Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1919-02-20
Land OF wealth
Western Canada Has Unhounded
Possibilities.
Glorious Opportunities for the Stock
Raiser, the Wheat Grower, and the
Mixed Farmer-Its Fields to
Feed the World.

i'eiole tHeIe were any cattle IN
Alberta. or it was known that it was
possible to feed them outside all the
year round, the Indian hunters could
always find the buffalo during the
winter months pasturing in the, foot
NILS. In the summer the herds wan
aere6 on the plains and fed on the
Vrairie grasses. The plains have since
become grain fields, but the foothill
district extending north from tbs ~.
ternational boundary for a thousand
miles will always he a natural feeding
ground for live stock. In the southern
part of Alberta the altitude is greater
tina in the more n%orther,y districts,
but while the herds in the south have
wider tracts of treeless paSturage. in
h north from Red Deer on into the
Peace river country there are more
trees. q richer vegetation and more
natural shelter.
Those who have been advocating
stock raising and mixed farming for
n past few years point to The number
of hogs marketed as an evidence of the
increased production of the Western
Provinces. They may also take credit
FOR the increase in cattle and sheep,
which is very great, but perhaps not
SO marked rs what has been accom-
p!ished in hog raising. For the first
six months alone last year nhout half
n million hogs were shipped from
Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Alberta.
A very conservative estimate value of
these animals to the farmer Would be
$25.OO 81 head.
The Canadian West is fast forging TO
h front of the MISUNDERSTANDING coun-
tries of the world. and mo. ! hard
is without doubt the best wheat in the
market today. When il is considered
thai the three hundred and f,rty-ihrec
million four hundred and se%vcnty-three
thousand bushel crop Of 1915 1y:.s from
only eleven million acres Of her hun
dreds of millions of acres. il gives an
idea Of what her future vii! be.
1t is felt. however, that MI account
of the great money there will I'M
douotedly be in growing wheat during
the next few years there IS "a poSsihil-
ity that farmers may he tempted to
drop The growing of ccarser grains,
which might result IN less stock being
raiscd. Every effort is .c!nG made by
the Agricultural Departments of the
various Provinces to impress On the
farmers that forage crops and coarse
feed in abundance mean p%roauction of
tlesh and milk. and tina: In the long
ruu the great future Of the Western
Provinces lies in mixed farming which
will found her prosperity on Il more
enduring basis.
Mixed farming has always been the
rule in the Eastern Provinces where the
formation of the land invites variety
of crop, but ii las not been as common
in :ahe Western Provinces. Though the
practice has grown in recent years.
Hitherto the man mining wheat from
the rich soil has purchased most of his
hocEehold food and necessities. his
energies being devoted to getting every
possible bushel Of grain out If every
foot of his land. and he has paid prices
for his supplies that have made a big
dent in his profits. II has now dawnet
IN him that he 81 raise vegetables
and poultry. and supply his w table:
that With very little effort he can raise
G cot Of garden produce and In 81 very
simple name solve his w problem
@. the o s of living. Further. that
:llere is an increasing marnet for do
nestle necessities such as poultry.
eggs, butter, milk and cheese. which
command very high prices. and that
.aicre are Other roads to prosperity
b sides that through the wheat field.
III 1916 Canada imported T.9S9.20o
pounds of butter. most of il from as
FIRST time in GO years failed 10 ship
better to England. a condition due To
tf.a home consumption. Which IS esii-
mited TO he increasing at The rate OF
$3.oO0.0W worth q year, being great
~ in EXCESS of the Increased supply.
This condition has brought about "a
change in farming methods .hnt is far
reaching. and will result in greatly In
creased production ali round OF the
necessities demanded By The home
market.
Natural Resources.
One of the most important consider
nt1ons to the farmer is fuel. IN north
e,a Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Al
btfta, where portions Of the country
are we'll wooded, the settler has little
difficulty In getting all the WOOD he