=Available Homesteads.=--Northern Saskatchewan has not yet been opened to
any extent for settlement. There are approximately 80 million acres
beyond the railway at Prince Albert which time, zeal, and railway
enterprise will eventually make accessible. Furs, forest wealth, and
fisheries are recognized as a national asset, but thousands of acres of
fertile land lie beyond the existing lines of railway awaiting
development. Northern Saskatchewan has natural resources sufficient to
maintain a population equal to that of any European country in
corresponding latitude.
=Saskatchewan Crops.=--Saskatchewan leads all other provinces in wheat
production, though only a comparatively small portion of its tillable
area is under cultivation. In 1898 the area under wheat was 276,253
acres; 910,359 acres in 1905; 2,703,563 acres in 1908, and in 1913, five
years' time, it had more than doubled, the area being 5,720,000 acres.
On this there were grown approximately 121-1/2 million bushels of wheat,
an average of about 21-1/4 bushels to the acre. The farmers realized
about 124 million dollars for products apart from field and fodder
crops, valued at 5 million dollars.
The following figures are from Provincial Government returns.
Saskatchewan has easily 50,000,000 acres of unbroken prairie to grow
just such good crops, and another 25,000,000 acres on which to graze
live stock.
Acreage Yield Total Price per Total
per Production Bushel Value
Acre
Wheat 5,760,249 19.5 112,369,405 At 63c $ 70,792,725.15
Oats 2,638,562 41.7 110,210,436 At 23c 25,348,400.28
Barley 307,177 30.2 9,279,263 At 26c 2,412,608.38
Flax 967,137 12.0 11,654,280 At $1.00 11,654,280.00
Province 9,673,125 243,513,384 110,208,013.81
While the average yield of wheat is shown to be 19.5 bushels per acre,
thousands of farmers raised 35 bushels and some more than 40.
Considerable was sown on stubble, and there were many low yields
occasioned by indifferent farming, and anxiety to secure a crop from
late seeding, without which the general average would have exceeded 30
bushels per acre. The same is true of other grains. On the Experimental
Farm at Indian Head, Marquis wheat produced 48 bushels to the acre, and
Red Fife on the stubble 28 bushels.
Almost the entire wheat crop was within the contract grades, (none less
than 3 Northern, the great bulk graded No. 1) and by the end of October
75 per cent of the crop was threshed. In many instances wheat weighed 64
and as high as 66 pounds to the bushel. Mr. Paul Gerlach of Allan,
Saskatchewan, had 71 pounds per bushel, and carried off the honours at
the International Dry Farming Congress at Tulsa last November.
=Mixed Farming= is so successful in Saskatchewan that only passing comment
is necessary. The Province is famous for its high-class horses,
well-bred cattle, sheep, and hogs. At the Live Stock Show in Chicago in
1913, the Province carried off high premiums. The Department of
Agriculture secures good breeding stock for the farmers and encourages
the preservation of females.
=Poultry Raising= is so profitable that many Saskatchewan farmers have
gone into it extensively. Of 10,000 turkeys marketed at Moose Jaw there
was not a single "cull." They brought an average of $2.80 each. Chickens
provide a certain profit and constant income.
=Dairying= is successful. An established market and excellent natural
facilities favour this branch of mixed farming. 997,000 pounds of
creamery butter yielded $271,185 in 1912 and private dairies realized
$189,000 from 700,000 pounds, making a total increase of $177,376.69
over 1911. With the exception of cream delivery, a government
superintendent supervises all business transactions of most creameries.
=Fodder Corn.=--At Prince Albert fodder corn has reached a height of eight
feet with not a poor sample in the lot and there are strong indications
that before many years corn will be grown here for ensilage with general
success. At the Experimental Farm, fodder corn yielded about 18 tons of
green fodder per acre, which went into the silo in good condition.
=Railways.=--About five hundred miles of new road opened in 1912 gives
Saskatchewan a total mileage of about 5,000 miles as compared with 1,000
in 1905, of which 1,230 is main line and 3,700 branches. The Province is
so well served by the Canadian Pacific, Canadian Northern, and Grand
Trunk Pacific that few of the established settlements are more than 10
to 20 miles from transportation; new settlements do not have to wait
long for railway advantages. The Hudson Bay Railway will afford a short
haul to ocean shipping from Saskatchewan grain fields. One and a half
million dollars have been appropriated by the local government for
improvements and building highways. From 1905-13 the population has
doubled, and whole districts which were practically uninhabited but a
short time ago are now filled with farmers.
=Rivers.=--The chief rivers are the North Saskatchewan, South
Saskatchewan, Qu'Appelle, and Carrot. The North and South Saskatchewan
rise in the Rockies and have a general easterly trend. The Red Deer
flows into the South Saskatchewan, about 150 miles north of the United
States boundary. The South Saskatchewan runs east nearly half way across
the Province, then turns north and enters the North Saskatchewan a
little east of Prince Albert. The South Saskatchewan, with the
Qu'Appelle, intersects the Province from east to west. The Carrot rises
south of Prince Albert and runs parallel to the North Saskatchewan, into
which it flows near "The Pas," and the junction point of the Hudson Bay
Railway, now under construction.
=Lumbering.=--North and east of Prince Albert, the present centre of the
lumber industry, lumbering is extensive. In the northern forest the
timber is black and white spruce, larch or tamarack, jack pine, aspen or
white poplar, balsam or black poplar, and white birch.
=Game and Fish.=--In the north, furs are secured for the world's markets
and fishing is carried on extensively.
=Education.=--Schools are sustained by provincial aid and local rates.
Except in special cases where qualified teachers cannot be obtained, the
teacher must hold a certificate from the Department of Education. The
university is supported and controlled by the Province, a department of
which is a college of agriculture with some of Canada's best educators
and agricultural specialists on the faculty. Nowhere do agricultural
authorities give greater attention to the welfare and education of the
farmer than in the newer districts of this Province.