The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-02-20
LAND OF WEALTH
Western Canada Has Unbounded
Possibilities.
Glorious Opportunities for the Stock
Raiser, the Wheat Grower, and the
Mixed Farmer-lts Fields to
Feed the World

,p>Stbie To iced them outside all tiie
ftur round. the Indian hunters could
iiw;ys find the buffalo during the
Nuier months pasturing in the foot
Hills. In the summer the herds VAIN
Tered on the plains and fed on the
)r;,irie grasses. The plains have since
become grain fields. but the foothill
district extending north from the In
ernational boundary for n thousand
ui,es will always he natural feeding
round for live stock. In the southern
,art of Alberta the altitude Is greater
han in the more northerly districts'
,ut while the herds in the south have
Hinder tracts of trYless pasturage, In
he north from Red Deer ou into the
'cace river country there are more
'rres. richer vegetation and more
,atural shelter.
Those who have been advocating
stock raising and mixed farming for
he past few years point to the number
If hess marketed MS an evidence of the
increased production of the Western
'rovinces. They may also take credit
or the increase in cattle and sheep.
which is very great. hut perhaps not
so markcd as what has been accom-
'listed in hog raising. For the first
dy months alone last year about half
million hogs were shipped from
Nanitota. Saskatchewan and Alberta.
very conservative estimate value Of
-h.se animals to the fnrmer would he
900 u head.
The Canadian West is fast forging to
he front Of the wheat-producing cOun-
.ries Of the world. and mo. I hard"
: without doubt the best wheat in the
uarIet today. When 1t is considered
hat thp three hundred and forty-three
million four hundred and sevenry-three
thousand hushei crop of t911 was from
,niy eleven million acres Of her hun
ireds Of millions of acres. II gives an
dr,i Of what her future will he.
II Is felt. however. that on account
If the great money there will un-
inuhte,ily he In growing wheat during
he next few years there is n possibli-
~ that farmers may he tempted to
irop the growing of coarser grains.
which might result In less stock being
'ai>ed. Every effort is being made by
he Agricultural Departments of the
,'nrIous Provinces to impress on the
'nrmcrs thar forage crops and course
'eed in abundance mem production OF
i.sl, aud milk. md that In the long
-un the great future Of the Western
p'ruvinces lies In naked farming which
will found her prosperity on more
.nduring hnsis.
Mixed farming has always been the
nile in the Eastern Provinces where the
formation OF the land invites variety
II crop. hut Il hns not been ms common
n the Western Provinces. though the
n'-,r'ice has grown In recent years.
Hitherto the man mining wheat from
he rich soil has purchased most OF his
aruselold food aud necessities. his
energies hetug devoted to getting every
aossihie hushel OF grain out Of every
Foot nf his land. md he has piiid prices
,or his supplies that have mnde n big
lent In his profits. II has now dnwned
m him that he can riise vegetables
and poultry. and supply his own table
that with very little effort he can raise
a lot Of garden produce and in very
simple manner solve his own problem
At the cost of living. Further. TINT
there is an increasing market for do
nestle necessities such rs poultry.
Eggs. butter. milk and cheese. which
command very high prices. and TINT
there are other roads to prosperity
besides that through the wheat field.
In 1916 Canada imported 7.9S9.a69
pounds OF butter. most of 1t from as
far away ms New Zealnnd. and for the
butter to England. n condition due to
the home consumption. which is est{.
mated to he increasing Mt the rate OF
S30OO.OOO worth year. being great
" tn excess of the increased supply.
This condition has brought about II
change In farming methods that is far
reaching. and will result in greatly in
creased production all round of the
necessities demanded BY the home
market.
Natural Resources
One OF tue most important consider
ations to the farmer Is fuel. In north
ern Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Al
berth, where portions of the country
are well wooded. the settler has little
difficulty in getting all the wood he
requires aud thousands of men find
employment In the winter cutting
wood which Is shipped all over the
prairie portions of the provinces.
There Is an abundance of conl
throughout the country. 1t Is estimat-
ed that the coal deposits In Alberta
cover over 8, 900 square miles and
represent an available tonnage of over
ten hundred thousand MILTON tons.
while those in Saskatchewan cover an
area of 1900 miles. containing over
~. 9.0OO.OOO tons. In Manitoba the coa'
reserve Is not as large. but even there
I60. 0.OOo.OOO tons Is considered n conser-