THE NEWER DISTRICTS 
 OF ONTARIO 
 
 INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE SETTLERS. 
 
 RAINY RIVER VALLFY 
 WABIGOON COUNTRY 
 TEMISCAMINGUE 
 ALGOMA. 
 
 REPORT OF TN??ECTION BV MR. DUNCAN ANDERSON, OF RUOPY, ONT., 
 UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE MINISTER Ut AGRICULTURE. 
 
 TORONTO : 
 Warwick Bro's & Ruttep, Printers, etc, 68 and 70 Frcivt St. W. 
 
 1898. 
 
TIIH XHW ER DISTRICTS 01- ONTARIO 
 
 KAINV Kl\ KKn AI.LKV, WABKiOnX roUNTRV, ALIiOMA, 
 
 AM) TKMisrAMi\(;ri:. 
 
 Riii-l.v. August lOtli, IMiti. 
 
 To THE H<)\. .loHX Drydkx, 
 
 Minister of Aaricultr.re, 
 ToloJltd. 
 
 Sir, — In accordance witli instructions received from you, T pi'oceeded 
 to Northern and North \vest(Mn Ontaris), and made an examination of the 
 followino- sections, namely : — Port Arthur and vicinity, tlie Wahii^oon 
 country, the Rainy River valley, the Temiscaminguo district, and tlie 
 country around Sault Ste. Marie. 
 
 In my examination, I endeavored, as directed l)y you. to secui-e such 
 facts as would suti'^est themselves to a practical man as ]»ein<,' useful to 
 prospective settlers, havinij in mind the nature of the soil, tht* different 
 kinds of timber, the difficulties of clearing, ease of access, climate, markets, 
 kinds of crop grown, water supjdy, drainage, etc., and the advances that 
 have heen made. 
 
 I started on my tour of investigation about the middle of May. I 
 left Toronto on the Canadian Pacitie Railway, travelled over 1,(100 miles 
 west to Port Aithur, where 1 made a close examinatif)n of the land on the 
 White Fish, Kaministiquia and Slate River valleys, and went over the 
 townships of Mclntyre, Olivei'. Neebing and Paipoonge. 
 
THE PORT ARTHUR SECTION. 
 
 This district was first bfouglit l»efore the })iiblic a good many year?* 
 ago. It was then the overland loute to the western pi-airies. The soil 
 varies from a clay to a sandy loam. There are some gravelly ridges, and 
 in sections some stony land. In some parts the soil is red c'lay.|| Rocky 
 ridges hem in the White Fish and Slate River valleys. 
 
 The timber is principally poplar, spruce, jack pi iC, white birch, cedar, 
 and tamarac. In some places a second growth covers the land, while in 
 others the clearing is easily done, especially in the Slate River valley. 
 Three or four days' work of a man is sufficient to clear an acre and make 
 it ready for the plow, but where it is heavy timber land the clearing 
 is more difficult. 
 
 The cro|)s grown are hay, wheat, barley, oats, spring wheat, potatoes, 
 turnips, and all kinds of vegetables and small fruits. Pasture is good ; 
 there are hundreds of acres of thin bush land, grown np with native 
 grass. It affords fine grazing facilities for droves of young cattle. This 
 ought to be a first-clas.s .section, especially for the raising of young stock 
 and dairy product;:^. Some of the lower lands will require draining, but 
 as the country is generally rolling, and the bulk of the land has a porou;* 
 sub-soil, surface water will not give the faimcrs much trouble. 
 
 This section i.s well watere<l by natural springs and running creeks, 
 with plenty of good well water for the digging, which is generally found 
 at a depth of from 15 to 25 feet. 
 
 The local markets are gond. Port Arthur is quite an important town. 
 It is situated on Thunder Bay, at the western end of Lake Superior, and 
 on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Within three or four 
 miles of Port Arthur is Fort William. These towns are connected by an 
 electric raMway. Fort William has a |)opulation of about two thousand 
 inhabitants. The town is situated on the banks of the Kaministi(|uia 
 river. Here are a large number of grain elevators : one in particulai- is 
 of most modern design, consisting of six. or eight tanks built of steel 
 plates. At a distance they resemble two rows of round silos. The wheat 
 from the west is unloaded from the cars into the elevator, from which it 
 is transhipped into lake barges. This is the terminal point of the 
 Canadian Pacific Railway lake traffic. Not far up the river from Fort 
 William is the Kakabeka falls. The river (immediately above the falls) 
 is 1130 feet wide, and the water has a straight drop of 110 feet. The esti- 
 mated capacity of it is between 30,000 and 35,000 horse })ower. For 
 ease of access and convenience in utilizing, this splendid natural water 
 power at Kakabeka car. hardly he excelled on the American continent. 
 
 Port Arthur and Fort William are both good local markets. The 
 prices for farm products are high, and beef, pork, butter, eggs, poultry, 
 potatoes, small fruits and vegetables, always find a read}'^ sale at good 
 prices. There are some rich silver mines in the near vicinity, some of 
 which are now being worked, causing a still larger deniand for all kinds, 
 of farm products. 
 
THE WABIGOOX COUXTHY. 
 
 Ilaviny^ finished my examination of the lan<l in the vicinity of 
 Port Arthur, I went west on the Canadian Pacitie Railway main lint', 217 
 miles, when I reached the town of J)rvdeii. which is in the centre of the 
 Waliitjoon district. It and the town of Wabiuoon, which is about 12 miles 
 east of Dryden, are the two most important centres of population between 
 Port Arthur and Kat Portage. This agricultural section is midway 
 between Fort William on Lake Superioi- to the east, and the <'ity of 
 Winnipeg to the west. The Canadian Pacific Railway passes through 
 the di. trict. The fertile land extends for forty miles along the railway 
 line from Diiiorwick to Eagle River. 
 
 It is estimated that the area of oood agricultural land in this district 
 if> about 170,000 acres, enough to form a fair sized county, comprising 
 the townships of Wainwright, Van Home, Eton, Rugby, Sandford, Aubrey 
 and Zealan<l. with another yet unsurveyed around Dinorwick. The ar«»a 
 now located is about .SO.OOi) acres. 
 
 The laud is rolling, antl \ ery little low. Hat, or swamp land can be 
 seen. Few peo[)le would believe that thei'e is any land suitable for farm- 
 ing between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods, but if at Dryden 
 tliey w<:)uld go inland from the railway six or eight miles, tliey would find 
 some very cond'ortable farm lunnes. In one or two of the townships the 
 ccjutry is broken with rocky ridges, but others are almost entirely free 
 from rock or stone. 
 
 Teik Soil. 
 
 The soil is quite uniform in character, and consists of a strong gre}-- 
 colored clay, which changes in the lower sections to clay loam, (hi the 
 creek bottoms the soil is verv rich, and heavier timbered, making the 
 clearing more difficult. On the rolling upland the clay seems to be of a 
 <lrier nature, and will retjuire much more- rain or moisture than the 
 loamier soil in the same m'ighborliood. I saw no gi'avellv soil and very 
 little sand. In the neighborhood of the junction between the Pelican ar«l 
 Wabii-'oon rivers, judging from the luxuriant <«rowth in the bush of 
 wild peas, wiM currants, and native grass, I should say that the 
 soil is more of a loamy nature, and presents a very favorable situation 
 to the intending settler. Not much of the land in this locality has yet 
 ben taken up. The soil all o\ tn- tln' district is exceptionally free from 
 boulders and rolling stone. The clav that crumbles when worked and 
 cultivated, is very productive ; but where it is of a dry flaky nature, it 
 will require either manure oi* green crops plowed in to put life into and 
 quicken it before it will give the best I'esuUs. 
 
i; 
 
 THK TiMliKK. 
 
 The tiiiiljcr (Minsists of u <4r<>\\tli of smull )poj,lars, a few spruce, witli 
 here and there a taiir'-ac. l»uttli<' greater" l>iilk of the tinilici- is jack piii< — 
 a resiiKtus fir that predominatts throughout the wiiolc countiy. The 
 settler can make very good waives cutting jack pine into eoril-wood, for 
 whicl> tiieic is always a ready cash sale, at from ^'l.ti.') to SI.SO pn- cord 
 delivcicd at lailroad. It is shi])p»:d to Winnijtei; in l)o.\ car--, where it is 
 use<l as fuel. It is handled at all seasons of the year. In three months 
 :J40 car-loads Were shipped from I^ryden to Winnipeu. A larL;e ]»ortion 
 of the tind)er Is dead, recent tires ha\ injr killed it. and it is this dead jack 
 pine that heljts to keep the people of VV^iiudpen wai'iii. Tainarac ties, 
 ei<j^ht feet lonif. sell at 25 cts. eacli. while ties of the same material twelve 
 feet, are worth 40 cents For the first few years the settleis will have 
 remunerative winter work chop]»inLj and haulini;cordwood and making- 
 ties. The country has not all been hurnetl o\er. andto the south, east 
 and north-east there ir, a thick forest ijfrow'th of small u,freen tindier which 
 is e.'isily cleared. The bulk of the tind»er thiou^hout the whole country 
 is small, ranL:ino' from three to ten inche^ in thickness, and in some places 
 there is no tind)er whatever, with here and there a sinali j)ojdar scrub. 
 In fact there are large areas at the ]>resent time almost tit for the plow. 
 The timber has been buined oft nearly clean, ami the land is grovvint: n]> 
 with native ^ra^^s and wild peas. 
 
 TnK Ci.i.M.VTb:. 
 
 At Wabi<>()on th»* clima.te is \erv heahhv. The summers are 
 moderately warm, with cool nights, and heavy dews. The fall months 
 are generally dry, with plenty of sunlight. The winters are steadily cold, 
 but free from blizzards, and from chilly rains and slushy thaws. Some 
 seasons the .snow-fall is light. This spring most of the seed was sown in 
 April, but generally the .seeding is <lone about the first week in May. 
 
 Althougli crops have been giown for three or four seasons, summer 
 frosts are unknown. In passing thi"ough tlie district on the 18th of July, 
 I staxed (jver i day and made a hurried secontl examination of the crov)s. 
 Potatoes that were ])hinted in the latter part of May had niade rapid 
 growth : the}' were rank, green and healthy. The withering blight of the 
 severe frost of July lOth, which was felt with such damaging effect (jver a 
 lai"ge part of Ontario, hurt neither the crops nor the tenderest vegetables 
 in this section, for I saw potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes, cicrons. and 
 encumbers, fresh, green, healthy, and growing well. Summer frosts have 
 not done any damage here. Plowing usually begins afjout the last week 
 in April and finishes aboiit the second week in Novendier. 
 
Watki; SriMM.v. 
 
 Water can l»e luul for tlio 'lii;i;in<; on almost f\ tMV fanii at from tt-n 
 to twentv^-tive feet (le«'p. I tjisted the water fioni a niimUer of tlie wells, 
 iin<l fouiiil it j)ure, cool ainl '^ootl. The country is i^enerally wt-U watered. 
 WahJL^oon lakr is a l>eantifiil shoet of watt-r. alunit tliirty uiiles lon<,' In' 
 tivf or six miles wide. At l)iyden a dam has heen formed to deepen the 
 lake, so as to hel]) naviu^ati<»n. From the lake the Wahigoon river, a 
 hroad, navi^Mhle .stream, with alaindant watei* power, Hows north and west 
 throui,di the townships of Wainwri^ht, Eton ami San<lford. The Pelican 
 river Hows fi'om I'elican lake, in the township oi" Rni,d)y, thro'.iii;h th;it 
 township and four or live i.iiles into the townshij) of Kton, when it joins 
 the Wabit^oon. The townshiji of Aubrey is bounded on one side by Ea^le 
 lake. From this it will be seen that the country is particularly well 
 watered. 
 
 Ilo.XDS. 
 
 For a new countrv. the loads are ^-ood : the soil is naturallv suitable, 
 foi" when once <;raded, except in a very wet tiine, it is (piite comfortable 
 travellinir. Tweiitv-thive miles of colonization roads have been built by 
 the (un'erninent, and twenty-H\e more miles liave been cut out by the 
 settlers. I dro\e throuuh the bush or. old lumber roads in a buck-board 
 Bicyeles are running on the roads for five or six miles from the town of 
 Dryden. IJy this it will be seen that it is comparatively an easy matter 
 for a new settlei' to get his household and farm effects in to his location. 
 
 Clp:.a.uin(; the Laxi>. 
 
 As the timliei" is small anfl much of it dea-i. it is easily burne<l and 
 the land made reatiy for the plow. A man and sti'ong boy can in some 
 places clear up and stump as fast as a team can }))ow. One .settler who 
 came I'rom the county of York, (he was a tenant farmei- there) has a louple 
 of (rood woi"kin<^ buys. lb; located in the township of Eton close to (►x- 
 ilrift station, arriving .about the beginning of last April. Me started to 
 plow on the bsth of the sjitiie month and by the 15th of May had twenty- 
 five acres cleaned up. plowed, and sown with wdieat, oats, peas and barley. 
 I was at his place on the 28th of ^b^y: he had planted his potatoes and 
 corn, and was jireparing his turnip land. I held the plow tor a couple of 
 rounds ami Iwul the satisfaction of knowing that I turned up to the sum- 
 mer sun some of the virgin soil of tlie Wabigocm countrv. The land is 
 n(»t all tjuite so easily cleared as this, Ijut five dollars an acre will clear up 
 an«l stump most of the land in this settlement, with the exception of land 
 along the creek bottoms^ which is heavier tind>ered. To get the V)est 
 results the land should be plowed twice, and thoroughly cultivated pre- 
 vious to sowing the first crop. 
 
s 
 
 Fentenij, Bun.Di\»;s, Etc. 
 
 Cedar posts and wire make the Itest and most duralde fences. The 
 uld-fashioned zi^-zag fencf will find no place here. Some farmers are 
 building good stiong, durable fences out of tauiaracand spruce poles, with- 
 out posts, fastening the stakes and riders together with pliable oiled wire. 
 With the exception of not being pig proof, it makes a cheap, servicealtle, 
 and, when well built, a strong fence. 
 
 Some of the buildings are old-fashioned log structui'es, dove-tailed 
 or notched at the corners. Saw-mills are convenient. Custom sawing is 
 done for So per thousand feet. On many of the lots there is some spruce 
 and taniarac that woukl make small saw-logs. Good sound lumber can 
 be bought at the mills for !?1() or .*?11 per thousan<l feet. 
 
 Markkts. 
 
 The local markets of Dryden and Wabigoon will consume all that can 
 be raised for some time in the district. Dryden has a populi'.tion of 600, 
 while Wabigoon is a rapidly growing town, which is likely to become a 
 mining centre of .some importance, for the region between the Canadian 
 Pacific Railway and the American border is rich, not t)nly in timber Imt 
 in deposits of gold, iron, and other minerals. Eighty miles west is Rat 
 Portage, a growing town of ovtir 5,000 inhabitants. It is not situated in 
 an agricultural district, and so has been getting its food supplies from 
 Manitoba. The towns of Rat Portage, Keewatin, Dryden, and Wabigoon 
 will cou.sume all th- beef, pork, butter, eggs, poultry, vegetables, small 
 fruits, hay, oats, and potatoes that the Wabigoon farmer will be able to 
 produce for some time to come, and so his market will be at his very door. 
 In summer, the mining camps afford the faimers an excellent home niar- 
 ket for their produce. Butter brings from 20 to 25 cents per lb. ; eggs, 
 from 18 to 20 cents per dozen. In winter the lumber camps and railway 
 tie camps afford a market e'}ually as good. 
 
 Cost of GETTiXf; to Waiugoon. 
 
 By the all-rail route (»n the Canadian Pacific Railway, from any 
 station west of Jvihgston, th«^ single fare is S21 ; children half i-ate. For 
 boat and rail by way of Owen Sound and Fort William, the fare is $17. 
 Car of 20,000 pounds of settlers' effects from same points, SOO (cue man 
 with each car free); 30. V cents per 100 lbs. for all overweight. For settlers' 
 effects, shipped in less than car lots, the rate is 01 cents per 100 pounds. 
 
 The PioiNEER Fai{m. 
 
 The Ontario Government was the pioneer of the Wabigoon country. 
 In the spring of 1(S95 the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. John Dryden, 
 
9 
 
 personally selected the site for the house and barn, an<l commenced farm- 
 inf^ operations with the view of testing the agricultural capabilities of 
 the section. A small crop was put in that summer, consisting of wheat, 
 oats, barley, grass and a few roots. In the early summer a warm, com- 
 fortable house wos built, such as any settler of moderate means might 
 t'rect. Later, a basement barn with the necessary accommodation was 
 added. At the present time there are l.SO acres cleared and stumped, so 
 that all kinds of labor-saving machinery can be used to the best advant- 
 age. Last fall and this spring being very dry until the second week in 
 June, fall wheat and hay were not heavy crops, but the spring wheat, 
 oats, barley, and turnips gave promise of lai-ge yieMs. The farm is sur- 
 rounded by a substantial cedar post and wire fence. The farm buildings 
 are acros? the railroad track and almost directly opposite the railway 
 station. A young orchard has been planted, but the standard apples have 
 not done well. Crab apples and cherries made a fairly promising growth, 
 and small fruits do well. As I stood at the back of the farm and looked 
 to the railway station, a pleasing rural scene filled the eye, — a fifty-acre 
 field of oats just beginning to shoot, another field of heavy spring wheat 
 and barley waving in the wind, and just be^^ond, the dark green of a 
 healthy field of Swede turnips : a flock of Shropshire sheep were nibbling 
 in the home field next the barn, while half a dozen useful milch cows were 
 industriously grazing the young tender grass which recent rains had 
 caused to cover the pasture fields, while the farm team was just finishing 
 the plowing of a ten acre fallow field that had been grubbed, stumped and 
 burned this summer. The Pioneer Fai'm has demonstrated very clearly 
 the excellent agricultural advantages of this section by changing it in 
 four short years from wild, waste land to clean fields and a well cultivated 
 farm. From what I have seen in the Wabigoon country, I know from my 
 own experience in clearing land that a working farmer of moderate means 
 with an industrious family (if not afraid of flies for a few weeks in the 
 heat of summer for the fir.st few years, and other drawbacks incident to 
 pioneer life), can in five or six years have 100 acres cleared and free from 
 both stumps and stones. Thus many men who are now forced to work 
 for others, if they were to put forth an eftbrt and deny themselves .some 
 of the luxuries of life, could in a few years become independent, by hav- 
 ing a very comfortable farm home of their own in the Wabigoon country. 
 
 The advantages of the Waljigoon country may be summed up as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 L Cheap land and easily cleared (fifty cents per acre on easy terms). 
 
 2. The main line of the (Janadian Pacific Railway [)asses right 
 throuo'h the agricultural belt 
 
 3. The best of local markets. 
 
 4. Sufficient timber for building, fencing and fuel. 
 
 0. The country is well watered with rivers, creeks and wells. 
 
10 
 
 (i. The soil and climate are particularly well adapted to the growing 
 of fall and spring wheat, l-arley, oats, potatoes, turnips, and all kinds of 
 vegetables and small fruits. Corn and standard apples dont seem to do 
 so well, unless it be the very hardiest varieties. 
 
 7. Grasses i^row in great luxuriance. 
 
 8. A very healthy climate. 
 
 0. (iootl roads for a new country. 
 
 10. Plenty of winter work in the lumber camps : also hauling and 
 cliopping cofdwood. 
 
 RAT PORTAGE. 
 
 Having made a thorough examination of the agricultural resources 
 of the Wabigoon country', 1 visited the town of Hat Portage, which is 
 about eighty miles west from Dryden and 130 miles east of the city of 
 Winnipeg. Rat Portage is the principal town between Lake Superior 
 and Winnipeg. It has a population of between live and si.K thousand. 
 Its citizens are a pushing, enterprising, public spirited ])eople. The town 
 is growing rapidly. The buildings of later years are durably built and 
 of modern design. The town is situated at the northern end of Lake of 
 the Woods, and is a divisional point on the Canadian Pacific Pailway ; it 
 is also the commercial and judicial centre for that part of Western 
 Algoma. It is the shipping j)ort of I^ake of the Woods. All the tele- 
 graph poles, railway ties, fence posts, and in fact all the timber from the 
 Rainy River country, including sawn lumber, pa>ses through thi.s 
 point on its way west to Manitoba, The Lake of the Woods and 
 its tributary lakes, rivers and streams abound in tish. The tishinj; 
 industry here has become one of con.siderable importance, so that Rat 
 Portage, wuth its suburbs of Norman and Keewatin, is destined to become 
 a very populous centre. These two villages are only a few mile.s^ 
 from the town, with which they are connected by a good r()a<l. and in 
 the summer steam ferry boats make hourly trips between these villages 
 and Rat Portage. At Keewatin there is an immense water power, partly 
 developed. Here is situated the Lake of the Woods mill, which is the 
 largest flour mill in the Dominion, having a capacity of two thousand 
 barrels a day, and elevators that will hold nearly five hundred thou.sand 
 bushels of wheat. The manufacturing of Hour an<l its bye-products, Vn-an 
 and shorts, has become an industry on which Rat Portage can permanently 
 rely. In connection with the Hour mill there is a barrel and siding lactoiy 
 which turns out about one thousand Hour barrels per day ; also house 
 siding, ))laned, matched and all ready to put on in four feet lengths, laige 
 quantities of wdiich are shipped to the Southern States. A few rods from 
 the tlour mill is situated the customs reduction works, wheie ijold and 
 silver is separated from the rock. A mill of this kind nnist materially 
 
II 
 
 tend to develoj) the mineral resoui-ces of this mining,' region, for they 
 crush as low as ten ton lots. With a tishing, mining, lumbering, and 
 manufacturing industry, Rat Portage will l)e a centre of wealth and pop- 
 ulation that will always afibrd a tirst-class market for the products tjf 
 the fai'iii. 
 
 TIIK JtAINV KIVKH VALLEY. 
 
 After spending a da}' in Kat Poitage and vicinity. I took passage 
 on the steamer " Edna IJrydges " lor Rainy river, sailing down Lake of 
 the Woods for al»out one hundred miles till the mouth of the river is 
 entered at Hungiy Hall ; then eastward up the river to Fort Frances. It 
 is on this stretch of river fro-.i t'lat tlie agricultural land is situated. I 
 made a close inspection of the soil, timber, crops, market, etc., at five diti- 
 erent points on the river, viz. : — Pine Wood, P>oucherviIle, Emo Big Forks, 
 and Fort Frances, stopping a few days at each point and travelling on 
 toot inland and through the adjacent town.ships. 
 
 The CoiNTRY, 
 
 The l\ainy Kiver country proper is a strip of agricultural land on 
 the north side of the river of that name. It is from fifteen to twenty 
 miles wide, and is estimated to contain about si.x hundred thousand 
 acres of good farming land. 'I'lie Rainy rivt.-r finds its source in Rainy 
 lake, and its outlet in Lake i)f the Woods. Ic is about ei^htv miles 
 long, and for its whole length forms the boundary line between Canada 
 and the United States. ()ii the noith side is tlw PiovincL' of ( )ntario : 
 on the south is the State cf Minnesota. The surface of the country is 
 fairly ievekand nothing like a hill is to be seen ; lait generally speaking, it 
 has a gentle roll towards the rivei*. There is a small peicentage of 
 swamp land which is well timbered with cedar, aiid now and then a patch 
 "f nuiskeg, which is found here and there all over the district. Along 
 the river front the land is entirely free from stone, but as you get furtlier 
 iidand. some of the lots have a little stone on them. Mr. James 
 Conmee, M.P. P., for West Algoma. says (hat the :^ood land is not con- 
 fined to the rivei" valley alone, but extends north-easterly along the .shore 
 of Ijake of the Woods, and estimates that the agricultural land in this 
 section covers an erea of four million acres. I had a conversation with 
 .Mr. Alex. Luttrell, Road Foreman, a very practical man and keen ob.ser- 
 ver, who a few years ago cut a winter road through to Litile ( inissy river. 
 He informed me that much ((f the unsurveyed section of the ( Irassy river 
 country is tint> farming land. 
 
 ("I.IM.VI K. 
 
 The climate is very healthy. The winter is of an even temperature, 
 colder than around Toionto, but a clear bracing air with an entire absence 
 of damp, chilly, searching, raw winds. There is always plenty of snow 
 
12 
 
 for sleighing from the middle of December to the end of March. Wlien 
 the snow melts and the ground gets bare, tlie growing season sets in. 
 Most ot the seeding was done this year in April. In summer the days 
 are warm but the nightj- cool, with very heavy dews. The climate is 
 well adapted for the growth of grass and all kinds of cereals. Native 
 Indian corn matures to perfection, and in some seasons melons an<l toma- 
 toes. The plow is generally stopped about the 20th of No\ember. 
 
 The TiMi'.EH. 
 
 The timber consists of white pine, poplar, tamarae, spi'uce, balsaju, 
 cedar, birch, and a few oaks, elms, ashes, and soft maples Lumbering 
 operations are carried on extensively on both Rainy river and Lakt; of 
 the Woods — in fact the river is sometimes full of pine logs, especially in 
 the early part of the summer when the drive is being pushe<l foi-ward to 
 the boom. It is estimated that from six to eight hundretl men are 
 em])loyed in the lumber camps every winter. Most of the timlier on the 
 farm lan<ls that has any commercial value is cedar, tamarae and spruce. 
 In winter the settlers take out telegraph poles 2o feet long at 4o cents ; 
 railway ties, 16 cents a piece, cribbed : fenc<' posts, 5 cents each, cribbe<l; 
 and cord wood from §1.80 to 81.70. One farmer I met had taken out 
 S200 worth of ties last winter. The steamboats use the cord wood. It 
 will be seen that the settler wh.o does not care to go to the luml>er camps 
 in winter can do fairly well working; up his own timber at home. 
 
 The Sofl. 
 
 The soil is the foundation of all agricultural success if it is naturally 
 rich and is so composed that it will withstand the extremes of drouth 
 and wet. The owner of such a farm has a source of income that will 
 never fail. There are thousands of such farms in this district. While 
 the soil is not altogether of one «|uality but ranges from a black, rich, 
 productive clay to a clay and sandy loam, nearly all of it is ver}' 
 fertile. Where the countrv has been burned over, it is covered with a 
 rank growth of wild cUn-er. Native grass, peas and vetches were grow- 
 ing luxuriantly in the early part of June. Nearly all the land fronting 
 on the river is suital)le for settlement, but as you get back IVom the river 
 inland, there is some stone, with hei'e and there a rocky blufl" but the soil 
 is good. 
 
 Watku. 
 
 There is a plentiful supply of goo<l well water at from eight to 
 twenty-tive feet deep. Water is generally struck when a gravel bed is 
 reached. Streams intersect the whole country throughout. The land is 
 well watered. Some of the low lands will retpiire to be ditched, for which 
 there is plenty of fall. The water runs in some places for miles where 
 the roads are irraded. 
 
13 
 
 Roads. 
 
 For a new country the roiuU are passable wIkii you consider tlie 
 nature of the soil and the scarcity of road-making matt-rial. The Govern- 
 ment grants large sums yearly for the opening up of new roads. The 
 settlers only are employed on the colonization roads, for which work they 
 receive $1 per day and board. A few more years at the rate roads are 
 now being built will open up the entire arable belt. 
 
 Clkahin*; Land. 
 
 [n some localities where the land is heavil}- timbered, and tht- land 
 low, the clearing is difficult, but in other sections, where the bush has 
 been burned over, it is comparatively easy to clear. I stooil at the south- 
 east corner of a settler's farm in the township of Sheiistone. He had 
 located two years ago. The farm sloped gently to the south and you could 
 see his whole location, there being neither hill nor tree to V»lock the siorht. 
 The soil was a clay and sand loam. He had twenty acres of crop 
 in. It was very easily cleared and tlicre were no stumps. All he had to 
 pay for the KiO acres was 75 cents, which is merely the fee to the land 
 aoent for makinjr out the affidavit, the land beiiit: free grant. The timb- 
 ered land wid cost fiom !?12 to .*?I<S an acre to chop, log and fence. The 
 stumps come out in from eight to ten years, but in some townships there 
 are larije areas of " brule," or burnt land, which takes verv little labor to 
 make ready foi' the plow. So the difficulties of clearing are largely a 
 matter of choice with the settler when he locates, whether he chooses a 
 timbered or a Vmrned lot. Fencing and building material is plentiful ; 
 some of the cedar is as tine as you can find anywhere in the Province. 
 For building, rough lumber can be bought at th<' mills from $7 t<i SIO ; 
 dressed lumber from $10 to S20 ; pine shingles, $2 ; custom .sawing 83 
 per thousand feet. 
 
 Croi's and Productiveness. 
 
 Fall and spiing wheat, barley, peas, oats, potatoes, and all kinds of 
 vegetables grow exceedingly well. Clover crowds out the timothy. I 
 .saw fields of cloyer that were seeded in 18!)4 and 189") that hud last year 
 yielded over three tonsi to the acre; this season they had the appearance 
 of giving as heavy a crop. You could s(!arcely find a l)lade of timothy 
 but the clover was rank, broad-leaved, healthy and gn^en, and had all 
 the indications of a heavy crop although seeded four and five years ago. 
 Mr. Robert Watson has clover that has been cut twelve successive times. 
 Mr. Phair says that clover seeded down twelve years has been cut twice 
 every year. They don't know what it is to miss a catch of grass. Most 
 practical farmers admit that clover is the most important plant grown on 
 
u 
 
 the farm, keepini:' the farm clean <>\' weeds, maintaininu: and increasim; its 
 fertility, liesides yielding a great Uulk of fodder, which, when well cured 
 and fed in winter. l>rinu> our stock iiearei" to summer conditions than any 
 other food grown 
 
 The testimony of some old residents in this section is very valuaMe, 
 and has much weight. Mr. Anlu lieid, a very worthy settler, who has 
 l)een liere a nundier of years, and now has the satisfaction of seeing Ids 
 family settliuL'' around him, says ■ " My ei-ops have been jjood : thev would 
 average, wheat 22 l-usheU, oats 4.j liu<hels, peas :>() bushels to the acre. 
 Hay is always a lieavy crop: native Indisin corn gi\es good returns ; 
 potatoes alway- do well, ond so do turnips." Mr. Williams, Fort Frances, 
 says, •' I have a «|uaiter of an acre ganlen patch. Sold last yer.r >l»l 40 
 WM)rth of vegetables — one cal>bage weighed 87 lbs. 1 had in my store 
 window last fall a jiumi^kin that weighed KiO lbs., and a s«|uasli that 
 weiiihed 125 lbs. (they were lx)th raised b\- Mr. John J)ini;a!), and have 
 grown radishes an«l lettuce in the open aii- on the 10th ot May. ' Mr. 
 William Phair also bears testimony to the extraordinary pioductiveness 
 of the soil : he says, '• produced 49 bushels of Fife wheat per acre : 270 
 bushels of oats on four acres ; between two and three tons ^f timothy per 
 acre, first crop cut in dune, second crop early in Se})tembei". ' Mr. 
 Thomas Luntlry whose farm 1 travelled over and found that the 
 soil is a strong rich productive claj', as is almost all the soil in 
 the townships of Caipenter, Lash and Delvin) says: "The soil on 
 Rainy river cannot be suri'assed. Vou can sow bai'ley on new ground as 
 late as the middle of July and get a good crop. My neighbor, J)uncan 
 Reid,sowe<l two bag> c»f wheat, about four bushels, and threshed ninety -six 
 bushels. Where the ground is properly cultivated. I d<»n't care wdiat you 
 plant you will get a crop. There is plenty of pasture in the bush: and 
 tall and spring wheat do immense." From what I saw when there last 
 summer, the spleudi<l crop prospects, the excellent climatic conditions for 
 Cfrowth. and fit)m tin nature of the soil, I believe there is no more fertile 
 soil in the Province ot Ontario, and 1 ijuestion if there is another traci 
 any more pnxluctive on this continent. 
 
 Markkts. 
 
 The local markets are good, the rapid development of the Iiunbering 
 and mining industries havini; created a demand for all kinds of farm 
 pioduce which as yet the farmers have not been able to supply. 
 
 Mr, Reid says : • The prices I have leceived for my crops wouM 
 aveiage, oats oO ccnt^. potatoes .'»0 cents per bushel, buttei' 20 to 2') cents 
 per lb.. «'ggs is to 22 cents per do/., beef, dressed, S7 to S<S, pork 
 $8 to §10, hay. S'-' per ton. This spring, piices were somewhat higher : 
 at Emo, a village about half way up the river, wheat SI, oats 75 cents 
 peas §1.25, ptttatoes 7-'> cents pn- l»ushel, butter 25 cents per lb., eggs 25 
 
 rt 
 
15 
 
 cents per 'lozoii. pork.drt ised, i?|{). beft' .^10, hay SIO |)er ton, mutton 
 fi'iiu s to 10 cents pfi- 111. poultry, divs.st'd, from I'll to 15 cents per !b. 
 Young sound working' horses, from four to six years oKl, weighing between 
 1200 and 1400 pounds, bring from ^100 to 'sl20. Fresli calved milch 
 cows in spring biing from !?^>') to 8+2 ; weaned pigs .^4 to S5 a pair. 
 
 Mk.\NS ol' A( « KS.s. 
 
 At pn-sent \\\t Portage, on the CaJiadian Pacitic Railway, at the 
 noithern extremity ol Lake of the Woods, is the jioint to aim for. 
 It is distant frcjm Toroiito l)V rail 1,154 milt^js From Rat I'ortaiie to 
 Fort France.s is ISO mihs. Rainy River is NO miles long, and the length 
 of Lake of the Woods fronj north to south is 100 miles. The steamboat 
 fare from Rat Portage to Emo. tirst-class is S4.00. second class S2.G5 
 Fare alon<r the river from local stations is live cents per mile. FreiiJfht 
 from Rat Portage to Emo : Settlers eliects. 20 cents per hundred pounds ; 
 horses per head, .^4.50 : cattle. J?4 00 ; hogs, ;?1.00; sheep, 5(; cents. These 
 rates include cost of transfer fiom cars or freight s]ie<l and wliarfaixe at 
 Rat Portage. A carload of settleis effects Irom Toronto to Rat Portage, 
 one man free, costs about S(i2. 
 
 Raii.w.w. 
 
 1 am pleased to know that the contract has been let for the first 
 .section of the Rainy Rivei- Railway, which is to connect with the Port 
 Arthui- and Western line at Staidey st;ition. about twenty miles west of 
 the town of Port Arthur, and that in a short time it will be pu.shed 
 through to the agiicidtural belt on the Rainy river. Nothing that I am 
 aware of has the same influence towards opening up a new cour.try a.s 
 direct railway eomunniication with the outside world, for it brings with 
 it the knowle<lge that the productive powers of a country need never be 
 limited foi' the want of a market. 
 
 When the railway penetiates the a)"able land of the IJainy river, 
 settlement will advance rapidly and the land will be cleared and better 
 tilled. New men settling there will introduce advanced methods which 
 will act as ol)ject lessons to the older settlers. This must result in the 
 cidtivation <jf a spiiit of wholesome emulation, causing many to widen 
 their base Ijy nuiking larger clearings and relying more on tl»e farm and 
 le.ss on tiiidier for a living. While the local market here is exceptionally 
 good, causeil bv the allied industries of lumbering and mining, yet the 
 best aL'rictiltural results can only be obtained when there is constant 
 direct daily connnunication with the outside so that the producer will be 
 aV)le to keep himself in close touch, not only with his own local market, 
 but with the markets in the huge industrial and commeicial centres as 
 well. 
 
16 
 
 It is <alin()st a pity to see so much of the best of the land here occu- 
 jtied as Indian reserves. Theio are five or six of them alon<^ the river 
 bank. If some amicable arrangement could be made between the Indian.s 
 and the Dominion CJoveinment so that these reserves could be o])ened for 
 settlement, it would materially hel]) the devcdopment of the whole country. 
 The banks of the river liave been settled for years. The older settlt-r.s 
 coml)ined trapping, fishing, hunting, and working in the lumber camp.s 
 with farming. Another class that came in some years later. princi]»ally 
 from the counties of Huron and Bruce, have kept closer and worked more 
 steadily on their farms. Some of them have large clearings, free from 
 stumps, and are using nearly all kindsoflaV»o)'-saving machinery. Many 
 have their married sons and daughters located netir the parental home. 
 
 CONCLUSTONS. 
 
 (1) That there are schools and churches in almost every part of the 
 settled sections. 
 
 (2) That jilenty of employment can be had at any season of the year 
 in the lumber camps, on tlu- roads, and at the mines ; and that wages are 
 good. 
 
 (8) The flies are bad on stock for a month ami a half in mid-summer, 
 requiring the cattle to be put in the stable during the day time. 
 
 (4) The winters are bright and clear. 
 
 (5) As a stock and dairy country it cannot be surpassed. 
 
 (6) Local markets are good and likely to continue, as it is closely 
 adjacent to the mining regions. 
 
 (7) That one can have an easily cleared farm by locating on the 
 burned land, or if a timbered lot be chosen, the settler will have plenty 
 of profitable winter W(U'k at his own home as long as the timber lasts. 
 
 (8) Good natural drainage, and splendid spring and well water. 
 
 (9) That preseverance and industry will l>ring its reward in a good 
 comfortable fann home, and a working man with limited means who' 
 wants a home can get it here. 
 
 THE SAULT STE MARIE SECTION. 
 
 Around Sault Ste. Marie, at (Joulais Bay, in the townships on the 
 Sault Ste. Marie branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and on St. 
 Joseph Island, the best of the land has been taken up, but at nearly all 
 of these points, there are yet some lots tit for settlement, with from 80 
 to bO per cent, of fairly good arable land. At (Joulais Bay and in the 
 township of Vankoughnet, part of the lands belong to the Dominion 
 Government, but two-thirds of the township of Vankoughnet is Ontario 
 Government land. This township is open for settlement ; it is about 26 
 
17 
 
 miles fioin Sault Ste. Marie and is rcachotl l»y wagon road. The land 
 aroiinil (Jonlais Way varies fron: a clay to a sandy yellow loam. You 
 will soinetinies find sevt^ral kinds of Noil on the same lot. The coinitry 
 is somewhat lnoken and the land is generally in the valleys liennued in 
 li\' rockv ridi^es. The l»e.st soil is a sandy loam, which, when intellicfentlv 
 cultivated, gives very j)rotital>le results. Two-thirds of the timber on 
 the uplands is hard sugar maple, ii'on woo<i, and black and yellow birch. 
 The low hinds h.ive, in addition to maple an<l bii-ch, l»al.sam, spruce and a 
 few tamarac. The maple land is not as dithcult to clear, as the timber is 
 more easily burned. The cost of clearing: would be from SI 2 to i?l5 
 an acre. 
 
 Fine natural springs and splendid clear running streams abound, and 
 i^ood well water can Ije obtained everywhere near the surface. Onlv the 
 very low lands retjuire draining. The soil being mostly a sandy loam 
 with an open, ])orous .sub-soil, the suiplus moisture readily soaks 
 throng] I it. 
 
 Wheat, both fall and spring, does well. Oats in the early part of July 
 were in many places two and one-half feet high and not beginning to 
 shoot The oat fieMs had a tine appearance and gave promise of a heavy 
 <'ro[). The loamy soil of this section .seems to be especially well adapted 
 for the growth of cereals, peas, barley anil hay. Potatoes on the high 
 dry land looked well, but on the low swampy lands they had a set l)ack 
 tromsuunner frosts. Thert- is not nmch corn raised as the season is too 
 short \ov it to mature every year. Turnips are always a sure crop. 
 Apples do well, especially the hardier standard varieties. I have formed 
 opinion based on careful observations that, where the sugar maple grows, 
 apple trees will thrive. 1 saw a number of tine young orchards, with 
 dean-barked, heaithydooking ti-ees, just coming into bearing. 
 
 'J'he market is the town of Sault Ste. Marie. It is good for 
 all kinds of farm produce. When a new road that is in process 
 of construction is finished, it will brin*' (.Joulais Hav within 20 miles of 
 Sault Ste. Marie. The peo|)le here seem to be well >,atisfied with their 
 tarms for few want to sell tliem. 
 
 Si. .b»>KrH l.s|,ANI\ 
 
 This island is .situated at the futrance to Ste Marys river. It 
 is about 20 by 14 miles, and contains about 02,0<Hl acres. It is all 
 located but 4,000 acres. The .soil is \erv changeable, varvinj; from 
 a stiff' red clay to a light loam ; but most of the .soil is a clay or 
 sandy loam. In many |)arts the sui'face is covered with rolling stone, 
 while other sections are entirely free. The rock is principally lime- 
 stone. The Island is well watered with s|)rings and lunning creeks. 
 The crops grown are the same as in the older sections of Ontario. 
 The timber is hemlock, basswood, beech, maple, ironwood, spruce, cedar 
 iuid elm. Here partly cleared farms can be bought from SI 50 to 
 
18 
 
 SI ,000, according to soil and improvements. Persons with small 
 capital could, for a few hundred iollara, purchase a partly cleared farm. 
 Men who have had little experience in selectinj/ a farm in the bush, 
 may make a mistake, but on a partly cleared farm, even if it is 
 stumpy and rough, they have much better opportunities of judsing the 
 soil and surroundings than where it is in an unbroken forest. But they 
 should be very careful to see that the title is good and that the location 
 is in all respects a suitable one. All along the main line from Garden 
 river to Massey, the pea crop looked well — the best I had seen anywhere 
 this season. Here they have no trouble with the pea bug. Peas and 
 pork are the two most profitable lines of production I know of, and make 
 a combination that takes very little fertility from the soil, while hogs 
 give a Detter return for the food consumed than any other animal we 
 raise on the farm. 
 
 TEMTSCAMIN(aiE. 
 
 Crossing the Province from Sault Ste. Marie ei stward, passing the 
 nickel mines at Sudbury, to Mattawa, then north by rail and boat to 
 Haile\'bury or to Liskeard. we reach the southern point of the agricultural 
 land in the Temiseamingue district. In a straight line, Liskeard is about 
 250 miles north of Toronto. 
 
 Here there is a large tract of tine farminir land, reaching from the 
 northern end of Lake Temiseamingue, north and east. Geographically, it is 
 situated on the 48 parallel, and is a long way south of any part of the 
 Province of Manitoba, being about on the same latitude as the Rainy 
 River. More than one half of the European continent is north of the 48 
 parallel. Three rivers drain the country into the lake, vi/., Montreal, 
 Wahbes, and Blanche or White river. The lake is l)ut a widening of the 
 Ottawa river; it is GN miles long, and not n}ore than tive or six miles 
 wide at its widest place. It is said to be very deep : Temiseamingue 
 means deep water. Geologically, the land is of the same character as 
 that of Southern Ontario. The rock, being the Niagara limestone 
 formation, makes fine building stone and also first class lime. There are 
 three or four lime kilns at Haileybury. The area of agricultural land in 
 the district is estimated to be about L2o0.000 acres. 
 
 The Soil. 
 
 The soil is very uniform,and consists of a strong rich clay An analysis 
 made by Professor Shuttleworth, Professor of Chemistry at the Ontario 
 Agricultural College, Guelph, proves that the soil is very rich in phos- 
 phoric acid and potash, and that the vsub-soil is unusually rich in nitro- 
 gen. The timber, chiefly balsam and spruce, is so thick and unbroken 
 that the sun and wind cannot penetrate it. First there is a covering of 
 moss, and then about four inches of vegetable mould, when the clay is 
 reached. This land will stand any amount of cropping, and when 
 
19 
 
 intelligently fanned will give very profitable returns. The surface of 
 the land is smooth with few cradle holes. Upon the river Blanche, 
 there are large tracts of level cLy land, which were burned over a few 
 years ago and could be brought into cultivation almost as cheaply as 
 prairie land. It is not yet in the market, however. 
 
 Timber. 
 
 The timber consists of pine, spruce, balsam, tamarac, cedar, poplar, and 
 a .scattering of white oak and black ash. But on the best farniins.; land the 
 timber has very little commercial value, e.xcept pine and cedar, which grow 
 to a large size. But the bulk of the timber is balsam and spruce, rang- 
 ing from live to fourteen inches in diameter. 
 
 The settler can get enough of building material, both timber and 
 lumber, for house and out-buildings. There is generally enough cedar for 
 fencing, but unless there is some demand for pulp wood, which cannot be 
 until the railway is built, the quicker the .settler gets rid of his timber 
 find gets the stumps out of his land the sooner will he have some ease 
 aid comfort in the cultivating of his farm. For a young man to reserve 
 his timber, looking for it to ri.se in } rice, would be a serious and almost 
 irreparable mistake, for the land is the most valuable. In part of the 
 Blanche river district the timber has no value whatever, except near the 
 river. On the lowlands, which are sometimes Hooded in the spring, the 
 timber is elm, ash, oak, and soft maple, but up the river (which is navi- 
 gable for small steamers for 25 or 30 miles) the country was 
 burned over some eight or ten years ago, and is very easily cleared. 
 There is no timber on large tracts of it. only scrub poplar, and white 
 birch bushes. 
 
 Clim.me. 
 
 The climate is somewhat similar to the other parts of northern Ontario 
 that I have visited. In the winter, stead}' cold with plenty of snow and 
 not much slu.shy, soft weather. About the 25th of April the land is fit to 
 work. Seeding generally begins about the first week in May. Potatoes, 
 vegetables and garden st^I are planted about the 24th of May. In the 
 early part of the summer ther6 is generally plenty of rain, warm days, 
 cool nights, with heavy dews, and the growth is rapid. I mea.sured timothy 
 in the last week in June that grew an inch in twelve hours. Barley 
 that was sown on the 11th of June was six inches high on the 28th of 
 the same month. Haying begins about the 15th of July and the 
 harvest a month later. Navigation opens about the 10th of May and 
 closes about the last week in November. 
 
 Clearing the Land. 
 
 In the the tov/nships around Liskeard and Haileybury, the country 
 is generally covered with a dense mass of small timber, which, when 
 properly chopped into 12 or 14 feet lengths and the brush carefully 
 trimmed, it being evergreen, will, if wind and weather is at all favorable, 
 
20 
 
 hv. almost sure of a clean burn of l»rusli. As those wlio liave cleaifd liuid 
 will know, this materially helps in the tinal cU-arini^ up of tlu' fallow. 
 The cost of the wo^k of clearini,' if let bv contract to cliop. log, and 
 fence, but not stump, is from ."iflG to ^Is per acre. From six to eight 
 years after chopping, the land can be stumped. The greatest (haw-back 
 in clearing is burnini" the wind-fallen timber. In an »'vei"-gr»'en I'Ush. 
 whiclt is shaded at all .seasons of the year, the falle'.i tiees get thoroughly 
 water soaked. Tlie best way to get rid of them is to pile the logs up in 
 heaps, being careful to put th.e fallen timber on top of the piles, allowing 
 them to remain two or three weeks, before setting them on tire. If 
 there is a good w"in<l, and the time dry, not only will the piles burn, but 
 the fallow will Vmrn over a second tim»', burning ntoss, rotten wood and 
 much of the surplus vegetable matter. On light land this .second l»urning 
 is not necessary, in tact tlie more decayed matter on it the better ; but on 
 this fertile, cruuibly. calcareous clay, if there is too nnich mould an<l 
 wast(; nnitter on the surface, the roots of the giain cannot penetrate t<j 
 the clay soil beneath and the crop is more likely to be attected by summer 
 frosts. Summer frosts, which, like tlies, are always troulilesome in the 
 fiist years of settlement, get less frequent and often entirely di.sappear 
 as the clearings are made largei' and the country becomes opened up. 
 But if the crops are rooted in the clay they will stand frosts and tlie 
 extremes of weather nuich better than when sitting on the surface, 
 with their roots reaching for food amongst the mould and rotten wood of 
 a partially cleared f;illow. In crossing n number <^f fields of oats (first 
 crops), I noticed that wherever the oat lOots had reached the under soil 
 they were stroni«:, healthy and ffreen. but where they were hairowed in 
 amongst a mass of rotten wood, the leaves were touched by the summer 
 frost. Some of the settlers who havf had txperience in clearing, rake 
 the land over by hand after logging, gathering into small heai)S, chips, 
 rotten wood and moss, and burn them ofJ. so that the hairow teeth can 
 reach the soil to mix it with the vegetable suiface mould, insurin<x ^i safer 
 crop and a far uiorv })rotitable return. ( 'learing land is not altogether 
 done by l)rute force — some skill is re(iuired. Hiw most impoi'tant point 
 is to see that the surface is made •"■o clean that the roots of the tirst crops 
 will easily reach the clay soil below. 
 
 Here, as at the Rainy River, you can locate on the burned lands, and 
 avoid many of the difficulties of clearing a tind^eied lot. I p the Blanche 
 liver, in tlie townships of Hilliard, Brethour, Ingram, and Evantund, (some 
 of w^hich are not yet opened for settlement) there are large areas of fine 
 farming lands very easy to clear, where two or three days' work will 
 make an acre ready for the plow. It is therefore a matter of choice 
 whether you locate on a timbered or 'ourned lot. 
 
 Dr.\i\.V(;e, 
 
 The natural drainage is good, the numerous creeks and rivers afford- 
 ing suflBcient outlet. A few open ditches through any of these lots in the 
 
•21 
 
 early sta<^e.s of .settlement would well repay tlie labor. Tlic .soil here will 
 compare favorably with the best lands in southwestern Ontario, l)ut the 
 latter (iid not give the be.st returns until they were drained. 
 
 Water Supi'ly. 
 
 Plenty of water can be had near the surface for the digging. What 
 efiect the clearing (if the land will have on the water .supply, time alone 
 can tell. At present it is plentiful and fairly good. The small ereek.s arc 
 not to l»e dependf'tl upon for hou.se supply, as after rain the water becomes 
 ijuite muddy and thick from the washings of the clay soil. It is then 
 neither palatal)le to the taste nor pleasing to the eye. Wells and natural 
 s])rings must be depeu'led on for the water .supply. 
 
 The Temiscamingue settlement is (juite young. Five years ago there 
 were only about a dozen settlers on the Ontario side of the lake. Now, 
 on the lake and rive)* fronts where the land can easily be reached, the lots 
 liave nearly all been taken up. Lack of roads i.s at present the greatest 
 drawback to settlement. 
 
 Crops Gkowx. 
 
 \'egetables of every kind grow to perfection and so do small fruits, 
 while all the cereals grown in southern Ontario, with the exception of the 
 more tender varieties of corn, grow well. Here I saw fine crops of peas, 
 barley, fall and spring wheat, oats, timothy and clover hay, potatoes, etc. 
 Some fields of hay grown on new land amongst the .stumps would go over 
 two tons to the acre. A piei^e of new land in fall wheat, the Surprise 
 variety, on the 2-')th of June was fully headed out. It was over four and 
 a half feet high and had all the appearance of a heavy crop. The soil 
 seems to be especially adapted to the growth <»f pi^as, oats and potatoes. 
 I>ut the best results cannot be obtained from this strontr, rich .soil until 
 the stum})s are taken out and the land plowed into narrow ridges lead- 
 ing to open ditches, so that the surplus water will be (juickly carried off. 
 When the plow turns this strong clay up to the action of frost, sun- 
 light and air, it crmnbJes liks air slacked lime into small pieces about 
 the size of peas or wheat, and when farmed under favorable agricul- 
 tural conditions, yields good crops one year after another without 
 becoming exhausted. On the Quebec side of the lake at Bale des 
 Peres, there is a farm of 350 acres of cultivated land. The principal 
 product is hay. This season they had 180 acres of mixed grass, timothy, 
 (•t)mmon red and ^ little Alsike clever It was estimated that there would 
 be over 500 tons. Some of tht fields had been mown for six years. I 
 never saw so muci. fine hay growing m one place. The first and second 
 year's cut v/ould yieltl three and three and a half tons to the acre. This 
 land never had been manured. This farm was in bush previous to 1884, 
 I'Ut is now growing immense crops of hay, barley, peas wheat, oats, 
 potatoes and vegetables, without the aid of either artificial or barnyard 
 manure. They keep about twenty-five head of cattle. The hay is pressed 
 
22 
 
 ou the farm and sold to the Umilieriiien. The oats and potatoes <ro to the 
 same market. 1 asked the manager how he could raise such crops without 
 manure. He said, " the soil all through this section is naturally very 
 fertile, but it recjuires to be well and neatly plowed in narrow ridgea 
 Hfteen feet wide, so that water will not stand ou the land. It also 
 needs to be plowed in the fall, and in the spring given a thorough culti- 
 vation. " He raises about three thousand bushels of mixed grain, — a 
 mixture'of corn, oats and vetches was sown, — for green summer feed for 
 working teams an<l milk cows. He also says, " to insure a crop of hay 
 don't allow the cattle to pasture on the hay fields in the fall, for it requires 
 all the fall growth of grass to cover, protect and mulch the timothy and 
 clover roots." Here cultivation seems to have changed the color of tha 
 soil. On this farm it looked and handled more like a black clay 
 loam. The farm manager had been a resident of Baie de« Peres for 
 twenty-four years, and had been farming since 1884, but during that 
 time had never seen the frost do much harm. I asked him what w is the 
 difference, naturally, between the soil on his farm and that on the Ontario 
 side of the lake. He said that the land in the township of Dymond was 
 equally as good, if not a better soil ; in fact, almost all the land on the 
 Ontario side was the same, and he thought if cultivated in the same way, 
 would give the same profitable returns. At Baie des Peres they are 
 l)uilding ii grist mill and a cheese factory. 
 
 The most northerly point of lake navigation is North Temiseamingue. 
 There I met Mr. Adam Burwash. He has farmed at this point for the 
 past twenty years, and has I 20 acres free from stumps and stones. He has 
 all the latest agricultural machinery, including bin<ler, mower, seed drill, 
 horse rake, and a two-horse tread-power threshing machine with a capacity 
 of three hundred bushels of oats a day. Only twice did he see summer and 
 autumn frosts do damage in twenty years. He thinks that as the country 
 gets cleared up frosts and tiies will disappear. He gave me Ins average 
 of crops and prices, as follows : Potatoes 150 bags per acre at 75 cents per 
 bag ; oats H5 to 40 bushels per acre at 40 cents per bu.shel ; peas 20 to 25 
 bushels per acre : wheat 18 to 25 bushels an acre : buttd 20 to 25 cents 
 a lb. : eggs 15 to 2J cents a doz. : beef ^(i.OO to |i7.00 per hundred in the 
 fall, and" pork ;?.S.00 to .^'J.OO ; hay at the barn, pressed, S12.00 a ton. 
 'J'omatoes ripen in the open air. The hardiest varietiers of apples may 
 do. Native Indian corn ripens well. IMilk cows sell at $25.00 in the 
 fall and §30.00 to $85.00 in the spring ; horses from :?75.00 to $100.00 ; 
 oxen from 880.00 to S!>0.00 a yoke ; weaned pigs from $4.00 to $5.00 a 
 pair. 
 
 About the seasons, Mr. Burwash said that they had more rain than 
 at Lachine, near Montreal, in summer. Snow about two and a half feet 
 deep. The plow was stopped by frost about the 12th November, and started 
 about the last week in April. Seeding generally begins about the first 
 week in May. Milk cows have to be fed from the first of November to 
 
2:{ 
 
 tlie loth of May. Winter is clear and cold. He looks forvvaid to the 
 rapid d('Velo[)UH.'nt of the Ontario side of Lake 'reniiscaniin^iie. 
 
 I have ^iven my interviews wiih these two farmers on the Quebec 
 side because it was inipossil)le to find any one on the Ontario side with 
 more than a few yeais, a^aieultural experience. From my own know- 
 ledge of soil and farminij, I am satisfied that, if the land on the Ontario 
 side was once cleared of stumps and timber, so that tlie plow and cidti- 
 vator would work to the best advanta<;e, and the under soil thorouf^hly 
 worked up with the surface niouM, the same results W(iuld be obtained 
 as on the farm I have mentioned at Bale des Peres, viz., a rich black 
 clay loam that will piofitably produce almost any crop i^rown in the tem- 
 perate zone. 
 
 MaKIvETS. 
 
 At present the lumber camps afford excellent market facilities. Hay, 
 oats, pork, beef, potatoes, butter, etc., brinj.j hi^h prices, but as the tim- 
 ber gets further back and the country gets settled, the farmers will have 
 to depend less on the local and more on the outside market. The British 
 market will soon regulate the price of pork, beef and wheat for the far- 
 mers of Temiscamingue, as it does for those engaged in agriculture else- 
 where. This .section is only two hundred and fifty miles in a straight 
 line from the city of Toronto, with eighty miles of railway to build from 
 North Bay into the heart of the best farminfj; land. Temiscamingue 
 farms are as near our ocean port, Montreal, as the farms in any of the 
 counties of Simcoe, York, Halton or Peel. A short railway haul of four 
 hundred and forty miles will take the farm products of this section to 
 the point of transshipment into ocean .steamers at Montreal. This 
 is a great advantage when compared with the expense of freighting 
 a distance of fifteen hundred or two thousand miles, which will always 
 be a heavy permanent charge against the farms of the far west. Experi- 
 ence has clearly shown that there is a limit to the distance from the sea- 
 board where products for export can be profitably produced. 
 
 Means of A<^ce.ss. 
 
 Mattawaon the Canadian Pacific Railway, is the point t<> make for- 
 thence north on a branch line about forty miles to Temiscamingue 
 station The train on this short line runs three times a week. At Tem- 
 iscamingue station connection is made without delay with a line of lake 
 steamers. The railway and steamboat fare from Toronto is about 
 ?13 rtO. Freight from Toronto to Temiscamingue station is 25c. per hun- 
 dred pounds, but arrangements can be made with the C.P.R. Freight de- 
 partment .so that .settlers' effects, by the car-load, will be taken at reduced 
 rates. When the propos-^^d Toronto and James Bay Railway is built, which 
 is, I understand, to be a continuation of the Grand Trunk from North Bay to 
 the north-western shore of Lake Temiscamingue, a distance of eighty-one 
 miles, it would, as a colonization road, soon open up this whole section, 
 
24 
 
 and bring this large tract of fertile farm land in a direct line with and 
 within easy reach of the city of Toronto. 
 
 I tliink it would be wise for the Oovernment to raise the price of 
 laud here from fifty cents to one dollar per acre, using the added fifty 
 cents to give increased aid to the first eighty miles of the line. With 
 direct railway communication, the land would soon be taken up. Pulp 
 wood would then have some value. There would be communication with 
 the outside at all seasons. With a railway, Temiscamingue would be in 
 close touch with every part of our province. To the pushing, enterpris- 
 ing, progressive farmer, railway communication is of the first importance, 
 meaning (juick transportation and ready access to the world's market. 
 The payment of a dollar per acre would be no draw- back but a strong 
 inducement for the right class of settlers, if they were certain that wnthin 
 the next two or three yeai's there would be direct railway com- 
 munication. 
 
 GEXEitAL CoNCI.rSIONS. 
 
 In Ontario there are at least 2,500,UOO acres of good land at present 
 available for .settlement — enough to absorb our surplus agricultural 
 Tiopidation for many years. I would not advise farmers in com- 
 fortable circumstances to go to a new section and engage in clear- 
 ing land. But there are some who are encumbered with a heavv 
 mortgage and who have a yearly struggle to meet the interest ; 
 tenant farmers, farmers" sons, farm workers, unemployed artisans, 
 and laboring men with strong arms, who have courage and good 
 health — for such there is plenty of room on the unoccupied lands of 
 Ontario. The land is cheap, it is easy of access, the climate is healthy, 
 money can be earned at the lumber camps, the mines and on the 
 colonization roads, so that the settler and his family will be maintained 
 in comfort during the first and second years, until the farm produces 
 enough to support his family. So for the struggling mechanic, day woi'ker, 
 and all those who are putting their labor on the market, there is a better 
 chance for homes in the unlocated land of Ontario than staying in the 
 t)ver-crowded industrial centres, where the cry for work is bec'»mirig 
 yearly more acute ; for even if such have but a rudimentary knowledge 
 t»f fai'ming they v/ill be able to learn from their neighbors. 
 
 I cannot close this without desiring to thank the ofiicials of the 
 Canadian Pacific Railway, with whom I came in contact, for thnir kind- 
 ness and courtesy, which materially assisted me in making a full exam- 
 ination of the sections visited. 
 
 From the lOth of May until the 2.Srd of July, I travelled by rail 
 fi,450 miles ; by boat 525 miles; in buggy and buck-board 110 miles; on 
 foot 815 mile.s. Total 7,400 miles. 
 
 DUNCAN ANDERSON, 
 
 Rugby, Ont.