The Jasper news., 1920-11-11
IS FAVORED LAND
Western Canada Country Of
Great Possibilities.
Soil, Climate, and Weather Conditions
All Factors In the Production Of
unrlvaIed Fruit, Vegetables
and Flowers a. Well
a. Grain.

As recently as last month-to be cor
rect, II was the 18th Of october, time
Of year when one naturally looks for
the frost upon the punkin," and is
inclined to wander through the woods
In search of the -ripened nuts, and ad-
mire the beautiful colorings that the
autumn atmosphere has bestowed upon
the leaves when one goes to HIS closet,
or maybe his pawnbroker, to find his
heavy clothing-it was that / found
myself the guest Of Western Canada
housewife In her beautiful home IN
the outskirts of the pretty little town
OF Moosomin, Saskatchewan. The din
aer ~ That's what Mrs. Wilde called
1t. should have termed It a BANQUET.
There were mallard duck, cooked to
turn, baked potatOes-and such big,
mealy fellows they were, too-cauli-
Hower-and say, did you ever taste
one of those Western Canada cauli-
flower r7-then dessert. What was the
ydessert1 j can see 1t now. Straw
berries, strawberries that had been
picked that morning: Help yourself
Is cream. But what wanted to write
about was the strawberries picked on
the 18th of October. As l ate, and
turned my back while a second help I
Ing was placed In front of me, could
not but think how this goes to refute
the once accepted idea that the ell
mate Of Western Canada is such that
Finnnfn1 nf cNr vI,ar rrfA
season is one of the things that might
be looked upon as next to impossible.
Fortunately 1t is rapidly giving place
to one which acknowledges that our
sister nation to the north possesses a
climate that makes 1t quite possible to
develop and ripen Strawberries even
In October.
But there Is more to add. On Oc-
tober IA, just few days previous, Mr.
A. b. Smith, near the same town,
plucked q splendid mess of green corn
from his garden. Near Rocauville.
Saskatchewan, wild raspberries were
picked during the same week. The
fact of rlpenlng fruit at this date may
seem Of little moment, but when you
are told that corn did not suffer from
any vagaries Of weather, more atten-
ton may be paid TO II. The question
OF Western Canada's climate is no
longer the bugaboo 1t once was, and
not so very long ago, either, when 1t
caused thinking people to think, and
unQuestionably prevented many from
going to Canada who under other con-
ditions would have gone.
In various parts OF this country, at
different state and county fairs, the
government Of the Dominion of Can
ada, during the past few weeks. In
stalled exhibits OF the grains and
grasses grown In Western Canada, and
at the same time showed fruits and
vegetables that were grown there.
None of these was placed In competl-
tion with the homegrown article. But
to judges and others there came the
full understanding of what ii would
mean to the local exhibitor II they
were. The Western Canadian-and
many of the exhibits were grown by
former Americans-does not lay claim
to any special dispensation of intelli-
gence in the matter of the culture of
the articles placed on exhibition, but
willingly gives credit to the soil, the
climate, and such other indigenous
conditions as the country as a whole
possesses, as being factors that bring
about the largest yields of the best or
wheat, oats, barley, flax and rye. as
we'll as vegetables. AS is pointed out
by the gentlemen in charge of these
exhibits, and quite evident to all, the
possibilities Of growing vegetables and
grain such as are shown can only exist
where conditions such as have been
mentioned exist.
In speaking of eating fresh straw
berries and green corn in the middle
of October l should not fail to refer
to the beautiful bouquets that adorned
the table, the sideboard, the window
sllls, and almost every other available
vacant place in the room. Flowers -
there were asters, phlox, gladloli, peo-
nles, poppies, and / can't remember
the names of them all, but they were
there. Taken right from the garden,
having a fragrance that gave the room
tropical colors, and filed It with mar
velously delightful perfumes. 1t was
a very pretty sight. Then 1 went out
Into the garden and took photo Of it.
It was simply wonderful. I asked the
good lady how she managed 1t. She
said she had always been fond Of flow
ers. In her old home, In one Of the
central states, she carried on garden
horticulture, and had been acknowl-
edged successful. "But myl" she said,
II never got such bloom, and such a