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 6 
 

 ; WHEAT FIELDS OF THE 
 
 NOliTHWEST. 
 
 IN the summer of 1879 a number of ag- 
 ricultural meetings were held in differ- 
 ent parts of England to consider the influ- 
 i ence of American competition on the pi'ice 
 !of wheat— a subject which the farmers 
 and land-owners were then learning to re- 
 , gard as one destined to receive more anx- 
 I ious consideration from them than any 
 other of a political nature. At one of 
 these meetings Lord Beaconsfield, in the 
 course of an address, is reported to have 
 said that supremacy as a grain-growing 
 country would soon bo attained by Can- 
 ada, and that with this expectation thou- 
 j sands of persons from the States were hast- 
 '' ening to change their homes to the other 
 side of the boundary line. This statement, 
 brought into general notice on this side 
 of the Atlantic at the time by the eminent 
 position of the speaker. wAs held plainly 
 to lack trustworthiness ; and our press, 
 having simply compared the quantities of 
 wheat raised in the year preceding by the 
 two countries assumed to bo rivals, and 
 having proved that the movement of immi- 
 gration between Canada and the United 
 States was in favor of the latter, deemed 
 further refutation unnecessary. But the 
 editors of our press, in common with other 
 persons, do not at present appreciate that 
 part of the United States which lies west 
 I of Lake Superior, and it may be doubted 
 ; if it is generally known further than as 
 a country the failure of which to sustain 
 the Northern Pacific Railroad project was 
 the harbinger of the unwelcome financial 
 crisis of 1873, and now more lately as the 
 location of several noted wheat farms con- 
 ducted on a gigantic scale; whilst hardly 
 so much could bo told of the larger and 
 more valuable portion of this land, distin- 
 guished througliout its extent by certain 
 ' peculiarities of soil and climate, which 
 I lies north of the boundary line, and forms 
 the new provinces of Canada. However, 
 I this country Las the elements to support 
 
 uat^ 
 
 ar.-i?.3 
 
the most pr< 
 
 iient, if it is 
 
 established ( 
 
 into the sair 
 
 tlie farmiiiff 
 
 The Red I 
 
 the licad-w£ 
 
 ilov/iug ill t 
 
 larger river, 
 
 Minnesota ai 
 
 Canadian pt 
 
 discharges i 
 
 The ])rairie t 
 
 tributaries c 
 
 acres, and, sp 
 
 is the boginn 
 
 tile land whi 
 
 belt to the E 
 
 by the Saska 
 
 north by the 
 
 This Canadia: 
 
 130,000,000 at 
 
 ably be founc 
 
 when a thoro 
 
 made by the 1 
 
 southern limi 
 
 has a latitude 
 
 and what maj 
 
 lies distant oi: 
 
 mate, liowevf 
 
 that found in : 
 
 corresponding 
 
 The isotherm 
 
 Hudson Bayf 
 
 decidedly to 1 
 
 ])erature of th 
 
 but little froii 
 
 the valley of 
 
 out the counti 
 
 April, OP fullj 
 
 is sown in the 
 
 sununer is uol 
 
 dian corn, anc 
 
 permits no tlui 
 
 is a cold one, c 
 
 grain States of 
 
 to this fact, doi 
 
 of the cereais r 
 
 railway const: 
 
 enough in the 
 
 trance to this i 
 
 asters which i 
 
 pioneer lines i 
 
 gration. Thre 
 
 Since that tinu 
 
 in no other pa 
 
 it gone forwai- 
 
 been attended ^ 
 
 iu the Red Ri\ 
 
WHEAT FIELDS OF THE NORTHWEST. 
 
 573 
 
 the most prosperous people on the conti- 
 nent, if it is not destined soon to put the 
 established districts of our prain supply 
 into the same position as they have put 
 the furminpr lands of England. 
 
 The Red River of the North rlSfcs near 
 the head-watei-s of the Mississippi, but 
 llov/ing in the opposite direction to the 
 larger river, forms the boundary between 
 Minnesota and Dakota, and entering the 
 Canadian province of Manitoba, finally 
 discharges itself into Lake Winnipeg. 
 Tlio i)ralrio drained by this river and its 
 tributaries contains, roughly, 40,000,000 
 acres, and, speaking from our stand-point, 
 is the beginning of the vast section of fer- 
 tile land which, stretching in a widening 
 belt to the Rocky Mountains, is drained 
 by the Saskatchewan rivers, and further 
 north by the Athabasca and the Peace. 
 This Canadian division contains certainly 
 150,000,000 acres of land, and may prob- 
 ably be found to include 250,000,000 acres 
 when a thorough survey shall have been 
 made by the Dominion government. The 
 southern limit of this section of fertile land 
 has a latitude as high as that of Montreal, 
 and what may be called its northern limit 
 lies distant one thousand miles. The cli- 
 mate, however, dirt'ers essentially fram 
 that found in Eastern British America at a 
 corresponding distance from the equator. 
 The isothermal lines, as they approach 
 Hudson Bay from the Pacific Ocean, bend 
 decidedly to the south. The mean tem- 
 jjerature of the Peace River Valley varies 
 but little from the mean temperature of 
 the valley of the Red River. Through- 
 out the country wheat may be planted in 
 April, or fully as early as spring wheat 
 is .sown in the United States. But as the 
 summer is not warm enough to ripen In- 
 dian corn, and the winter, while it lasts, 
 permits no thaw to take place, the climate 
 is a cold one, compared with that over the 
 grain States of the Mississippi Valley ; and 
 to this fact, doubtless, the superior quality 
 of the cereais raised hero is due. In 1872, 
 railway construction had, extended far 
 enough in the Northwest to afford an en- 
 trance to this new territory. But the dis- 
 asters which speedily overtook the two 
 pioneer lines stopped at once all immi- 
 gration. Three years ago it was resumed. 
 Since that time, it may be safely assorted, 
 in no other part of the United States has 
 it gone forward with sn much vigor, and 
 been attended with so much prosperity, as 
 in the Red River Valley. The towns of 
 
 Fargo ai.« Grand Forks in Dakota, and 
 Winnipeg across the border — the country 
 around them presenting no resources ex- 
 cept a prolific soil — exhibit a growth as 
 rapid, and commercial transactions as 
 heavy, as cities which have sprung up in 
 the richest mining districts of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Iiitenso as the chai'acter of 
 the immigration has been, it has not yet 
 exercised any disturbing influence on the 
 grain market. The part of tho land re- 
 claimed is comparatively trifling. At va- 
 rious points in the valley farms have been 
 laid out, and fields of wheat, some of which 
 are thousands of acres in extent, have been 
 cultivated, but the greater part of the land 
 is still an unbroken prairie, without a trace 
 of settlement. The immigration into the 
 valley of tho Red River, and the smaller 
 immigration into tho vallej'S of tho Sas- 
 katchewan, have been of most importance 
 in proving that this country produces tho 
 cereals in a state of perfection which has 
 not manifested itself farther south — a re- 
 sult possibly to have been anticipated from 
 its latitude and soil. In a climate wai*m- 
 er than is needed to bring it to maturity, 
 wheat shows an imperfect development of 
 grain, with a deficiency in weight. It is 
 always more subject to drought, tho hot 
 sun acting both to evaporate moisture 
 from the gi'oiind and to burn tiie plant 
 afterward. Tho same facts arc observa- 
 ble in the growth of other cereals. Even 
 grass shows a marked change in value 
 made by latitude. Many of our stock- 
 raisers in tho Southwest do not sell their 
 cattle in Texas or New Mexico, but drive 
 them from the coai-so and poor vegetation 
 there to feed on the sweeter and more nu- 
 tritious grasses of Montana, the increased 
 price which the cattle bring in their im- 
 proved condition paying for a drive of 
 fifteen hundred miles. 
 
 The superior quality of the Avheat raised 
 in this new countiy will be best shown by 
 a comparison made in figures. Duluth 
 and Chicago are selected to furnish a com- 
 parison, as the former is the genci'al point 
 of shipment of the northern wheat, and 
 the latter is tho place of largest receipts 
 in tho grain States further south. To ex- 
 plain the use of tho figures below, it may 
 bo noted that, for the convenience of trade, 
 on arrival at one of the larger places of 
 receipts, grain is inspected by experts who 
 are public officers, and graded according 
 to its soundness and weight. The differ- 
 ence in market value between tho gi*ades 
 
674 
 
 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 is considerable. Take for tlie purpose 
 the crop of 1880. During the last three 
 mouths of that year there were inspect- 
 ed at Duluth 1,778,704 bushehi of wheat. 
 Leaving out of consideration tl.o iraction 
 86,000 bushels, which were of the soft va- 
 riety, and. it is assumed, came to this port 
 from southern counties of Minnesota, the 
 wheat graded as follows, the amounts be- 
 ing expressed by per cent. : 
 
 AT ni-LCTII. 
 
 Orade Xo. 1, Hard 87 per cent. 
 
 ♦ iradc Xo. 2 11 " 
 
 (JradeXo.S 1 " 
 
 Rejected 1 " 
 
 During the same months there were in- 
 spected at Chicago 1,571,2(52 bushels of 
 winter wheat, and 7,988,810 bushels of 
 spring wheat, which graded as below : 
 
 AT CHICAGO. 
 Winter Wheit. Sjn-ing r/icnf. 
 
 Orade Xo. 1 . . 1 per cent. Grade Xo. 1 . . 1 per cent. 
 Grade Xo. 2.. 63 " Grade Xo. 2 . . (>(3 " 
 
 (iradeXo.3..34 " GradeXo.3. .23 " 
 
 Rejected .... 1 3 " Rejected .... 1 " 
 
 As to the respective market values : at the 
 city of Buffalo, where the northern and 
 southern grain, coming over the lakes 
 from Duluth and Chicago, first meet in a 
 general market, the following were the 
 average prices per bushel during the 
 months mentioned above : 
 
 No. 1, Hard Duluth 1.18 
 
 No. 2, " 
 
 
 1.16J 
 
 No. 1, Red Winter.. 1.14 
 Xo. 2, " ..1.11 
 Xo. 3, " ..1.06 
 Rejected " ..1.00 
 
 Xo. 1, Spring . 
 Xo. 2, " . 
 Xo. 3, " . 
 Rejected " . 
 
 ....1.13J 
 ....1.08 
 
 0.95 
 
 ....0.80 
 
 The southern grown wheat may have in 
 the future, it is probable, a still lower rel- 
 ative value. It alone has been used for 
 export to foreign countries, whose mills 
 were not adapted for grinding with the 
 best results the hard Manitoba wheat, even 
 if the jiroductiou of the latter were large 
 enough to bring its merits into notice. 
 Now, however, that the improved meth- 
 ods of milling employed at Minneapolis 
 are being introduced into England, with 
 an increased supply of hartl wheat, there 
 will doubtless come the same preference 
 ns exists in this country for a grain hav- 
 ing its special properties. These improve- 
 ments in milling have had a most impor- 
 tant bearing on the value of a., the varie- 
 ties of hard wheat. The secret of the 
 higher price which the Duluth wheat com- 
 mands over the best grades from other lo- 
 calities is the fact that it makes a flour of 
 
 greater strength. The northern wheat 
 is llinty, and contains more gluten; the 
 southern is soft, and contains more starch. 
 Until laf.ely, however, the farmer in North- 
 ern Minn'dota found that his grain, al- 
 though by an analysis of its parts the 
 most valuable, brought the lowest prices 
 paid in market, because, Avith the method 
 then used for separating bran from the 
 middlings, it made a dark-colored flour. 
 A few years ago the defects were reme- 
 died by the millers at Minneapolis, and so 
 successfully that their method of treating 
 wlieat has been very generally adoptetl 
 throughout the country. The result has 
 Ijcen that the strong flour made of Red 
 River wheat is quoted at a price of two 
 dollars per barrel over other kinds— a dif- 
 ference which the baker is willing to pay, 
 because from a given number of pounds 
 it makes the greatest number of pounds 
 of bread ; and the private consumer is will- 
 ing to pay, because it furnishes the most 
 nutritive food. The hard Northern wheat, 
 instead of being the lowest, has taken its 
 rightful place as the highest priced on the 
 list of grain. 
 
 The land is also more prolific. The ex- 
 perience of the wheat-raisers in Manitoba 
 has now been of sufficient length to make 
 understootl some of the naturr.l advantages 
 extended to this country for returning 
 large and certain crops. Situated in a high 
 latitude, there is affoi-ded to vegetation a 
 greater number of hours of sun each day 
 during the entire season of growth. The 
 winter cold, continuous and with light 
 falls of snow, freezes the ground to an 
 extraordinary depth. Under the disinte- 
 grating power of frost, the lower soil is 
 broken up each season for the sustenance 
 of plants as thoroughly as if done by the 
 best artificial means. This is not the only 
 service i^erformed by the frost; later, 
 throughout the period of growth, it keeps 
 within reach of the roots a moisture which 
 renders drought impossible. But most 
 noteworthy is the soil itself — an alluvial 
 black loam, Avith an average depth of 
 twenty inches, resting on a subsoil of 
 clay. It is very heavy, when wet having 
 a tar-like consistency, and rich in the ele- 
 ments wliich are believed to nourish vege- 
 tation. Dropped into this soil, with the 
 other favoring circumstances, seed springs 
 up and grows with an extraordinary vig- 
 or, and gives a sound and abundant crop. 
 The average yield of wheat per acre in the 
 R<?(I River Valley, north of Fargo, where 
 

 WHEAT FIELDS OF THE NORTHWEST. 
 
 675 
 
 orn wlteat 
 luten; the 
 ore starch. 
 rinNorth- 
 I grain, al- 
 
 parts tlio 
 vest ))rices 
 he method 
 
 frcm the 
 ored flour. 
 veto reme- 
 alis, and so 
 of treating 
 ly adopted 
 
 re-sult lias 
 ide of Red 
 'ice of two 
 nds— a dif- 
 ing to pay, 
 
 of pounds 
 of pounds 
 meriswill- 
 8 the most 
 lern wlieat, 
 s taken its 
 iced on the 
 
 c. The ex- 
 
 1 Manitoba 
 
 th to make 
 
 Advantages 
 
 returning 
 
 3d in a high 
 
 getation a 
 
 1 each day 
 
 wth. The 
 
 with light 
 
 und to an 
 
 ho disinte- 
 
 tver soil is 
 
 sustenance 
 
 one by the 
 
 ot the only 
 
 )st ; later, 
 
 :h, it keeps 
 
 ture which 
 
 But most 
 
 m alluvial 
 
 depth of 
 
 subsoil of 
 
 vet having 
 
 in the ele- 
 
 iirish vcge- 
 
 i, with the 
 
 jed springs 
 
 Unary vig- 
 
 dant crop. 
 
 acre in the 
 
 rgo, where 
 
 
 
 the soil becomes heavier and more char- 
 acteristic, is twenty -three bushels. In 
 Manitoba and the Saskatchewan region 
 the average is greater, and amounts to 
 twenty -eight bushels. These facts be- 
 come more striking when compared with 
 results in the district of the wheat supply 
 at present. In Illinois the average for 
 wheat to the acre is seventeen bushels; 
 in Iowa, ten ; in Wisconsin, less than ten ; 
 in Kansas, ten ; while in Texas it is eight 
 and one-half bushels. Nor does the land 
 seem to deteriorate under a course of crop- 
 ping, as docs the lighter soil of States in 
 the south. In the early part of the cen- 
 tury. Lord Selkirk, fascinated by the re- 
 sources which he beheld in the Lake Win- 
 nipeg region, formed the idea of develop- 
 ing them with colonists from his country. 
 Shut ott" from any market for their grain, 
 and located in a spot at that time practi- 
 cally inaccessible, the Highlanders who 
 came over in accordance with the ill-con- 
 sidered plan of Lord Selkirk were sub- 
 jected to a great deal of hardship. But 
 many fami ;^s staid. The town of Kil- 
 donan, near the mouth of the Red River, 
 started by these colonists, has been occu- 
 pied by them and their descendants ever 
 since. By their farming the powers of 
 the soil have been pretty thoroughly test- 
 ed. In this settlement there are fields 
 which have been sown to wheat every 
 season for the last thirty-five years with- 
 out the application of any fertilizers, and 
 which in 1879 yielded an average of over 
 thirty bushels to the acre. A soil which 
 raises one grain in such perfection is, 
 of course, suitable for other purposes. 
 Stimulated by the presence of buyers for 
 the mills maldng the higii-priced flour, 
 who offer immediate payment for all their 
 crop, the farmers have so far devoted all 
 their energy to increasing their acreage 
 of wheat. But the other cereals — oat^, 
 rye, and barlsy — sown to supply local 
 needs, show a like abundant yield, and 
 when brought to outside markets these 
 products of northern soil will be found en- 
 titled to the high estimation accorded f j 
 the present staple. 
 
 Of equal importance with the natural 
 resources here is the means of getting the 
 ])roduct8 to market. In the United States 
 the importance of this question will be 
 fully appreciated, and it becomes a matter 
 deserving attention when directly at our 
 doors a large body «. i land of unusual fer- 
 tility is being invited to compete in mar- 
 
 kets which Iiave been opened to us by 
 an efficient system of transportation, and 
 found very profitable. Af.art from any 
 question of loss or gain to the trade of the 
 United States, the subject itself presents 
 many features to excite an interest. The 
 scheme of the roads for traffic at present 
 is so little complicated as to be rea<lily un- 
 derstood. The projects now under way 
 are to cost vast sums of money. Their 
 completion will present much that is nov- 
 el in the systems of the continent. On 
 the American side, the Northern Pacific 
 Railway, at the end of 1880, had built west 
 of the llocky Mountains a section of 150 
 miles, beginning at a jroint 2G0 miles from 
 the terminus on Puget Sound, and extend- 
 ing eastward. During the year they had 
 pushed westward the main road from Du- 
 luth to the Yellowstone River in Montana. 
 By the collapse in 1873 the company were 
 left with a very poor credit, and to con- 
 tinue their work they have been obliged 
 to rely mainly on the earnings of the 
 completed part and the proceeds of the 
 sale of the land grant. The progress 
 made since that time toward completing 
 the transcontinental line illustrates the 
 rapid way in which this country has of 
 late been developing. The construction 
 last year was 360 miles of new road. Re- 
 cently measures to secure money for con- 
 tinuing the work as fast as it may bo re- 
 quired have been successfully taken, and 
 it is believed that the line from Lake Su- 
 perior to the Pacific Ocean will be finished 
 in 1883. As a terminus, the port of Du- 
 luth has hitherto been sufficient during the 
 season of navigation, which lasts, howev- 
 er, only six months. Dr.ring the remain- 
 der of the year grain is left to go eastward 
 by rail transportation around the south- 
 ern end of Lake Michigan. This lake has 
 been the means of shutting off the North- 
 western States from any direct land com- 
 munication with the East. North of Chi- 
 cago there is not at present a single lin.^ 
 of railway from the prairies. The States 
 of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the 
 adjoining portion of Dakota are covered 
 with iron roads, but they are all tributary 
 to the Elastem system at the head of Lake 
 Michigan — a fact which sufficiently ac- 
 counts for the steady and rapid growth of 
 the city at that point. The presence of 
 Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, and 
 the character of the country north and 
 south of the latter, which is hilly, and 
 abounds in immense ledges of rock, render 
 
670 
 
 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 divect rail coinipction of tho Red River 
 territory with tiio East a ditliciilt and ex- 
 pensive matter. But the development of 
 resources wliich are so vahiablo und com- 
 l)lcto will doubtless in time create an ex- 
 tensive system of rail communication, 
 which shall form the shortest possible 
 routes to tho .sea-boai-d, and i)e free of the 
 charpes at an intermediate jioint of distri- 
 bution. The construction of two lines, 
 one alonp tho south shore of Lake Supe- 
 rior and the other on the north shore, has 
 been definitely decided upon, and work 
 on the lirst lino has been begun. The 
 Northern Pacillc Railway is now en- 
 gaped in building a road from Duluth 
 eastward to tho charter terminus at Mont- 
 real River. From this point a road, ])art 
 of which is finished, is to be extended to 
 Sault Ste. Marie. Here a combination of 
 Canadian railways is to give communica- 
 tion with Montreal and New York. The 
 distance from tho Red River to New York 
 by this route, when completed, will be at 
 least two hundred miles shorter than by 
 the expensive one through Chicago. An- 
 other railway, Uuh St. Paul, Minneai)olis, 
 and Manitoba, located at right angles to 
 tho lino of the Northern Pacilic, extends 
 from St. Paul, on both sides of tho Red Riv- 
 er to tho international boundary, where it 
 is met by a branch of the Canadian Pacific. 
 This road carries a largo part of the wheat 
 raised in the Red River Valley to the mills 
 at Minneapolis, and until the present time 
 lias furnished the only adequate means of 
 entrance to tho province of Manitoba. By 
 the construction of 230 miles in 1880 this 
 company now owns nearly one thousand 
 miles of road, and its extensions westward 
 bid fair to make it equally active with 
 the Northern Pacific in developing this 
 country. 
 
 On the Canadian side, Hudson Bay may 
 eventually become of the lirst importance 
 as an outlet for foreign sliii)ments of grain. 
 The bay is free of ice, and its southwestern 
 harbore are oijen fully three months — a 
 short season of navigation, but sufficient 
 for a sailing vessel to clear with two car- 
 goes for Liverpool, which ships carrying 
 grain from California around Capo Horn 
 can not accomplish, taking the entirf^ j'ear. 
 But it may be doubted whether the hope 
 of utilizing this short road to Europe will 
 be realized for a considerable time. At 
 York Factory, the Nelson, a river flowing 
 from the lakes of Manitoba, empties into 
 the bay. Surveys have lately been made 
 
 to lotuite a line for a railway d(nvn this 
 river from the city of Winnipeg. Tho 
 want of material to provide this road with 
 local traffic, and tho brief jioriwl tluring 
 which tho Atlantic port, its projtosed ter- 
 minus, is accessible, would probiibly deter 
 private enterprise from undtrlaking its 
 construction until the surplus of giiiin in 
 Manitoba had become much larger than it 
 is at |)resent, and a sufficient number of 
 vessels for the Hudson Bay trade could bo 
 assured to nnvG accumulated freight at 
 York Factory. Tho river Nelson itself is 
 not now navigable. Improvements in its 
 channel would give a depth of water suf- 
 ficient for vessels of large draught to pass 
 through to the lakes al>ove, and other 
 natural obstacles are not so great as to 
 render its future navigation improbable. 
 But until the completion of other schemes 
 for ])romoting trade in their new territory, 
 which are now being carried out at groat 
 expen.so, it is hardly to bo thought that 
 the Canadian government will attempt 
 improvements in the Nelson, or the con- 
 struction of tho Hudson Bay railroad, 
 more especially us tho success of these 
 would tend to weaken certain direct ben- 
 efits to the old provinces which the pres- 
 ent ])lans of internal improvement are ex- 
 pected to bring. 
 
 The old route for inlaijd navigation 
 through the great lakes is now being sub- 
 jected to changes which promise to estab- 
 lish it as a way for ocean vessels to reach 
 inland ports with certainty, and to change 
 materially its status as a means of com- 
 munication between the interior and At- 
 lantic sea-board. When tho plan of en- 
 largement lia.s been fully carried out, the 
 Welland Canal will admit steamers of two 
 thousand tons, and drawing thirteen and 
 one-half feet of water. Work on the first 
 enlargement has now advanced so far that 
 it is expected the canal will be opened to 
 navigation this season. Upon the com- 
 pletion of improvements corresponding to 
 this in the St. Lawrence, vessels drawing 
 eleven and one-half foot of water will be 
 able to load at Chicago, and sail through 
 this river to Montreal, or directly across 
 the Atlantic. The outlay of $30,000,000 
 on the Welland Canal, however, ha.s not 
 had as its object chiefly tho American 
 trade of Lake Michigan, but it has been in 
 accoi-dance witli tho comprehensive policy 
 of the Canadian government for the de- 
 velopment of their Northwestern territory, 
 and for keeping within national lines the 
 
WHEAT FIELDS OF THE NORTIIWFi^T. 
 
 677 
 
 )Wti this 
 'ff. Tho 
 oiul witli 
 I duriii^f 
 loso'l ter- 
 l)ly ili'tor 
 ikiiif? its 
 ffmiii in 
 er than it 
 nnbor of 
 
 I could b() 
 ri'ifiht at 
 
 II itsolf is 
 ■nts in its 
 vatcr suf- 
 lit to pass 
 nd other 
 •eat as to 
 l)robahle. 
 r schemes 
 territory, 
 t at great 
 light that 
 1 attempt 
 V the con- 
 railroad, 
 
 , of these 
 lirect bcn- 
 i the pres- 
 mt ai'c cx- 
 
 lavigation 
 )oh\g sub- 
 to estab- 
 s to reach 
 to change 
 is of coni- 
 )r and At- 
 lan of en- 
 )d out, the 
 icrs of two 
 rteon and 
 n\ the first 
 so far that 
 opened to 
 the com- 
 )onding to 
 drawing 
 ,or will bo 
 il through 
 3tly across 
 1130,000,000 
 r, has not 
 American 
 las been in 
 sive policy 
 "or the do- 
 ll territory, 
 ,1 lines the 
 
 right to handle its valuable pnMlucts. 
 Tho money expended by tho Dominion on 
 intonnil improvements is nearly ready to 
 yield its return. On the north shore of 
 Lake Superior, one hundred miles north- 
 east of Duluth, tho pioneer railway, now 
 almost finished, to connect tho Canadian 
 l)rairies with the water route to the Atlan- 
 tic, terminates at tho lake. Its starting- 
 point is the city of Winniiwg, on Red 
 River. 
 
 Tho Canadian Pacific road, of whicli 
 this is tho Lake Superior section, is to 
 form a transcontinental lirf in British 
 America, and may in time become the 
 most important of tho railroads to the 
 Pacilic. Its construction was n measure 
 taken by the government, by whom tho 
 existing parts have Ijeen built. At a ses- 
 sion of Parliament the present year, how- 
 ever, it was decided to intrust the con- 
 struction to a private company, who are 
 obliged to preserve tho full route adopted 
 by the government. Great as will be the 
 facilities offered at the eastern end of this 
 road for transjiorting grain to tho sea- 
 board by way of Lake Superior, tho Do- 
 minion government has taken care to 
 secure tho construction of one overland 
 route from tho new provinces. The road 
 from Winnipeg to the lake terminus at 
 Fort William is to bo extended on the 
 north shore to tho town of Callander, near 
 Montreal, and to a union with the rail- 
 way system of the old provinces. Tho ex- 
 tension was to be begun the present sum- 
 mer. From Winnipeg westward the 
 roiul is to traverse the full length of the 
 Saskatchewan prairie, and cross the Rocky 
 Mountains to an ocean port near the Unit- 
 ed States border. The section through the 
 prairie to the foot of the Rocky Mount- 
 ains it is expected to have ready for traffic 
 within three yeara. This briefly is the 
 main lino of the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
 way. When completed, the distance from 
 tho Pacific Ocean overland to Montreal 
 will be 29C0 miles, or about 500 miles less 
 than the distance by the Union Pacific 
 road to New York. 
 
 Tho larger yield to the acre, the better 
 quality, and higher grade of crop shown 
 in this Northern country, are matters lift- 
 ed by tho vast extent of the land above a 
 question of individual profit to tho per- 
 sons now cultivating tho soil. If one- 
 half tho ground of that comparatively 
 small ])ortion which is drained by the 
 Red River and Its affluents were sown to 
 
 Vol. LXIIL-No. 8T8.-37 
 
 wheat, the jiroduct at an average yield 
 would Ihj r)00,fM)0,0{M) bushels, or more 
 than tho entiro amount raised in tho 
 United States in 18K(). The attention of 
 tho United States within a few years will 
 certainly bo drawn sharply to the supply 
 of grain coming from this new quarter, 
 if tho reclamation of land goes on with 
 its i)re.sent movement. With tho advent 
 of a system of inland navigation greatly 
 improved, and inado tho most perfect in 
 tho world, indeed, there is every reason to 
 believe that tho development of the in- 
 terior will continue at its present rate, 
 and even go forward with a rapidity 
 never witnessed before. An immense 
 amount of money is ready for employ- 
 ment. By tho Canadian government and 
 railway companies tho news o^ these un- 
 settled fields will bo spread among tho 
 populous countries of Europe. A popu- 
 lous country lies directly adjoining. The 
 land it.self, level and rolling prairie, will 
 allow railways to l)e built with the utmost 
 rapidity and cheapness, and furnish no 
 obstacle to cultivation. Scattered plenti- 
 fully throughout Dakota and the vaVleys 
 of tlio Saskatchewan are beds of tho soft 
 coal which has su])plied the fuel of our 
 Western States. That necessity, iron, is 
 not lacking. The extensive region north 
 of Lake Superior is known to be rich in 
 this ore. In 1880, from the mines on tho 
 south, at present the more accessible shore 
 of this lake, were taken 1,900,000 tons of 
 easily worked ore, which had a value of 
 $13,000,000. 
 
 Within ten years it is certainly possi- 
 ble that there will be ready for shipment 
 at tho edge of Lake Superior an amount 
 of wheat -which shall equal the total 
 quantity now received yearly at all the 
 Atlantic ports, at a price of seventy cents 
 per bushel. Low as this price would be, 
 compared with prices heretofore prevail- 
 ing at the lakes, southerii-grown wheat 
 of tho average quality would be worth 
 ten cents a bushel loss. Whea* can be 
 raised in tho Red River Valley and de- 
 livered to tho railroad at a cost of less 
 than forty cents to the bushel. Fifteen 
 cents more, the rate for transportation to 
 the lake from Fargo, which will probably 
 be the rate also from Winnipeg over tho 
 Canadian Pacific, deducted from the price 
 above, leaves remaining a high proHt to 
 tho grower. This is in tho Red River 
 Valley, and with a yield of twenty -three 
 bushels to the acre. With a yield of 
 
878 
 
 HARPERS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 twcnty-cipflit busliols, tho iiicrcaso would 
 pay cost of trmisportiitioii from fur witliin 
 the territory of the Haskiitchowiui. 
 
 What will h(i tho cHVct on apriculturo 
 in tho United States of tliis troini'ndous 
 addition to tho wlioat land, and on pres- 
 ent routes of traflic of a division in a 
 valuable trade, it is iinpossiblo to foretell, 
 and without the scope of this article to 
 consider. That it will exercise some in- 
 lluenco on our ajfriculturo can not bo 
 doubted. Wheat could not now be raised 
 in tho Mississippi Valley at tho price sup- 
 ixjsed al)ovo. Tho land of tho United 
 States lias no lonpcr tho richness of un- 
 bi-oken pround; at least, very penerally 
 throujjliout its extent tho best parts have 
 been tilled. Tliero is a wido niarf^in for 
 profit left in liiffbor and nioro lalM)rious 
 cultivation of tho soil. This, liowever, 
 is not tho method to which wo have l)een 
 trauied. Hitherto our crops liave been 
 increased by cultivating new land. A 
 cour.so of giving more attention to the 
 
 j)lants, notably Indian corn, for whoso 
 cultivation wo havo special advantages, 
 it may bo found expedient to follow. On 
 tho other hand, a decided fall in tho price 
 of tho othcsr cereals would probably atfect 
 maize also. 
 
 However uncertain may bo ofTocts on 
 tho United States, wo may expect that tho 
 centre of activity in wlieat, never very 
 stable, will soon pass to tho Red River 
 Valley; to go later, jmssibly, still further 
 northward. Most valued by tho farmers 
 in Minnesota for seed is the grain coming 
 from tlio Red River Valley, and especially 
 that from Manitoba. Taken southward, 
 if not renewed frequently from the origi- 
 nal source, it tends to degenerate, and be- 
 come soft. Harder and better still is the 
 wheat coming from tho region of the Up- 
 l)er Sa.skatchewan and tho Peace River. 
 This perfect grain has the greatest weip-ht 
 of all, and ])y cultivation even in tho x>,o(l 
 River Valley shows a loss of its original 
 quality.