prob
lem, indeed. Is always present in any
country that has big agricultural pro-
duction; in the case of Western Can
ada 1t Is enhanced by the comparative
/ sparsity of population and the long dis
tance from industrial districts. which
can be expected to offer a surplus of
/ labor.
In Western Canada the present diff
cuiues are Increased by the war A very
/ large number OF Western Canada, s
small population have enlisted for sery.
Ice with the Canadian forces In Europe
and at the present time there is gen.
orally speaking no surplus of labor for
the ordinary channels of industry, to
say nothing of the abnorrAal demands
OF harvest time. The situation, how
ever, has to some extent been met by
the action of the Canadian militia de
partment, who have released all such
men who are still in training in the
western military camps and who desire
to engage in harvest work for period
| OF generally one month.
| The actual number NJ yna, on,,,.,o<