The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-10
Frederick Haskin's Letter
CaI1ada's Capital.

Ottawa, Canada. Octs S.-They
call this city the Washington Of the
North But the phrase calls up
some associations that are mislead-
ing, at this season in particular.
The north suggests snowdrifts and
people wearing furs and arctics,
and just now Ottawa is still enjoy
ing the sort of fall you find in Bos-
ton or considerably farthur south.
Washington. too. Is not at first
glance recalled by Ottawa. There
is practically none of the marble
Wilderness set in green that charac-
terizes Washington. The most elab-
crate of the government buildings
are of cream and red sandstone and
the rest of the government Offices
are housed in plain, unobtrusiye OF
fee buildings.
But later the city does gradually
show its relation to the capital of
the United States, in character
more than appearance. There is
the same government atmosphere
and conversation The buildings at
set times swallow up and release
the same horde OF clerks-they call
them civil servants here-dressed
with the same ambitious stylish
ness.
81 don't know how they dress
the way they do, on $50 a month
That's all most of them get" mar
veled one government official.
A drive around the city adds to
the reminders OF Washington There
Is the experiment farm, for in
stance. Canada, Ike the United
States, has a number of these farms
scattered over the country, and,
like the United States, it has one
at the capital to be near the de-
partment of agriculture
Our experiment farm at Airing
ton is purely business PROPOSE
ton. No especial effort is made to
achieve beauty for beauty's sake.
Ottawa's farm is a show place. Ey-
cry tree. plant and shrub that
grows in Canada is represented in
these grounds. There are $4,000
different varieties of plant life here
But instead Of planting them in
endless rows, an ornamental park
has been made of large section
of the farm
An Ornamental Farm.
Fields where experiments are be
ing conducted with tobacco or
wheat are alternated with beauti-
fully kept lawns. These are shad-
ed, but not too densely, with tree
specimens, and flower beds show
what can be done with Canada's
large variety OF blossoms.
One unusual feature of the
grounds is a long patch OF different
hedge specimens, planted like so
many rows OF potatoes. There is
a row of yew. and close beside it a
row of spruce, and so on, for a
large area 1t gives the effect of
a display in a shop, the strips of
hedge suggesting picture molding
or something of the sort.
Another feature of the farm Is
the floral sun-dial, the dial Of which
is marked out in red. yellow and
green coleus The dial is about 40
feet in diameter. 1t is laid out like
the ordinary sun-dial except that
flower beds, divided by narrow
strips of concrete, take the place of
the stone plate with its lines. The
shadow is cast by a long pole set
at the proper angle.
This dial is said to give accurate
sun time, but the government does
not depend on it Just back of the
sun-diai is the government obServ-
atory which supplies standard time
by master clocks.
Besides plant Investigations, the
government conducts poultry and
stock experiments at the Ottawa
farm. The poultry section has a
sign out over one group of coops
"egg laying contest" Each
year, it seems. Canadian farmers
enter their best hens in a govern
ment contest of this sort. The hens
are boarded at the government
farm and their laying records care
fully kept. The winner becomes a
famous bird, and other hens that
rank high are consequently valua-
bic TO their owners. Last year the
bird laid 272 eggs.
One of the features of Ottawa
which attracts good many Amer
leans is the Archives building. The
United States has been talking for
\ good many years about a suitable
storage place for its valuable doc
lmentS and records. Canada has
such building. We read on the
brass plate outside that it was sug-
gested in 1871. but, like the United
States, Canada did not wish to rush
hastily into the matter Nearly two
centuries of thoughtful considera-
ion intervened, and in 1906 Canada
erected a gray stone archives build