Western Canada and its Great Resources
The Testimony of Settlers, farmer Delegates and high Authorities

1 2 WESTERN CANADA found it better than, the agents at Aberdeen described it to me, and that any man in South Dakota who is not satisfied with his success, cannot do better than settle in the Prince Albert district of the Canadian North-west. I am, yours truly, JOHN KLEIN, of Warner, South Dakota. Aberdeen, South Dakota, 22nd Oct., 1891. Report of a Michigan Man. Winnipeg, Man., 10th August, 1891. Sir,—Having visited Manitoba and the North-west Territories in the interests of farmers now living in Saginaw county, Mich., I beg leave to submit the following report:—I arrived in Winnipeg June 29 and on the following day proceeded to southern Manitoba. The country is very suitable for mixed farming. The soil is a black, sandy loam, with clay subsoil, and gives evidence of great fertility in the wonderful crops it produces. Many of the farmers I visited expected the wheat to yield 35 bushels to the acre. Oats, barley and all kinds of garden vegetables were showing an excellent growth. I visited the Turtle Mountains, along the south of Manitoba. They are covered with timber (poplar, scrub oak and ash), which yield a good supply of firewood. A great many creeks run out of the mountains, and numerous marshes in the vicinity give an abundance of hay. There is a very beautiful lake of pure, clear water at Killarney, and a larger one at Whitewater. Generally speaking, the well-water is excellent. Near Deloraine quite a productive coal mine has been opened up, and cheap coal is expected in the near future. I visited the Portage plains and the Brandon district, and was as far west as Regina. I venture to say that along the main line of the Canadian Pacific, from High Bluff to Virden, there is one of the most productive cereal growing districts of the world. Some idea of the crops can. be obtained from the fact that it was found necessary, this year, to import 1,700 farm labourers to assist the farmers to harvest their grain, and a great many more arfe still required. A noticeable feature of the grain fields is the evenness of surface, showing the soil to be of uniform strength. There are fields of hundreds of acres in which .the grain all stands about the same height. I was informed that there is no midge, weevil, rust or blight of any kind to injure the grain. I examined the Indian Head and Regina districts very thoroughly. The surface is level. The soil is heavier than that of the Brandon and Portage la Prairie districts. I should characterize it as a clay loam. It does not bake, but is soft and mellow and works easily. That it is rich can be seen from the crops and enormous garden vegetables it produces. To the south of Regina there is excellent grazing country. The water supply of Western Assiniboia is somewhat interesting. Farmers have dug 100 feet deep without reaching water, whereas at 25 feet from the first well an abundant supply has been obtained at a depth "of not more than 40 feet. In one locality where there seems to have been difficulty in getting water, an excellent flowing well has been struck. I was very much pleased with the appearance of the Prince Albert district. The country in the immediate vicinity is admirably adapted to stock-raising. It is hilly, and contains numerous small lakes, and marshes where the hay grows from two to three feet long. The hills, too, are covered with a very luxuriant growth of grass, pea-vine, vetches, &c. There is an abundance of timber (spruce, oak and poplar) for fencing and firewood. About 50 miles from Prince Albert, along the Stony Creek and the Carrot River, there is a locality unsurpassed in the territories for fhixed farming. Homesteads can be had in this locality, or land can be purchased for $2.50 an acre. Returning east, I took a trip on the Manitoba and North-western Railway, from Portage la Prairie to Saltcoats. The country through which this road runs presents a gently undulating surface. It is nearly all arable, and excellent for mixed farming. The soil is a rich black loam, in some places 2 feet deep, with a clay subsoil. An abundance of pure, clear water can be obtained by digging from 8 to 20 feet deep. The