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BY JOSEPH FOi^gTIJB, t riiE Hammkrskitm Ci'w:iU and its railings, some half-hundred or more of these men. TiJl robust figures, young mostly, or of middle age ; of honest eomitcnance, many of them thoughtful and even iiiteiUgent-looking men. They sat there, near by one another, but in a kind of torjMir, nnd especially in a silence whioii wa« very striUing. In silenee ; for, alas ! what wonl was to be said ? An earth all Ijdng roimd crying, Come and till me, come and reap me ; yet wo here sit enchanted ! In the eyes and brows of these men hung the gloomiest expression, not of anger, but of grief and shame and manifold inaiticulato distrei-s and weariness. They returned my glance with a glance that seemed to say, ' Do iMt look at ufi, we sit enchanted here we know not why. The sun shines and tlie earth calls, and, by the governing powers and importance of this England, vo are forbidden to obey. It is imiM)ssible, they tell us ! ' There was something that reminded me of Dante's hell in the look of all this ; and I ro lo swiftly away." An exHctly similar scene may lie witnessed any night by a tourist, picturesque or other- wise, who finds his way to the House of Commons. There they are, moody and listless on their benches, flitting aimlessly liither anil thither from corridor to corridor, sauntering through the tea-room, idling in the smoking-room, all at their wits' ends how Ui get through the dreary hours, and hoping against hoiHi that the morrow may break the horrid spell. And so "many of them thoughtful and even intelligent- looking iueu.."—ridl Midi Giizi'Ue. LONDON : JOHN IIEYWOOD, 11, Patf.rnostkr BufLPTNos DeANSOATE and RlDCiKriELD, AlANCKSartK. 1882. AND DOMINION LINE TO AMERICA. Passengers for any part of CANADA or the UNITED STATES will consult tlieir own interests by enquiring the throuyh rates of the DOMINION LINE. Saloon from £10 lOs.; Intermediate, £8; Steerage, £6 Gs. ASSISTED PASSAGES FROM £3. Pamphlets/ree on application to any Dominion Line agent, or to FLINN, MAIN, & MONTGOMERY, 24, James Street, LIVERPOOL. NATIONAL LIBERAL FEDERATION. Pr*»ident: H. FELL PEASE, J.P. iiecreiary: F. SCHNADHORST. OBJECTS : 1. To assist in the organization throughout the country of Liberal Associations based on popular representation. 2. To promote the adoption of Liberal principles in the government of the country. ♦»♦ Programme of Lectures, and List of Publications may he had on application to the Secretary at the Offices^ ATLAS CHAMBERS, PARADISE STREET, BIRMINGHAM. FAT LANDS FOR LEAN TILLERS. UNITED juiriug the i ige, £Q 6s. I 3. agent, or to RY, 2RP00L ION. country of )les in the 2^ he had on I WILL begin my lecture by reading the following letter of mine which appeared in London Canadian, of August 23rd, in reply to one received from a man who has done more than any other living person to raise the condition of tlie agricultural labourer : — Dear Sir, — Thanks for your letter. Singular to say, what you write to me, I said to the editor of the London Canadian, when he first tried to interest me iu the great question of emigration to the North-West of Canada. You truly say we want the men here. But while the horrible feudal land laws are being reformed — and it will take years to make a cnsuK-is of such a chaos — the poor labourers — and none know it better than you— are literally starving. It is the enormous supply of food from abroad which is bringing things to a crisis here, by reducing rents on every hand. Under our land laws it is impossible to compete with the supply of food shipped from America. The way to a fdol's brain is through his belly. Even the man who preserves partridges and shoots pigeons, when he finds that his income has not only dried up, but that he is minus a few thousands x\ vear, must consent to a reform of the land laws, or starve. What an absurdity it appears, that thousands of labourers shoidd look vainly hero /or a job, starving in the meantime, when there are millions of acres waiting icr their stroug arms in British America. These men leave their cruel stepmother, England, shaking the dust from their feet, and cursing her name ; but a few years' prosperity in the Nortli- West will take th«3 venom out of their hearts, and they will be ready to help those left behind, by preparing homes and work for them. How can a man with a wolf in his stomach love his country or any living being ? There is enough for all the labourers in England to do, if tlie land wero available for their labour. But while the noble but limp landlord pretends to own 30,000 acres, and has not capital enough for 3,000, 27,000 acres are lying fallow, which under our idiotic land laws, he, the nominal owner, is not allo.,ed to sell. We, I include you and all sensible men, want, if necessary, to compel him to sell what he cannot use, and while that ia being done, to induce all men, who can afford to leave the country, to do BO, and thus enable the poorer labourers to get the little work there is to be done, at better wages, through thus reducing the competition. Poets are often, in fact, usually prophets. When Charles Mackay sang " To the West — to the West ! " he knew nothing INGHAM. of ^Fiinitoba and the British Nortli-Wcst, with their liundrcd m in ion acres of tlic most fc 'tile land in the world —land pro- ducing; an average of 30 bushels of corn to the acre — land to be had for the asking, too; had he dono so, he would not only have snng, I think he would have danced also. What a prospect f<^r the poor, half-starved agricultural labourer ; aye, and for the ])o()r, iialf-starved farmer too; and I might say for the limp, listless, game-preserving, ])igeon-shooting landlord, who has to pay heavy mortgages and settlements, out of hardly any residne of rent. It is, you must admit, very difficult, even for a clever man, with a nominal rent-roll of £30,000 a year, whose mortgages, tkc, amonnt to £20,000, and whose actual rent receipts only reach £15,000 instead of £30,000, to make both ends meet. li is rather hard linos not only to have nothing to live upon, but to be minus £5,000 a year. Under these conditions my Lord finds that partridge breeding, and even the heroic practice of pigeon shooting, lose their old charms. Ho has preserved his game, but now cruel fate oe«ma to bo making game of him ; turned out his tenants, who had the impudence to claim some of their own property ; asserted his feudal privileges, but has lost his income. I really feel soiry for him, and would like to help him. Manitoba opens her hospitable arms even to the "partridge breeder of a thousand years." Let him try the new world; he can't spoil it, and it may mend him. Let him turn over a new leaf. I don't believe he is a bad fellow at bottom. He has only lived in a fool's jiaradisc too long, and got acclimatised. But he has an English heart, and, I believe, something like a backbone somcwlicre. There is plenty of hunting and shooting ; aye, even better and manlier sport than pigeon shooting itself. His lordship can lead a jolly, out-of-doors, manly life. Let him help us to alter our idiotic land laws so that he can sell his white elephant of an estate, and buy a few thousand acres in the Land of the West, where, when you tickle the black and fertile soil, it laughs with crops of corn, barley, and oats. As to the tenants anu labourers, whose capital and sweat the noble lord has absorbed and squandered, they will forgive him his crass folly, and work with him on a footing of manly equality and mutual interest. Just try to imagine a place nearly as big as Europe, with room ■ luinflrcil ■liuid pro- — land to \]ot only What a iircr ; aye, lit say for lanillord, t of hardly icult, even )0 a year, lOse actual ), to mako y to have ir. Under eding, and their old fate Bceiiis }, who had f ; asserted really feel toba opens ceder of a can't spoil ew leaf. I only lived But he has a backbone oting; aye, itself. His Let bim 3an sell bis id acres iu black and 1 oats. As at tlie noble ive bim bis [ily equality e, witb room i for 150,000,000 and only 4,000,000 there! Such is British Nortii AniericiU Talk aixuit the imagination of a poet ; tiio jtlain fact surpasses the wildest visions of the most subliuio poet ! Let me here introduce a few hard facts about the extent of the country, tlie ciiniate, the crops, and tlie inlinite ])()ssibilities of this new W(»r]d. In this heai MfuMy governed old land of ours, we have about one millitui jjaupers. These ])oor victims of had laws, by tlio glorious alchemy of i'rcc laud and the domaiul for every kind of manual labour, can be turned into indepen- dent and honest men. No touching the hat there with servile Hcra)>e to overy man with a cloth coat. There the man who can't work touches his hat to the man who can, that is if he c.i. atlbrd a hat. There is room there for W(»men, although 1 siiall be sorry to lose any of them. Instead of about five women to one man, and he too often a poor washed-out fellow ; although that is not his fault, poor chap ! there are five robust, well-fed, gritty men to one woman. So that if any of njy lady readers believe iu woman's rights to men's adoration, as 1 do, she should go to Manitoba. The women, especially the good-looking ones, can ])ick and choose from iifty adorers, who don't believe iu long engagements. If there are any ])lain women here, and, iu my humb e opinion, no good-tempered womiUi is plain, they too, if they can't ))ick one out of tifty can select the best of any five. Women don't make much fuss sibout a vote there ; they have too much bread to bake, too nuicli meat to cook, too many babies to wash, to trouble about that. But I think they have a little to do with their husband's votes. Now. as to the demsind for women in the North-West, what do you think of the following copied from a Canadian ])a])er? Between you and me, I think my friend the editor, or a friend of his, has touched it up a little here and there. But that opinion is contidontial. The paragraph actually appeared in a Canadian ])aper. "The following strikes us as amusing: ' The Cry is : Still They Don't Come, (^ii'ls of Ontario, c(jme West ! come West ! We have in our town many eligibles. The first comer can cnoose between a thin lawyer, a stout doctor, a retired but not retiring merchant, and one still in business. All are warranted docile, and tired of a life of single unblessedness.'" 6 Sinco the addition of tho North-Westorn Ten-itorioa, of which ^liinitobii forms so important a part, tlie extent of tlio Dominion excccfls tho area of the United States by 12,800,000 acres. More cxtniordinary still, it nearly equals in dimensions the whole of Rnrope. The area of the whole continent of Europe is about 3,900,000 square miles, and the extent of the Dominion is 3,530,000 square miles. And there is one important fact to remember, that the 3,530,000 square miles in Canada is viri^'in and not exhausted soil, while the European liuid is nearly as much played out as the military despotisms which are driving all tho people away, who do not believe that pride and ])ipeclay are the only true divinities ; and that the truculent Bismarck is hi.ixh priest. Why, in tho Canadian North-West alone, there are about 100,000,000 acres of n )0 acrcH. sions the ,f Kuropo Dominion ,nt fact to V is virii;in nearly as re driving d ])ipcclay Bismarck are ahont f abont 30 old in the le say it is he English :i Montreal the former t from the ian Pacific f the grain inishcd), to uly to Now [SCO to Now w that the to Thvmdor -ailway com- f the North- iiuiipcg, vi''^ lars 40 cents , one dollar, Winnipeg to 5 carriage of the United .n the former speak of the Juited States wheat, iho advantage on the side of the British Nortli-Wost is enormons. For these reasons, when one roads in one of the London mone- tary papers that it wonld cost seven hnslu^ls to carry one of wheat from the British North- West to England, it ij charitable to fancy that the writer does not know what he ib writing about, and not that ho is intentionally deceiving the public. A few words on the crops raised in the North-West, without a farthing being spent in manme. Entpiiries among the farmers produced the following statement : Oats average GO, and in some cases even 80 bushels to the acre. Barley averages 40, and 70 bushels have been reai)ed from one acre of land. Boas reach abont 38, and rye 40 bushels the acre, while potatoes show in some cases the extraordinary yield of GOO bushels, but average 300 bushels an acre. In root crops, the average for turnips is 100 ; carrots, 300 ; while onions reach as high as 270 bushels. In cultivated grasses, ti»e yield is 2^ to three tons an acre, but owing to the abundance of prairie hay it is not grown to any great extent. These wonderful results of the not most careful farming, because most of the farmers are jwor men with limited a])pliances, are produced without any manure. Crops hdve heen grown there for 40 years without manure. In fact, the soil is so rich that manure does more harm than good, and such will be the case for many years to come. The facts stated above are gathered from practical men, and taken from districts as far norti. as Cumberland House, and as far west as Edmonton. Now, as to the climate. It is astonishing to simple people how much pleasure some persons find in labouring to do evil. Great pains have been taken to represent the climate of the Canadian North- West as utterly unsuited for settlement. An article — called by courtesy a leading article — in a London newspaper, in reference to a Canadian winter, said it lasted seven months. In London it often lasts longer, and is followed by little or no summer to speak of. This statement was utterly false, as winter in the North-West commences between the middle and end of November, and lasts till March, a little more than four months. Farmers frequently begin ploughing during the latter days of March, and rarely later than the beginning of April. When they do, it is called a very late spring. Now for 8 tlie severity of the weather. The cold is sharp as long as it lasts, but the air being dry, it is much less trying than cold, raw, damp air, accompanied by a north-easter, not to mention our horrible London fog, which literally chokes, by cuugcstiug the lungs of delicate people. The air is dry, pure, and wonder- fully exhilarating. The snow, hard and crisp, delightful to walk on, does not generally fall in large quantities, although there are, as here, heavy sno^'storms, but the snowfall is more than balanced by the bright warm sun. Much has been written about " blizzards," which are simply severe snowstorms, but in spite of the highly-coloured accounts given of their disastrous effects, we know right well that persons who have suffered have done so through their own carcV^s^noss. Such people will suffer something or other wherever they go; or if they remain at home. The seasons then are as follows : Spring — April and May ; Summer — June, July, August ; Autumn — September, October, and part of November; Winter — part of November, December, January, February, and March. The spring is clear and dry, the summer warm, with cool nights, and the autumn balmy and wonderfully pleasant. Such delightful weather is entirely unknown in tiiis counrry. The climate being so free from damp, consumptive patients are sent there from the States, and, as a rule, are cured, if a cure is possible. Ih, STRAV;i3BRRlE8 V. ICE. Apropos of climate the following is interesting : According to the Toronto Globe the crop of strawberries was not quite up to the average. Still, they were so plentiful that they were sold for six cents per box. Pears, api)les, cherries, raspberries, and black currants have yielded well. This, to those who believe in the Siberian weather of the North- West of Canada, will be rather surprising news. THE CHICAGO OF CANADA. Now a few words about the Chicago of Canada — Winnipeg. I venture to call it the lively Peg. The growth of this town has been something extraordinary, even for such a wonderful country as the North-West of Canada. Although Winnipeg might base itself upon its position, an 9 long as it than cold, o mention coiigcsting id \vondcr- ful to walk 3ugb there more than en written ns, but in disastrous ve suffered people will liey remain —April and -September, November, ring is clear the autumn weather is jing so free the States, According to ot quite up they were rasi)berries, ) those who of Canada, —Winnipeg, of this town a wonderful position, an I unique one, as a real estate market, its other sources of strength are nearly as unequalled. It is, in the first place, already the greatest railway centre in the Dominion ; as such it will require immense car works and rolling mills ; these will form the nucleus of unnumbered workshops of every kind. Then, thi kofthe millions of acres of fertile soil stretching away to the base of the Rocky Mountains ; and try to imagine — although one must admit that is impossible — the myriads of ploughs, seeders, reapers, and other implements of agriculture required. Again, the men who are to di ive these ploughs will require good brick and stone houses : then arises the demand for thousands of carpenters, bricklayers, stonemasons, locksmiths ; not to mention the demand for millions of bricks, and, therefore, brickmakers, planing mills, and carpenters' shops. There is no danger, in this new and wonderful country, of the labour market being glutted. Living labour here is the respected because necessary adjunct of dead capital. There is no risk, no doubt about it. Labour is sure of its reward, and, when united with brains and sobriety, that reward will be worth having. Many men who feel inclined to drink through breathing the fetid air in some close London street, will altogether lose the morbid craving for stimulants resulting irom such surroundings, when they breathe the clear, bracing air of the North- West As a clever man once said, " it is easy for those to do well who are well to do." So that if any of my friends here study too much for the bar or at the bar, and feel that its fixscinations are too much for them ; and, considering the circumstances, I don't wonder at it, let them go where the air is like a subtle wine, bracing up muscles, nerves, and brain, A few more words about Winnipeg and the surrounding country. The following facts are culled fro:n the Canadian papers : — MORE LIGHTS, We le?m that another Manitoba Electric Light and Power Co. have applied to the Governor-General for an incorporating charter. This looks promising, and will astonish some people who think, or pretend to think, and try to make others who don't think believe, that the North-West of Canada is a benighted, frozcn-out-end-of-the-world sort of place. 10 CUSTOMS OF THE COUNTRY. The custom duties collected at the port of Winnipeg, last month, amounted to nearly double those collejted in the cor- responding month of 1881. The figures are: July, 1881, $111,221; July, 1882, $227,274. THE LIVELY PEG. Winnipeg appears to be a lively town. She has changed from a tented field to a big city. Elegant family mansions are elevating their chimneys in all directions. Business blocks are getting into the hands of sharp business men, who intend to make things boom, and no mistake. The pretty little sum of $5,000,000 is still to be spent on buildings this season. What were suburbs now form part of the city, and new suburbs are being formed, which in time will also be included in this rapidly increasing town. No wonder bricklayers, carpenters, painters, blacksmiths, moulders, gasfitters, in fact, all useful working- men are paid from 128. to 16s. a day. Why, mere labourers employed on the Canadian Pacific Railway works are getting Ss. and upwards a day. Here it is hard work and half starve, or don't work and quite starve. In the North- West of Canada the people prefer WORK, GOOD PAY, AND SOME PLAY. We are glad to learn that the crops on the Brandon Hills and in the Souris valley are magnificent. The area under crops is immensely increased. The blue hills of Brandon seem to be thoroughly appreciated by the settlers, who are continually pic- nicing there. People there don't like all work and no pay; they prefer work, play, and good pay, and get them too. Now, I hope you are all in a good temper, and prepared to listen to a lot of dry facts — no ! they are not dry facts, they are eloquent in the highest degree — about Manitoba. First, let me quote the opinion of a semi-royal prince — we all love princes here, even half a one ; then Dr. Bryce's letter, which appeared in the well- written, gritty Scotsman ; then Professor Sheldon, of the College of Agriculture, Salisbury ; ther a letter from Winni- peg, the capital of Manitoba, as to the kind of labour most in demand : a very important thing fur you to know. The Hon. i : 11 nnipeg, last in the cor- [uly, 1881, as changed lansions are 8 blocks are intend to ttle sum of ,son. What suburbs are this rapidly jrs, painters, ful working- re labourers 1 are getting half starve, : of Canada on Hills and nder crops is seem to be itinually pic- stnd no pay; 1 too. prepared to lets, they are First, let me love princes ich appeared ir Sheldon, of r from Winni- bour most in /. The Hon. Sir Alexander Gait, G.C.M.G., the High Commiflsioner for Canada in England, records liis views of the country. I will also quote Lord Dufferin, and the Hon. H. Seward, late U.S. Minister for Foreign Affairs. Then, if I have not quite exhnusted your kind attention, I will sum up the case from my own point of view, only begging you very earnestly to study the matter for yourselves ; for those who go there not only help themselves, but help those who remain behind by removing competitors in the labour market. The following are extracts from His Excellency ICarl Duflferin'a remarks at Winnipeg iu 1877 : — From its geographical positiou, and its peculiar characteristics, Manitoba may be regarded as the keystone of that mighty arch of sister provinces which spans the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It wa« here that Canada, emerging from her woods and forei'ts, first gazed upon lier rolling prairies and unexplored North- West, and learnt, as by an unexpected revelation, that her historical territories of the Canadas, her eastern sea- boards of New Brunswick, Labrador, and ^I'ova Scotia, her Lauren tian lakes and valleys, corn lands and pastures, though themselves more extensive than half-a-dozen European kingdoms, were but the vestibules and antechambers to that till then undreamt of Dominion whose illimitable dimensions alike confound the arithmetic of the surveyors and the verification of the explorer. It was hence that, counting her past achievements as but the preface and prelude to her future exertions and expanding destinies, she took a fresh departure, received the atflatus of a more imperial inspiration, and felt herself no longer a mere settler along the banks of a single river, but the owner of half a continent, and in the magnitude of her possessions, in the wealth of her resources, in the sinews of her material might, the peer ( * any power on earth. The experipnce of the wheat-raisers in Manitoba has now been of sufficient length to make understood some of the natural advantages extended to this country for returning large and certain crops But most noteworthy is the soil itself — an alluvial black loam, with an average depth of twenty inches, resting on a subsoil of clay Dropped into this soil, with the other favouring circumstances, seed springs up and grows with an ejitraordiuary vigour, and gives a sound and abundant crop. The average yield of wheat per acre in the Red Kiver Valley, north of Fargo, where the soil becomes heavier and more characteristic, is twenty- three bushels. In Manitoba and the Saskatchewan region the average is greater, and amounts to twenty-eight bushels. These facts become more striking when compared with results in the district of the wheat-iupply at present. In Illinois the average for wheat to the acre is seventee n 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 laud 12 deem to deteriorate under a course of cropping, as does the lighter soil of iStates in the south. — Harper's Magazine, JSeptember, 1881. • Well might the late Hon. William Seward, whilst Prime Minister of the United States, write thus his impressions of Canada (that region nearly eCLUalling in size all Europe, which even many of us have looked on a i the tag-end of America, a waste bit of the world) : " Hitherto, in common with most of my countrymen, as I suppose, I have thought Canada a mere strip lying north of the United States, ea.-^ily detached from the parent State, but incapable of sustainiui; itself, and therefore ultimately, nay, right soon, to be taken on by the Federal Union, without materially changing or affecting its own development, I have dropped the opinion as a national conceit. I see in British North America, stretching as it does across the Continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in its wheat-fields of the West, its invaluable fisheries, and its mineral wealth, a region grand enough for the seat of a great empire." — Mr. R. Q. Webster, LL.B., at the Jioyal Colonial Institute, November 21nd, 1881. This Winnipeg, the capital, is at the junction of the Asainiboine and R«d River of the North. I think it is the St. Louis of the North from the fact that it collects at its wharves the navigation of the Red River of the North, 800 miles ; Assiniboine, 500 miles ; the Saskatchewan, 1,100 miles, and of Lake Manitoba, 3(j0 miles. It is the commercial centre of a great fertile basin, extending from the north end of Lake Manitoba to the source of the Red River on the south ; from the Lake of the Woods on the east to 1,000 miles west of Winnipeg.— 5f Louis Republican. TESTIMONY OF THE MARQUIS OF LORXE AND EARL DUFFERIN UPON MANITOBA AND THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. The following are extracts from the speech of His Excellency the Marquis of Lome at Winnipeg, 10th October, 1881 : — Unknown a few years ago, except for some differences which had arisen amongst its people, we see Winnipeg now with a population unanimously joining in happy concord and rapidly lifting it to the frout rank aujongst the commercial centres of the world. We may look elsewhere in vain for a situation so favourable and so commanding, many as are the fair regions of which we can boast. There may be some among you before whose eyes the whole wonderful panorama of our ])roviuces has passed. You may know the ocean garden island of Prince Edward, the magnificent valleys of the St. John, and the marvellous country, the home of "Evangeline," where Blomedon looks dut is not half so bad as many imagine. After a day or so yon get better, and thea you feel in far better health than before. We duly arrived in Point Levis (Quebec), where we were met by the Govern- ment Agent, Mr. Stafford, who gave us erery information, and sent us on to Ottawa. Here we were met by Mr. Wills, who treated us very kindly, and gave us our choice of different jobs. There were about 30 or 40 of ub by this time, but he could have found employmri:!- for ten times as many. I and my comrades, three in number, took it wS our choice to work in a saw mill in Arnprior, where we arrived that evening, and started work next morning ; and now, after working there for over two months, I can say I like it every day more and more, as do my comrades. I can earn in three days here what it would take me a fortnight to earn in Ireland ; and the board I pay $3 (12s. 6d.) a week here for would coat at least £1 at home ; so that anybody ca" see I have made a fortunate change. Now I would advise any young man or woman who have to work for their living in the old country to come out here, and they will never regret it. Any young man coming here, and willing to work, need not be aifraid of being out of a job for five minutes, except through his own fault. There is plenty of work for as many more, if they come here, on railways, lumber yards, buildings, and farms. Another grand feature of this country is that one man is as good as another. There is none of that false pride that separates class from class in the eld country. If this should reach the eye of any young man or woman, who are unde- cided where to go, I trust it will be the means of inducing them to come to Canada, as I feel confident if they come they will never regret the step they have taken. And any young man coming out, and having no particular place to come to, let him come to Arnprior, and I will be happy to find him work. Hoping, Mr. Editor, you will kindly insert the above in your valuable paper, and apologising for its length, — I remain, &c., Arnprior, Ont., Canada. Pats. Bahrstt. 16 -ty years in leea duriig sase ; while as iacreaaed ay hitherto I increase to Statistics rather too )1 at home , -who left 16 London m earn in 3 make in 3ut here is a day or so jefore. We the Govern- l sent us on very kindly, 3 or 40 of U8 nes as many, to work in a 3d work next can say I light to earn would cost a fortunate have to work jy will never be afraid of lult. There ways, lumber untry is that le pride that rho are unde- hem to come gret the step no particular lappy to find 'our valuable PROFESSOR SHELDON, THE COLLEGE OP AGRICULTURE, DOWNTON, SALISBURY, ENGLAND. I was much surprised to find among the Manitoban farmers one of my old Cirencester pupils. He had bought a farm of some 400 acres a few miles west of Winnipeg, paying, as was thought, the extravagant price of 20 dollars (£4) an acre. He declared, however, to me that he had the best farm in the locality, which may be taken as evidence of his being satisfied with it ; and he was growing crops of turnips, potatoes, oats, &c., which were already a theme of conversation in the Province ; this was done by better cultivation than the laud of Manitoba is used to, and it is clear that the soil will produce almost any kind of crop in a very satisfactory way, providing it is properly attended to. And yet, how can we expect the rank and file of farmers to cultivate the soil carefuUy in a country which has such a superb abundance of magnificent land still v loccupied ' In time, no doubt, better farming will prevail, and I hope my old pupil will set an example which will be worth extensive imitation ; but at present land is too cheap and plentiful to admit of microscopic cultivation as we have it in England and Scotland. PROFESSOR SHELDON, THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, DOWNTON, SALISBURY. The soil of Manitoba is a purely vegetable loam, black as ink, and full of organic matter, in some places many feet thick, and resting on the alluvial drift of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. It is of course extremely rich in the chief elements of plant-food, and cannot easily be exhausted ; the fanners know this, so they take all they can out of it in the shorl^est possible time, and return nothing whatever to it in the form of manure. By turning up an inch or two of fresh soil now and again, the fertility of the surface is renewed, and the same exhaustive system of growing wheat, year by year, may be pursued for a long pariod with impunity. It is true, in fact, that for several of the first years, at all events, manuring the soil would do much more harm than good. The following extracts from a letter from the Rev. Dr. Brjce. of Winnipeg, upon the climate of Manitoba, which appeared in the Edinburgh ^Scotsman of October 19, 1881, will be read with interest : — Edinburgh, October 14, 1881. Sir, — Last week I wrote a short letter on Manitoba, and, in answer to certain queries about the climate of that province, now wish to write a few lines. A very common delusion exists as to the exact position of Winnipeg:. Winnipeg is situated on latitude 50° N., while Edinburgh, being about 57 deg., is several hundreds of miles nearer the region of polar ice than Winnipeg. To those who have read the old books in which Toronto, somewhere about 44° N., is stated to be in the midst of a hyperborean region, it is no surpri j to find Winnipeg falling heir to the same unenviable reputation. It is quite true that latitude has not all to do with the matter, but it has surely something to do with it. The very modifying influence ETT. 16 that brings with it a milder climate to Britain, carries with it one very important element of discomfort — viz., moisture. The Manitoba winter is exceedingly dry, and, in consequence, there is no impression made on the body by low states of temperature, which in a moist climate would be unbearable. The rbsence of moisture also preserves a steady continuance of one kind of weather, very much for our comfort. It is well known that it is the rapid change — one day bright, the next wet, one day frosty, the next muggy— that is so trying to the body The dryness of the climate and the clear air are taken advantage of frequently by consumptives, who come from other parts of America and are cured. I can name several persons of my acquaintance who, on coming to the country, were said to be far advanced in consumption, and who have now recovered. The dry, clear air gives an elasticity to the frame, noticed by all who visit the North- West. As to the sensation of cold, I have stood outside with hands and face uncovered, and throat bare, looking at the thermometer registering ten degrees below zero, and have had no feeling of discomfort whatever. It is in my recollection of having driven my sleigh to a country parish about fifteen miles from Winnipeg on a Christmas day, and of having been engaged in visiting from house to house all the day with the thermometer ptanding at 40 deg. below zero. The horse was left outside in most cases, simply having the buffalo robe thrown over him, and suflFered nothing ; while myself and driver, though going in and out from cold to hot and hot to cold, felt no inconvenience. Herds of horses were formerly kept by the old settlers, which lived out the winter through. I have seen horses which had been born on the prairie, and had reached six or seven years of age without ever being under a roof. Cattle, so far as the cold is concerned, can live outside during the whole winter ; but they must have the company of horses, which can break the snow-crust for them, to allow the dry grass beneath to be obtained. It is not, of course, to be inferred from this that farmers now allow their horses and cattle to go unhoused for the winter. What can be done, and what it is best to do, are different things. The winter sets in about the midille of November ; until early in January the weather is often dark and stormy, and in December the coldest weather generally comes. In January, as the common expression goes, "the back of the winter is broken,'' and there is for two or three months after that a most brilliant unclouded sky almost continuously. So strong is the sun in its reflection from the snow, that farmers and those much out in the open air protect their eyes with green gauze, close spectacles, and the like. In March, or early in April, the snow passes away, and spring is at once present — if, indeed, there be a spring at all, so soon «loes summer follow in its wake. It has been my experience to see the country with the snow gone and most balmy weather on 31st March in several different years, and on two years of the last ten in the middle of March. The snowfall of the North- West is comparatively light. One and a half or two feet may be taken as the average depth over the ten years just past. Some persons met on this side of the Atlantic seem to regard four and a half or five months of winter as very long. The cessation of all work in the fields seems to make British agriculturists think with such a season farming can scarcely be carried on. On the other hand, the North- West winter is found quite short enough for all the work ■■ ! m 17 b it one very oba winter ia made on the late would be ,• continuance .1 known that ly frosty, the advantage of aerica and are lo, on coming and who have 'rame, noticed , I have stood )oking at the i no feeling of my sleigh to a tmas day, and e day with the left outside in 1, and suffered b from cold to rhich lived out born on the er being under ide during the hich can break ) obtained. It low allow their n be done, and ts in about the often dark and ly comes. In at er is broken," iant unclouded ction from the tect their eyes ch, or early in if, indeed, there It has been my balmy weather : the last ten in comparatively rage depth over of the Atlantic ^ery long. The agriculturists On the other for all the work to he done in it. The grain must, much of it, be then threshed. The f:;rccit facilities for transport afforded by the sleighing, by means of wiiich enormous loads can be taken, are used ior drawing wood, cutting and drawing fencing materials, and collecting timber, stone, lime, &c., for building — similar work to what, so far as circumstances require it, I suspect, is relegated to wet days by the British farmer G. Bryce. I am, &c. The demand for labour of all kinds, and tlie high wasres paid during the year 1881 in Manitoba, are vividly exi)lained in the following extract from a letter recently (October, 18(S1) re- ceived frem Winni^ ;g. Increased activity is expected to prevail next spring ; — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Oct, 10, 1881. A limited number of good mechanics of all kinds would have no difficulty in finding employment in Ontario, though here the great demand is for those connected with the building trades, such as carpenters, raasly of this essential ^hrticle, through the vast deposits of coal and lignite which are believed to exist very generally, and which have already been discovered on the Souris illiver, about 200 miles from Winnipeg, and also for several hundred miles from Edmonton to Fort McLeod, along the skirts of the prairie, near the base of the Rocky Mountains. ... I am th'irefore of ojiinion that no tpprehension need be felt as to the future fuel supply of the North- West. N 20 Roviewing all tho foregding conHidonitions, T ara patisfitxl that the efforts of thti (}ovM iiiat'ut may coiitinuo to bo (IovoUmI with overy euorgy to the l)iumoti(»n of tlie settlctiit'iit of tho North- West Territ