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CANADA.

Ho DES

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ISSUED BY AUTHORITY
OF THE GOVERNMENT
OF ONTARIO.

THECDPP,CLARKCO,UM?UTH.IDRDNTQ.

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ONTARIO

AS A HOME FOR THE

British Tenant Farmer

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WHO DESIRES TO BECOME

HIS OWN LANDLORD.

Issued by Authority of the Government of Ontario.

Hon. ARTHUR S. HARDY, M. P. V.

C'wunis.tiono' of IniMuiraUon.

DAVID .SPENCE,

S(('V(t(ir>i fiinninnitiim Drpurtvunt.

TORONTO:

PRiNTEn liY Warwick & Sons, 26 & 28 Front Street West.

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PROVINCE OF

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CONTENTS.

Intkohuction ; PAdKH.

Ellucts of EinijL^ratioii Rapid Pni'^ross of tin- Now Coiii-

iiuuiitie-t — UpitoitunitioH for liiclividiials .'{-5

'rilK PRCVINCK OK OsTAItlO :

Extent iiiul (leoifnipliical I'osition— Pliyaical Fuaturos and
Natuiiil W.jiilih-The Settled Portion— Tlu> Insuttled
Portion — Population ti-S

PjtovjNciAi, AND Municipal Systkms of Governmknt:

Powers and Constitution of Local (iovernnu'iit— Division of

the Province .,)r Municipal and .Judicial purpuscH HO

Educationai, and Otukh Institutions:

Free Public and Sei)arate Schools School Statistics- -Model
Schools — Agi icuUural Cnllege and M>)ilel Farm -B'armers'
Institutes — Agricultural Societies, etc. — Religious De-
f(; nominations — National and other Societies, etc., etc .... !)-l4

Climate, A(;ckss to Makkkts, Soil, Pkouctions, etc. :

Salubrity of the Climate — The Seasons —Access to the
World's Markets — Toronto— Local Markets — Varieties of
Soil— Testimony of Prof. Sheldon— Hon. I). A. Wells—
Average Yield per Acre — Dairy Farming and Stock
Raising — Fruit Farming, Vine Culture 14-23

AURICULTURAL STATISTICS :

Live Stock Trade — Present value of Live Stock — Export of
Cheese — Butter — Ontario's Progress in F'^ifty Years-
f| Lmnbering — Mining 24-26

Facilities for obtaining Fakais :

Why Farms are Cheap — British System adapted to Ontario
Farms— Price of I'anning Lands — Cheap Farms — Rent-
ing Farms '20-29

Free Grant Lands:

Townships open for Location — Settlement Duties — New Free
Grant Region— Riviny River — Splendid Soil — How to
Settle on a Free Grant 29-32

Farm Labourers and Domestic Servants :

Prospects of Employment — Rates of Wages 32

^^s'ii

INTRODUCTION.

The subject of emigration is oiui which has occupied and will con-
tinun to occupy a larnci shiro of pul)lic attcMition. Tho philanthropist
and the statesman regard it as an important factor in their schemes
for the well-being of the people. The man of energy recognises in
it the opening of new and wider fields for his enterprise, and to
anyone who aspires to the possession of an independent home, whether
as the reward of his industry or at the cost of a moderate outlay of
capital, it iilfordd the means whereby he can gratify his ambit ion. For
generations there has l)een an unceasing annual outflow of p > .ulation
from the British Isles, and those who wt-re left behind have thereby
enjoyed freer scope for the [)ursuit of material cop rt and aocifi
progress, for it ha'^ mitigated the pressure of the ever swell: ^g num-
bers who are cioNvJing each other in tl e battle of life, and to that
extent i' l;as inod(!rated the keenness of home competition.

But what of those who went forth to seek their fortunes in new
fields ? Have they fared worse than those they left behind them ?
The history of the new countries, peopled mainly by Uritish
emigrants, answers tlie (juestion most emphatically in the negative.
It proves beyond controversy that the emigrants have, by ♦hrir
industry and enterprise, built up new communities rivalling the old
in every element that constitutes a nation's greatness and contributes
to the happiness of its inhabitants. The rapid growth of these new
communities is the most remarkable feature in the history of the
present century. Compare the record of the British Colonies with
that of any European country, not excepting Britain, and what do
we find 1 A progress that equals if it does not exceed the ratio of
fifty to one in favour of the Colonies in all that goes to make up the
material well-being of the )>opulation. And what is true of the
Colonies as a wliole is true in a measure of the individuals who have
made them.

Take tlie Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of (^anada, as a
sample. There, substantial wealth or^a reasonable competency, i
within the reach of every industrious nmn whose efforts are
gently directed. Tlie penniU ss pioneer of a few years ago is the
substantial, independent farmer of to-day. The uplifting of the

tency, is "^
intt llj- J

ir\ Id fVi£k '

ONTAltIO AS A HOME

poople ill sociiil and material ooi.ifort is a process as visibly going on
from year to year fc.s the revolution of the seasons. Its progress is
recorded in the annual advance in the value of their accumulated
; property, in the increase of their trade both in imports and exports,

in the establishment and development of religious, educational and
benevolent institutions, in the spread of social refinement, in the
cultivation of the sciences, in the appliance of every art that
niinist(irs to the happiness of human life. Nor are these conditions
the result of long and painful evolution, taking genei'otions for their
development. Tlu^ young man, with no capital, if possessing only
an average knowledge of agricultural labour, and devoting himself
earnestly to work, may, with the exercise of reasonable economy,
realize a competence by the time he has reached middle life ; and the
man who is a practical farmer, and the possessor of means sufficient
to stock an average Knglish farm, can at once liegin life in Ontario
as his own laai'.lnrd, with every assurance of a prosperous career
before him.

The present condition of agricultural industry in the British Isles
offers no such encouraging prospects either to the labourer, or the
farmer with limited capital. Statements have very recently been
made public, through the English pre.ss, contirming the conclusion
that the existing depression re.sts on no mere temporary or
easily removable (!ause, and a brief reference to the figures
given will not b(^ out of place here. A tenant farmer in Lincoln-
shire, who is described as an e.vcellent managei-, a good business
man, and a recognized authority on agricultural matters in his
neighbourhood, publishes a statement, covering ten years of his
receipts and expenditure, on a farm of 480 acres. During that
period, his average annual receipts were five pounds less than his
expenditure, and for the year 1885, his receipts fell short of his
expenditure by over £360. A Berkshire farmer publishes a state-
ment, showing deficiencies of about £800, £G00, and £l,irr) for the
years 188:], "81 and 188."), respectively, on a (iOO acre farm. In the
^'^^j former case, there is a chai'ge of ") per cent, for interest on a capital

of .£4,000 ; in the latter of nearly £7,000 : but it will be seen that
the farm<>r in each case is virtually, though slowly sinking his capital.
The Lincolnshire farmer received 31 per cent, less for his wheat, 12
per cent, less for his barley, 24 per cent, less for his wool, and 21 per

\>-

KOI! THK MHITISH TKNAN 1' I AllMKIf. 6

c(^nt. loss for lii.s live stock sold in 1)^85, than the average prices he
had received during the ten years ending with 1S84. This decline is
attributed chieHy to the competition from America, India, and Aus-
tralia, and that competition is inevitably destined to increase as the
agricultural capaiiilities of these countries are more fully developed.

In the face of these facts, emigration jippears the most reasonable
hope for permanent improvement in the circumstances and surround-
ings of farmers of limiteil means, as well as of agricultural labourers.
Where the cultivable area is so small, and the ]iopulation so dense,
the most lil)eral land laws cannot counteract the lowering intluences
of competition, and against these intluences only the few can hope to
rise above the average level, which will always be below the normal
condition of the same class in a country wherein land is plentiful,
and its ownershij) of easy acquisition. In a country like Canada,
and especially in the Province of Ontario, the farm labourer can, in
a few years, gather means enough to rent a farm ; in a few years
more, by well-directed industry, ha will, under ordinary circumstances,
be in a position to liuy one for himself. The fanner with moderate
means, can begin at once as his own landlord ; or if lie prefers (which
is not a bad plan) to acquire a little experience and personal knowledge
of the country, he can rent for a short term, until he has had time to
make up his mind as to the locality in which he would like to " settle
down.

It is because of these opportunities, open to all, of accjuiringa home
and a competence in a comparatively few years, rather than for any
immediate accunnilation of wealth, or the |)rospe(l of inordinately
high wages, that Ontario offers an exceptionally attractive tield to
the British agriculturist. Though other portions of tin- Dominion,
and especially Manitoba and the great Xorth-West, may prcr'ent
special inducements to the ambitious and adventurous, the Province
of Ontario is, for many icasons. the one which olfers in the greatest
degree, all the advantages of the New World. coml)ined with the
least sense of deprivation of the comforts of the Old, and to the
British farmer, the most congenial and homelike surroundings. To
the Province of Ontario, therefore, the "emarks in the following pages
will be chieHy confined, and their object w"'l be to show in a plain
way, the facilities it affords to the British agriculturist to establish
himself in comfort and independence.

ONTARIO AS A HOME

THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO.

Ontario embraces an area of about two hundred tliousand square
miles, nearly eighty thousand more tlian the UnitiHl Kingdom. It
extendrf from east to west nearly eleven hundred miles, and from
north to south seven hundred miles. Its southern l)order, Essex
County, on the sliores of Lake Erie, is traversed by the 4'2nd parallel,
and its norihern, at James' 15ay (forming the southern extremity of
Hudson's I5ay) by the 52nd, so that it lies within the same degrees of
latitude as Michigan, New York, and the New England States, as
well as the greater portion of the most fertile countries in Europe.
Tlie International boundary line, dividing Canada from the United
States, which runs through the River St. Lawrence, and the great
chain of lakes, Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, forms the southern
and southwestern boundary of the Province ; on the west lies the
Province of ManitoI)a ; on the north the District of Keewatin and
James' liay, and northeasterly the Ottawa River divides it from
Quebec, the latter Province forming the eastern boundary.

It is bountifully supplied with wat-^r throughout its whole extent ;
patches of swamp lands are numerous in nearly every distiict, but
they are usually of small dimensions, and the " cedar swamp " though
little fitted for the purposes of agriculture, is exceedingly valuable to
a neighbourhood on account of the durability of its timber, and its
special adaptability for the making of shingles, posts, fence-rails,
paving-blocks, etc., etc. But nowhere is there an arid district, or
one in which an abundant water-supply cannot be readily procured,
both for man and beast. Besides innumerable lakes, rivers, creeks,
and streamlets, springs abound in many localities, and everywhere
under the soil, pure wholesome water can be "struck " at distances
varying from fourteen to forty feet, so that sinking a well, which is
frequently a necessity for an isolated household, is very seldom
attendtid with much trouble or great expense.

Redeemed, as the cultivated portion of the Province has been,
from the primeval forest, it is needless to say that its vast wealth of
timber is still one of its most valuable heritages, capable of furnishing
an abundant supply, both for home consumption and for every
probable demand that commerce can make upon it, for centuries to
come. Though much has been added, of late years, to the general

FOR THE BRITISH TENANT FARMER.

knowledge of the subjoct, the gre;\t region which is considered to be
the main depository of nature's most lil>eral gifts in mineral wealth,
is as yet almost unexplored, and only known as to its general external
features. But enough is already established to show that the Lake
Superior district is enormously rich in iron, silver, copper and other
minerals, and now that the Canadian Pacilic railway is running
through that country, an early development of the mining industry
is sure to follow. In the Ottawa region, in addition to the metals
already mentioned, there have bi'en considerable finds of gold, while
the quarrying of plaster of paris, or gypsiun and marl)le of excellent
quality, are both profitable industries. In the southern district, near
Lake Huron, are the famous oil springs), from which petroleum is
obtained in immense quantities ; and further to the north in the same
district, are prolific salt wells, which send forth an abundant su|)ply
of brine, the salt obtained from which forms a large item in the com-
merce of the place. There are also considerable areas of peat beds in
several parts of the Pi'ovince ; its rivers and lakes are well supplied
with fish, and its forests with game. But the great and abounding
element of Ontario's natural wealth is in its soil, and to it and its
products it is desired to direct the attention of intending emigrants.
Before speaking of the agricultural capabilities of Ontario it seems
proper to make a brief reference to its government and institutions,
so that the emigrant may form some idea how much, or rather how
little, of old world manners and ways that are desirable to preserve,
he will have to pxrt with should he make Ontario his future home.
This Province is the most populous and wealthy in the Dominion.
Though the newest of all the old Provinces, it has made much more
rapid progress than any of the others. Its settlements, extending first
along the banks of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers and the shores
of tlie great lakes, have been gradually pushing backward towards the
north and west, so that now as far north as (and including) Jtm County
of Renfrew on the east and the County of Bruce on the west — from
the Ottawa River to Lake Huron on a line about midway between
the 45Lh and 4Gtli parallel — ^forins one solid and compact setth.ment,
with Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the River St.
Law*rence for its southern boundary. In this are included the whole
of the forty-two counties comprising what may be termed the com-
pletely and permanently organized portion of the Province, within

8 ONTAltlO AS A iloMK

which ahuost all the Jicquired wealth and nearly the entire popul.l-
tion are concentrated, and in which there is neither a barren spot
nor a single township that is not partially occupied. This though a
small part of the territory embraced within the geographical bound-
aries of the Province (as the reader will perceive by examining the
accompanying map) is really what is ordinarily spoken of as
"Ontario": but though the county divisions have, not yet l)een
pushed further north and west into Muskoka, Parry Sound, Nipis-
sing, Algonia, Thunder Pay and Rainy River l)istricts, into which
the main part (geographically speaking) of the Province is divided,
yet the Judicial, educational and municipal institutions are carried
along with the advance of settlement into these districts, and the in-
habitants have also their representatives in the Legislative; Assembly,
so that the description of the general institutions of the Province
apply to them as to the older localities, in so far as they are fitted
for their introduction. At the lust census, taken in April, 1881,
li che poj)tdation of the Province was 1,1)23, 'J'iS, and is at present

<?stimated at consideral)ly over two millions.

PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS OF

GOVERNMENT.

The Provincial Governinent has exclusive jurisdiction in (juestions
relating to property and civil rights, education, municipal govern-
ment, and all other niatlers of local concern, as distingui.shed from
those of a general character which are under the control of the
Dominion or Federal (lovernment at Ottawa. It comprises an
Executive, and a Legislative Assembly, forming together what is
called the Legislature (or Parliament) for the making, amending or
repealing of the laws, having the same powers over the matters
assigned to it, and conducting its business with the same forms and
under similar rules as the Parliament of Canada, or the Imperial
Parliament. The Lieutenant-Governor (re})reseiiting the Queen, in
whose name he sanctions the Bills passed by the Legislative
Assembly) is advised by an Executive Council composed of six
members, who form the Cabinet and preside ovei- the six depart-
mt ments, vi/. : Law ; Finance (and Agriculture) ; Education ; Piiblic

i Works ; Crown Lands ; Provincial Secretary (and Immigration),

into which the Administration is divided. They hold seats in tho
Legislative Assembly and administer affairs so long only as they

FOlt THK lililrlSH TKNANT FAIiMKK. 9

retain the coiifidenco of the people's representatives, precisely after
the manner, and following the very forms of British parliiuiientary
government ; but altogether unfettered by any hereditary Ijranch as
in Great Britain, or by a nominated Senate as in the Dominion.
The Legislative Assembly holds annual sessions and is re-elected
every four years (unless sooner dissolved) under a franchise law so
liberal that every man above tli<! age of twenty-one years, and being
a British subject by birth or naturalization, who earns his own living, *
may qualify himself as a voter.

The old portion of the Province (above described) is divided into
forty-two counties and the.so into townships (answering to English or
Scotch "parishes," and usually about ten or twetve miles square).
The counties have their Judges, Registrars (of Deeds), Sheriffs and
County (Councils. The County Judge also holds Division {i.e.,
Small Debt) Courts, in the several divisions into which his county is
divided, several times during the year, and a semi-annual Court of
Assize is held at the (Jounty Town, so that law and justice in all
matters of business or of contention, whether civil or criminal, are ^

brought to the very doors of the people. The County Councils are ]\

composed of one or more representatives from each township, town
or incorporated \illage within the geographical limits of the county,
and administer all municipal affairs in accordance with the municipal
laws of the Province. The townships have also their Councils,
whose duty it is to administer local municipal matters, and one or
more of whose members represent the township in the County
Council. The cities, of which there are eleven, and the towns and
villages, of which there are upwards of 200, and the number
increasing every year, have also their Municipal Councils, the whole
system of municipal government being thoroughly understood and
carried out to its fullest extent among the people, nearly all of whom
take an active interest in public questions of a local character. The
municipal elections are held annually on the first Monday in January,
and the electors are comj)osed of the ratepayers, whose names appear
on the assessment roll of the j)revious year.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, ETC.

The educational i)istitutions of Ontario are such as to [)lace it in
the very front rank among the nations of the earth. Not to speak
of its higher in.stitutions of learning— its Universities, Colleges and

10 ONTAIUO AS A HOME

'I!

Academies for iinilc and toiiiale pupils — it lias a PuUlic School sys-
tem whicli provides ample means for giving a good common education
to all throughout tJie length and breadth of the land. From the
free ))ublic school the pupil may graduate to the High School or
Collegiate Institute, where he will get an education to (jualify him
for his University Matriculation Examination. The University of
Toronto, a libei-ally endowed and well-appointed institution as now
constituted, is in fact the complement and completion of the Ontario
Educational System, with which are atiiliated many of the Ecclesi-
astical or Denominational Colleges of the Province, while it is purely
non sectarian.

The Educational System is administei-ed as a Department of the
Government with a member of the Executive Council at its head?
and the gtjneral management, like that of the Municipal System, is
in the hands of the people, tlirough Local Boards of School Trustees
elected by the ratepayers. In the rural districts the townships are
divided into school sections of convenient size, so that the pupils
within the section may be able to attend the school which generally
occupies a central position. By this arrangement, and by the
jy additional aid given to " poor sections " in sparsely settled districts,

the conveniences of educating the young are carried into the woods
with the progress of settlement. The schools are free to the pupils,
and attendance either at the public school or at some private or
other school is compulsory between the ages of seven and thirteen
years, but the enforcement of the compulsory clause is entirely
optional with the authorities in each locality.

The expenditure on education is not stinted, however, as in 1884
it amounted to $3,280,862, while the receipts for the same year
were fS3.723,138. This money is derived partly from local rates of
ass(^ssment levied on property, partly from lands originally set apart
as Clergy Reserves or for school purposes, and partly from an annual
grant from the Le^i.^latuie. Since 187G there has been an increase
of $328,880 in the revenue from municipal assessments. The
average cost per pupil at tlie public schools is $7.02 per annum.
Separate schools may be estalilL-^hed by Roman Catholics in any
section or union of sections, and thereupon they receive their own
taxes and a proportion of the annual Government grant for the sup-
port of such separate school and are released from supporting the

FOR THI<; BFUTISIl TENANT FAUMPni. U

public seliool. By this arrangineut sectarian strife or wraiiLcling
over " niixed " .schools is entirely avoided, and both Protestants and
Catliolics art! satisfied.

The number of cliildren of school age, that is between Hve and
sixteen years, in 1884 was 471,287 ; the total number of pupils of
all ages attending school was 404,369 ; the total nuniber of teachers
was 7,085, and the total nun)ber of schools 5,31 G. These figures
include the stali^stics of the separate schools for Koman Catholics, of
which there were 207 in operation in 1884.

Another important branch of the system is that of the Model
Schools for the training of teachers. They were introduced in 1876,
and have since proved most advantageous to the educational piogress
of the Province, by supplying a class of competently-trained teachers.
These schools are distributed throughout the Province to the
number of Hfty-two, in which, last year (1885), the total number of
student-teachers was 1,30,"). Of a higher grade than these are the
Training Institutes, authorized in 1885, for the training of Assistant-
Masters in High Schools and First-Class Public School Teachers, and
besides these there are several Normal Schools and Collegiate
Institutes, all engaged in preparing the youth of both sexes either
for a University course, or for the teaching profession, or for any
other walk in life they may choose to follow. No other country
offers greater, and very few more economical, facilities for obtaining
a thorough education ; and this is a consideration which should have
great weight with emigrants in deciding where they may cast their
lot.

The Agricultural College and Model Farm, near the City of
Guelph, forty-nine miles from Toronto, in the midst of a fine farming
district, were established by the Government, under the administrative
control of the Commissioner of Agriculture (who also holds the office
of Provincial Treasurer, and is a member of the Executive), for the
special purpose of giving a practical and scientific education to the
sons of farmers. Of this institution. Professor Sheldon, an eminent
English authority, said : — " It is a flourishing, though quite a young
institution, and its influence is being felt on the agriculture of the
Province. The students receive an agricultural education in which
science is happily blended with practice, and theory is borne oi't by
demonstration." The farm consists of some 550 acres, and is fitted

!
ill

ONTAIilo AS A llo.MK

with every applianco for successfully carrying out its purpose ni
giving to the youth who attend it a thorough and practical knowledge
of every biauch of agriculture, more especially of those branches
llj which are best adapted for profitable prosecution in the Province,

according to conditions of climate and soil. It is couductfd by an
able staft' of professors, instructors, etc., etc., and the fees are exceed-
ingly moderate For residents who are the sons of farmers, or who
have sei'ved an apprenticeship of one year on a farm, 820 a year : for
resir^ents who are not farmers' sons, and hav(^ not served an appren-
ticeship on a (arm, $'M) a year : for non-residents who have served an
jj a[)prenticeship on a Canadian farm, $rtO a year ; and for non-residents

111 who have not served an apprenticeship, $100 for the first, and .$-">0

jjj for the second year, it will be observed that the scale of fees is

f\ graduated in favour of the people of the Province, while strangers

■if'

,i,i are permitted to enjoy its advantages by an extra payment.

|i The Model Farm has conferred great benefit on the agriculturists

!!!' of the Province, by the importation of thoroughbred stock from (ireat

i! Britain, and l)y holding annual sales as the animals multiply on tlie

! farm. In order that farniir.s in all parts of the Province may share

|ji ■ equally in the advantages of this arrangement, the animals bought at

I, the sale arc; delivered at the pur haser's residence free of expense.

1; It must be obvious that such an institution is calculated to aid very

|j| materially in the development of every branch of agricultural industry.

li In connection with the College, a series of meetings is held through-

ll out the different counties at stated periods, called " Farmers' In-

jij stitutes,"at\vlucli the farmers of the county or neighbourhood assemble

l' to exchange experiences and discuss improved methods of prosecuting

their calling. These meetings are attended by one or more of the
Professors of the College, or by other competent lecturers, who give
instructions suitable to the season, and with the view of improving
the methods pursued in that particular locality. Butter making,
cheese making, sheep faiming, the rearing of young cattle, etc., etc.,
as well as the varieties of manure, the management of the soil, and
kindred subjects, form the ordinai-y topics of discussion at these
" Institutes," and much good has already been effected by them.

The Provincial, the County, and the Township Agricultural
Societies, sustained partly by the Government and partly by voluntary
contributions, through the agency of their annual exhibitions stin«u-

FOU THK IJIUTISM TKNANT FAlJMKIi. 18

late progress by lu^altliful competition and a liberal distiibution of
prizes ; and the- Bureau of Statistics, established by the (lovernnient,
for the collection and monthly publication of crop reports, and the
othcial collection and dissemination of statistics, and other information
bearing on the condition \nd progress of agriculture and other
industries, furnishes another and (juitc; a valuable aid to the farmer,
in making his calculations as to crops and nmrkets.

A further instance of the watchful interest which the Government
takes ill the farmer's prosperity, and of its willingness to help him
forward, is tlie aid afforded lor the estal)lishment of a Model
Creamery in the Province, so that l>utter making, whidi is
already becoming an important br inch of the farmers' business, may
be rendered still more profitable. It also makes an allowance from
the public chest to assist the farmers in planting shade trees on the
highways adjoining their farms, where the local municipalities under-
take the superintendence of the v/ork. In so far as legislation can l)e
made to encourage the farmer in carrying enterprises to profitable
results, he can have no possible reason of complaint against the
Ontario Legislature, but on the contrary, many good reasons for
thankfulness that his interests have been so well considered, and this
perhaps- may safely be said to liave resulted from the large measure
of influence which he enjoys in the direction of public affairs.

Ontario is most liberally supplied with churches. The principal
denominations of (Christians lank as to numbers in the following
order, as given in the census of 1881 : Methodists, (the several bodies
of Methodists are now united in one as the " Methodist Church of
Canada") 591,50.-$; Presbyterians, 417,749; Church of England,
;$66,r)69 ; Roman Catholics, ;VJ0,839 ; Baptists, 10«),680. All
denominations stand on the same footing before the law, there being
no State Church, nor cliurch rates, nor tithes. They are all supported
on the voluntary principle, and while appav(!ntly having an abundant
supply of funds for their own proper purpose.^, they contribute liberally
to charitable and missionary enterprises, both within and without
the Dominion of Canada. The feeling prevailing among the several
bodies towards each other is one of friendly sympathy and rivalry in
doing good, and religious distinctions are entirely excluded from con-
sideration in the combinations which form the two great political
parties of Liberals and Conservatives,

14 ONTAKIO AS A HOME

National and benevolent societitis, tcmiutrance societies in con-
nection with, or independent of, the chui-ohes, literary and musical
societies, and social clubs, are plentiful in the cities and towns, and
there are numerous ways of maintaining social intercourse in the
rural districts. Upon the whole, the British emigrant who settles
down in Ontario, will find that social life there is very much like
what it is " at home " among the well-to-do people, both in town and
country — except that in Ontario the freedom of intercourse may
strike him as being somewhat less restrained. He will mingle with
people of the same stock as himself, but he will find a more intimate
and friendly admixture of English, Scotch and Irish than he is likely
to have been accustomed to before. He will have transferred himself
from the land where the three nations make one kingdom, to the
land where the children of the three nations make one people ; but
in this change, either in its cocial or its political aspects, he will find
nothing that should wound his susceptibilities ; l)ut rather let it be
hoped, the freer development of the most estimable qualities in each
|! • harmonizing in the formation of a new national character, alike

I]! honourable to the people of Canada, and to the countries from which

P they have sprung.

f CLIMATE, ACCESS TO MARKETS, SOIL, PRODUC-

f TIONS, ETC.

Ill

The climate of Ontario varies according to latitude, elevation and

situation with reference to the great lakes, liut is, upon the whole,

one of the most pleasant and healthful in the world. The extremes

of heat and cold are far greater than in Great Britain, but the purity

and drymss of the atmosphere render the hottest days in summer,

as well as the coldest in winter, endurable without discomfort. Foes

are rarely seen, except in the mornings of spring and autumn, and

though the rainfall averages about the same as that of Great Britain,

one year with another, yet the " rainy days " are much fewer in

number, and more certain in their seasons of recurrence. The old

description of Canadian seasons — " six months of winter and six

months of summer " — is not true of any Province in the Dominion,

^l though it may be approximately corn-ct as to some localities in the

north-eastern and north-western territories. But as to Ontario it

has no application whatever.

Foil Tlili liUlTlSU TENANT I'AUMKU. 15

In tho .southern region, bordcrina; on the lower bikes (Krio and
Ontario) the winter usually begins about Christmas and lasts until
the latter part of March. Further to tho north it begins a little
earlier, say about the middle of December, and breaks up during the
first or second week in April. Except in the northern region there
is no winter in Ontario lasting over four months, and its average
duration in the settled portion of the Province (previously described)
is from three months in the southern anU western to three and
a-half or at the most four months in the e(\st< rn and northern dis-
tricts. The winter storms are comparatively rare— such violent
hurricane.s, cyclones, or "blizzards" as occasionally visit the
western States of the American Union, carrying d6;ath and destruction
before them, are altogether unknown— and the public highway and
railway trathc is never " blocked " or interrupted more than a few
hours at a time, even in the stormiest weather. Though in the
northern parts of the Province tho winter begins earlier and breaks
up later than in the southern, yet so far as settlenn nt has yet
advanced to the west and north the seasons have otlered no bar to
the successful prosecution of agriculture.

April ushers in the spring which comes with great rapitlity, the
luxuriant vegetation being a perennial source of wonder and admira-
tion even to those who have witiiessed it for twenty or thirty years,
but whose memories recur to the slower growth with which they
were made familiar in the country uhere they spent their youth.
For the practical purposes of the farm the spring is a " short "
season and a busy one. The genial rains whith fall liberally in April
and May, and the incrertsing warmth of air and soil push forward
vegetation with great vigour, and in a few weeks the summer time
and the harvest are hurried on together.

The summer season is usually reckoned from the middle or end of
May to the middle of Septeml)er. Under the steady warmth and
refreshed by occasional brief but copious showers, the crops make
rapid progress, and the month of June is hardly finished ere the hum
of preparation for the harvest is heard. Hay -cutting begins al out
the end of June, and the wheat liarvest in the first week of July, in
the most southern parts of the Province. In other localities both
operations begin a week or two later accurding to f-ituation. All the
other grain crops follow in rapid succession, so that before the end

\(\

ONTAUIU AS A IIOMK

If'i

III

* «

of Au^'ust thf! hurvr.,t is complf'tcd througlioiit the Province. The
ijivrvcst time is usuiiUy the period of extreme summer heat, yet those
who work in th(! open fiehl, under th(^ rays of the sun in the middh-
of tlie hottest days, seldom suffer injury or even seriouH diseouifort
if they use ordinary precrautions for their prot(!ction.

The autumn season, caUed the " Fall," is the most delieiously-
enjoyal)le weather of the whoh; year to those who do not give the
preference to the crisp air, the keen frost and the music of the sleigh-
bells in winter. Autumn is not less lieautiful than summer ; the
atmosphen* is cooler, hut in October and sometimes in Noveiuber the
days are of a gonial warmth, and th(; nights cool and refreshing.
The operations on the farm at this season consist mainly of prepara-
tions for the next approaching seasons of winter and spring. The
gathering and storing of root crops, the " fall " ploughing and the
preparations generally for wintering stock, etc., should keep the
farmer and his help bu.sy, whenever the state of the weather permits.
It is usual to have a fluri-y of snow some time in November, which,
however, si^ldom lies mor<» than a day or two, when it disappears,
and the cool, open weather, with occasional heavy lains, runs well
on through December, especially in the south-western districts.

There is much inisconception as to the severity and unbearable-
neas of the e.xtremes of (Canadian sc^asons. Hut neither the winter,
bv the rigour of its cold, nor the summer, by the intensity of its
heat, should frighten away the British emigrant from the Province
of Ontario. The testimony of those who have had (experience of the
seasons both in Britain and Ontario, is without exception favourable
to the climate of the latter as being decidedly more salubrious and
enjoyaV)le throughout the whole year, ft may be mentioned also
that the summer days are shorter and the winter days are longer in
Ontario than in Britain, and with the pure, dry atmosphere, the
bright sunshine of the day-time and the clear starlit sky at night,
which are connnon characteristics of a Canadian winter, this season,
besides being one of great commercial activity, offers numerous
facilities for healthful exercise and rational enjoyment, and is
welcomed by many as the most delightful of all the seasons. The
snow, it should be mentioned, instead of being a barrier to travel, as
in many other countries, is the great improver of the roads. In
winter sleighr^ are sub.stituted for wheeled vehicles, and horses can

FOR THK BRITISH TKNANT FAllMEU. 17

tlicn draw nuioh hoavior loads at greater Hpned over the liard-pack(!d
8Mi)\v, which lu'S oil tho ground in most parts of the l*roviiic«» from
th(3 hi^giuning to ..he end of the winter H(!aHon.

Tlie position of Ontario with respect to its means of access to the
markets of th(^ world, is superior to that of nearly every one of its
competitors in the same line of products, and is surpassed by none.
The wheat-growing, tlio stock-raising, butter and cheese exporting
sections of th(! United States, and the great grain fields of the
future in the Canadian and American North- West, are not so well
placed towards the Hritish marki'ts (which rule the prices) as is the
Province of Ontario. Its interior means of transport are ample.
At half a dozen dilb^rent points its railway system connects with that
of the United States. Its magnificent system of lake, canal and river
navigation acconimod. •» not alone its own trade, but also a great poi-
tion of the trade of the Western States. Its seaports are Montreal and
(^)uebecin summer, and Portland and Halifax in winter, with access at
nil times to Boston, New York, etc., etc. Toronto, its capital, the seat
of the Government and Legislatiire, of the Universities and other
institutions of learning, and of the Law (Jourts, is a tine and nourish-
ing city of 120,000 inhabitants, and offers a ready market for much
that the farmer has to sell. Tt is the head-quarters of the principal
exporters of live stock and of the leading men in commercial and
manufacturing business, and the centre of a complete n.-jtwork of
railways extending throughout the Province in all directions. The
trip from Toronto to Liverpool can now be made with ease and com-
fort in nine days, or even less time ; and the British farmer does
not require to be told that the rates of freight are such that beef,
butter, cheese, etc., can be carried from Ontario, laid down in
English markets and .sold at prices so low that lie cannot compete
with them except at an actual loss. But he should know that he
can avoid this loss by transferring his capital and his skill to the
Province of Ontario and investing both in agricultural pursuits.

The markets throughout the Province are within easy reach of the
farmer in every settled district. The highways are substantially
made and kept in good repair, the towns and villages are thickly
dotted over the country, being seldom more than from five to ten
miles apart, and excepting in the new and far northern settlements,
Almost every farm is within fifteen miles of a railway station. The

ONTARIO AS A HOME

h !

' I

il ^

question of easy access to market is one which might be supposed to
involve serious dilHculties in a country embracing such a wide range
of distances ; but practically the means of transport are so ample
and tlie freight rates so regulated and upon the whole so low, that
there is no settled part of the Province in which it presents material
obstacles, either as to cost or convenience.

Ontario has many varieties of soil, nearly all of which are fertile
and of easy cultivation. The most common are the loams of different
kinds, black, clay and sandy. Tiiere are also light and heavy clay
soils, sandy soils, and in some districts marsh and alluvial soils of
great depth resting on clay bottoms. The old farms are in some
places partially worn out through long continued wheat cropping ;,
but they still yield a profitable return if cultivated with the view to
stock raising or dairy farming, the two branches which promise, in
the future, to be the leading features of agricultural industry iu
Ontario, and the tendency of which is to restore and enrich the soil.
On this subject, the following extract, from the report of Professor
Sheldon, of the Wilts and Hants Agricultural College, England, is
instructive and exactly to the point. He says : —

" Tliure are inany kinds of soil in this j)iiit of the ^'"ovince, most of
which iU'o fertile and easy to cultivate. The most coninion soils are loams
of one kind or another, comprising all the varieties included in the terms
"sandy" and " clay " loams ; then, there are light soils of various kinds,
clays and marsh soils, most of them more or less impregnated with organic
matter. Many of these soils — I speak now of farms that have been long
under cultivation — were at iirst well adapted to rl'e growtli of wlr.'at, but
il apjiears, that in many ])laces, wheat has been grown so repeatedly on the
land that it will no longer j)roduce the cro])s of it that were f(jrmerly easy
to obtain; The fact is, this one croj) has lieen grown so very often that
tlie land lias l)econie deficient in the elements neeessaiy to it ; the same
land will, however, grow very good crops of other kinds — roots, clover,
barley, jteas, (jats, and the like, while in some parts profitable crops of
Indian corn are gi'own ; the latter, however, is almost an inexhausting
crop, even more completely so than wheat, but not so cpiickly, and can
only ])e grown to profit on a rich soil and a hot climate. The difierence
between the two crops is this : — Wheat exhausts a soil of certain elements,
leaving tlie rest comparatively mitouclied : but maize is a generally
exhausting cro]), less de))endaiit on special elements, Imt feeding, ii.; it
wore, on all alike ; and so it follows that it (^an Ijc grown for a longer time
before the land shows signs of exhaustion, which at last is so thorough that
fertility is restored with gi'eat ditKculty. There is, however, a great deal
of good wheat land in Ontario and much more of it to be cleared. The
partially exhausted land, too, will come roimd again, and will grow wheat
profitably as before, but it is only good farming that will bring this about.
The farmers of (.)nta]io dedaie that they would hardly have known what

FOR THE BRITISH TENANT FARMER. 19

U) (Iff with tlieir land if it wore not fm' clieeso-making, luul parliciilarly for
tho new cattle and buef trade witli England. Wheat, wheat, nothing hut
wheat as a ])aying crop was sinii)ly exhausting the land, returning nothing
to it ; cattle raising jiaid poorly, because the demand was limited ; and
cheese-making could only be ])rorttaV)ly carried (m in the districts suitable
to it. B ' the demand arising in the Old Country for beef, and the
improved means of ti'ansportation over the sea, have i)rovideil a new and
profitable opening towards which the energies of the farmers are being
directed. The jaising of stock suitable to the English market is now a
leading and protitable branch in this part of the Dominion, and it is
encouraging to the cultivation of root and green crops of clovei', Timothy
and other forage crops of green corn, etc., for.soiling. The growth and con-
sum]«tion of these crops, indeed, is the very practice that was needed to
restore fertility to soils which had been injured l)y over-cro])]ting with
wheat. But numbers of the Ontario farmers seem to be so wedded to
wheat-raising, that rather than go extensively into stock-raising and fat-
tening, and tne growth of various rotation crops, more aftei' the Engli.sh
and Scotch models, they prefer to sell out and go to Manitoba and the
NovthWest, a territory which is par cxccllmce a wheat country, and which
must soon become, perhaps, the greatest granary in the world. They are
the more inclined in this direction because they can sell their Ontario
farms at 840 to SlOO an acre, and can buy virgin soil in the North-West
at 81 to $10. Bj' a change of this nature they can easily establish their
children in separate farms, a thing but few of thena could hope to do in
Ontario, where land is comparatively high. They have also the spirit of
restlessness which permeates the Americans as well, but which is scarcely
known in England."

The following eloquent tribute to the excellence of the climate and
the capabilities of the soil of Ontario, is from the pen of the Hon.
David A. Wells, an eminent American statesman, and is clipped from
an article which appeared in the North Americayi lievinw, several
years ago. i.Ir. Wells speaks from an intimate acquaintance with
the country on both sides of the International dividing line, and his
testimony is valuable as that of one whose knowledge and experience
have placed him above the influences of national or sectional preju-
dices. He says : —

" North of Lakes Flrie and Ontario and the River St. Lawi'enco. oast of
Lake Huron, south of tlie 4r)th parallel, and included niaiidy within the
present Dominion Province of Ontario, there is as fair a country as exists
(m the North American Continent, nearly as large in area as New \ork,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio com'hined, and eipial, if not superior to these
States in its agricultural capacity. It is the natural habitat on this con-
tinent of the coud)uig wool sheep, without a full, cheap and reliable supply
of the wool of which species the great worsted manufacturing interest ai
the country cannot prosper, or we should rather say, exist. It is the land
where grows the finest of barley, which the brewing interest of the United
States must have if it ever expects to rival (Jreat Britain in its present
ainiual export of over $11,000,000 of mult products. It raises and giazes
the finest of cattle, with (pialities specially desirable to make good the

I I'

\ *

20 ONTARIO AS A HoME

I li ill (lutorioratioii of stock in other sections, and its climatic conditiona, croated

hi I'i by an almost encirclement of the (Ireat Lakes, specially tit to grow men.

■! ' Such a countiy is one of the i^reatest gifts of Providence to the human

, " [i^ race, better than bonanzas of silver and rivers whose sands contain gold."

This " fair country " is nearly all included in what has been already
described in tliese pages as the organized portion of the Province, or
what is generally known as " Ontario," in the social, or political,
as apart from tlie geographical sense. With reference to the south-
western portion, or what is called the " peninsula " — that is the dis-
trict partially enclosed or surrounded by Lake Ontario, the Niagara
River, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay, embracing
one-half the counties, three-fourths of tlie cities (8 out of 11) and
perhaps more than the same proportion of all the towns and villages
in the Province, has been described by Professor Sheldon in the

■ i! following words

" This portion of Ontario may be regarded as the garden of the Dominion
— literally as well as figuratively the garden-- for it is there that apples,
])ears, grapes, peaches, melons and the like grow in the greatest jn'ofusion,
and with the least trouble on the part of the farmer. Every farm has an
orchard, and it is purely tha farmer's fault if the (n-chard is not an
excellent one, for the climate and the boH are clearly all tliat can be desired,
and the trees will do their share of the work i»rovided the right sorts are
planted, it is usual to plant out peach and ajjjile trees alteiiiately and in
rows in a new orchai'd, and the apple trees are at a distance apart wiiich
will be right when they are fidl grown ; this is done because the peach
trees come to maturity lirst, and liave done bearing bef re the api)le trees
j'e(iuire all the room ; the peach trees are then cut down and the apple
trees occupy all the room, These trees are planted in rows at right angles,
so that there is a clear passage ])etween them whichever v. ay we look, and
the land can be freely cultivated among them ; it is, in fact, usual to take
crops of wheat, tir oats, or maze, from the land during the time the trees
are young, and we often see tine crops of golden grain overtopped by noble
young trees laden with fruit. A faruier may not. of course, look to fruit
I alone to grow rich on, but he often nets a nice roll of dollars out of it, and

i to say the least, it is conducive to hajjpiness to be well sui)i)lied with fruit,

,s while to live in a climate and on a. soil that will pi'oduce it abundantly is

I ' always desirable."

The general productiveness of the soil of Ontario, its adaptability
for raising all kinds of cereaLs, and its superiority over every part of
the United States in the production of barley, are acknowledged facts.
As the seasons vary, however, and tlie results of the harvest are very
different in one year from another, a comparison of results as to the
same crops, in two different years, will give the reader a fair idea of

j i the relative productiveness of the different localities contrasted.

i With this view the following table has been prepared from reliable

FOR THE RRITISH TENANT FARMER.

official sources. It gives the average yield per acre of fall and spring
wheat, barley and oats, in Ontario, and also in ten of the States of
the adjoining Republic, for the years 1882 and 1884 :

AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE. »

In Bushels of

Fall Wheat.

In the years

In Ontario

' Ohio

' Michigan

' Indiana"

' Ilhnois

' Missouri . . . .

' Kansas

' New York....
' 'Pennsylvania .

' Iowa . .

' Minnesota

1882. 1 188-1.

2G.3 I 24.0

16.7 I 15.3

17.8 j 14.0
15.7 i 13.2

16.0
14.0
19.5

18.7
15.3

12.6

Si)ring
Wheat.

16.5
15.0

1882.

16.5

1884. ! 1882,

Barley.

20.2

11.0
13.3

12.5
16.1

28.6
li).!)
25.2
24.0
22.5
23.0
25.7
25.0
23 5
21.7
23.3

1884.

27.3

26.0
23.0
23.0
24.0

Oata.

23.0

j 19.0

j 23.0
i 26.4

1882.

36.4
28.0
33.3
27.0
37.4
34.5
38.1
34.2
27.8
31.8
40.0

1884.

38.9
29.0
32.0
.30.0
33.0

30.0
28.0
32.0
33.3

It may be remarked that within recent years, in consequence of a
cuange introduced in the process of making tlour, the market value
of spring wheat, which formerly ruled from twelve to fifteen per
cent, below that of full wheat, is now fully on a par with it, and that
as a result the farmers are giving greater attention to the preparation
of the soil for the spring crop, and therefon; reaping a better average
yield than formerly. It should also be mentioned that eight out of
the ten States named in the above table do not produce spring
wheat, the conditions therein not being favourable to its profitable
cultivr,i,ion. This circumstance, in connection with the higher market
value of spring wheat from the cause just mentioned, gives additional
force to the claim that even as a grain-producing country Ontario
holds the first rank.

ONTAIUO AS A HOME

llil

i' i I

ft' t'll

i ft'-

II''

^ f'-

But ilattering as the above figures are to the Province of
Ontario, its agriculturists are now turning their attention more and
more to dairy-t'arn)ing and stock-raising, which liave been developed
within a few years to an extent that has given surprising and grati-
fying results, both in illustrating the capabilities of the soil, and in
proving that such farming is far more profitable than the old system.
In the extracts already given reference has been made to these sub-
jects, but the following (also from Prof. Sheldon's report) is of
interest as showing the course to be pursued in the management of
such a farm : —

" The Canadian dairy-faruier has several important advantages over hia
English contemporary, nut the smallest of which is this : hu can grow at
a very moderate cost veiy large crops of forage lor winter use ; clovers and
tiuKjthy tluurish well on most sfjils in Ontario, and I should say that rye
grasses would also, though I did no find they were much employed, if at
all, ill tlie arowth of forage. J think they might be used to advar.tage.
It is also clear, from what I saw in many i)]ace.s, that he can raise abund-
ant crops of swedes and mangokis, and very good ones uf carrots, parsnips,
and the like, Hire then, after the ([uestion of water, are the firs*
reijuisites of successful dairy farming. A rotation of crops is just the
system to re-invigorate the older soils of Ontario, which l>ave been over-
cropi^ed with wheat, and rotations work well in dairy farming. It is true
that good natual })astures are scarce in tlie Province, if indeed there are
any at all which deserve the name from an Englishman's jioint of view
(the best grass land I saw in Ontario was in the neighbourhood of London
and on the way to Hamilton) ; but as I have said, clovers, etc., grow well,
and thej' will answer capitally for jjastures for a year or two, a regular
succession (jf tliem being provided, and it is a simple matter to produce a
lai'ge sujjply of green corn — that is maize before it comes to maturity — for
soiling in summer when the pastures run out. The rotations may be as
follows : (1) Wheat or oats ; (2) Roots and green crops for soiling ; (3)
Oats or barley, seeded down with artificial grasses ; (4, 5, and, if advisable,
0) Orass for forage and pastures. These rotations admit of endless
variation, and in a country where no fossilized restrictions as to cropping
exist, as they ilo in Euglcud, the farmer can always grow the croi)s that
suit his purpose best. The practice at Bow Park is to sow Western corn,
which is a luxuriant cropper, thickly, in drills of eighteen or twenty inches
wide ; in this way the space between the drills is easily horse-hoed, until
the corn is a foot or more high. The corn grows rapidly, and ellectually
smothers the weeds and wild grasses, which grow vigourously in so forcing
a climate. In Canada, as in England, the axiom is true that nothing
cleans the soil of weeds so eflectually as a heavy cultivated crop of soma
kind or otlier. If all the Western corn is not wanted for soiling, the
balance is cut , rid stocked while the leaf is still green, and the grain in
the milk, and it is left out in the fields, and fetched in as it is wanted in
winter ; in this way it makes very good forage, and the stalks, leaves, and
ears are all passed through the chaff-cutter, and all consumed by the stock.
A similar systwm ma/ be fuUuwed with almost viuy ctliMr kind <A suiliuy

FOR THE BRITISH TENANT FARMER. 23

-crop — that is, making into forage for winter that portion of it which is not
wanted for scnling."

Fruit farming (embracing vine culture) is another branch to which
the attention of the intending settler in Ontario should be directed.
In any part of the Province of Ontario the farmer might have his
orchard, and in many parts he has it; but in the early struggle with the
sturdy trees of the forest the pioneer had no time to think of such
luxuries, and hence the planting oforchards was neglected. For many
years, however, the apple trade has been steadily growing in import-
ance, and plums, pears, and peaches, and small fruits of every kind,
form an important item in the marketable products of many a farm.
The fruit region may be described in general terms as extending from
the east end of Lake Huron, along Lake Erie, to the Niagara River,
and including all the counties bordering on Lake Ontario. Though
apples may be cultivated with prolit in any of the settled portions of
the Province, it is only in the southern region above indicated that
fruit culture has up to this time received much attention, and the
success which has attended it has been so encouraging that vineries,
orchards and fruit gardens on a large scale are numerous in the
Niagara district and westward on the same line till the County of
Essex is reached, which is regarded as especially adapted for the
profitable cultivation of the vine.

The capabilities of Essex for the production of grapes is thus
described by M. Girardot, a native of the best wine district of East-
ern France. In contrasting it with his own country, he says : —
" The yield here is at least four or tive tons to the acre ; there, not
more than two. The wines made here are equal to any in Eastern
France. From twenty acres of grapes the yield of wine lias averaged
about G, 000 gallons, and is very remunerative, a proiit of $800 (£1G0)
per acre being frequently obtained." In the district of country here
referred to several semi-tropical fruits are l)rought to perfection.
The apricot, nectarine and (juirice are easily cultivated over an area
of several thousand square miles. At Niagara, the almond grows
out of doors, and the tig is successfully cultivated with scarcely
any protection in winter, and ripens two crops in the year. Sorghum,
or Chinese sugar cane, grows very well in the southern counties of
the Province. Hundreds of acres are planted with this crop, and
the variety known as Early Amber is said to yield as much as 300
gallons of syrup per acre.

ONTAllIO AS A HOME

ii';

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

The following taV)le gives the export of horses, cattle and sheep
from Canada during the past twelve years, compiled from the cus-
toms returns of the Dominion. It is impossiljle to fix the exact
proportion which belongs to the Province of Ontario, Montreal (in
the Province of Quebec) being the principal shipping port. It is
usually computed, however, that Ontario furnishes five sixths of the
whole. But whatever the proportion may be, it is certain that the
increase in recent ye;ars is due almost exclusively to Ontario, for it
is that Province which has taken the lead in the development of the
cattle trade, as it did a few years before in the cheese, and is now
preparing to do in the butter trade. Hence it is fair to assume that
the percentage of increase indicated by the figu -es given, is rather
below than above the actual percentage of increuse in the Province
(if Ontario : —

It will be noticed that the value of the cattle exported in 1885,
was twelve and a half times greater than in 1876, that of horses
nearly four times, and of sheep about two and a half times. The
gj.f.n+ ,:-.,• ea.se has been in the cattle trade, and the prospect of its
V- n . .,: n. lead is very bright, because soon the "ranchers" of
' , >i;)i-. , t'^.t will be selling their "store" cattle to be fattened
ixi'. ." ' ' ■ the Ontario farmer.

As tj iu.: ,alue of the live stock in the Province it may be men-
tioned that according to the returns published by the Bureau of
Industries it was estimated last year at $103,568,045, being an

FOR THE BRITISH TENANT FARMER. 25

increase of three and a half millions over the previous year. The
number of animals is stated as follows : —

Cattle 1,925,G70

Horses 535,953

Sheep 1,890,733

Piys 916,158

Poultry G,237,60G

The value of th(; cheese exported has more than doubled within
the same period, Canadian cheese being now recognized as the best
made in America, and of late years it has competed not unsuccessfully
with the Knglish-made article. The following figures tell the progress ^
of this trade in eleven years : —

Quantity exported. Value.

1874 24,050,98-2 lbs. $3,523,301

1884 69,755,423 lbs. 7,251,989

Increase 45,704,441 lbs. $3,728,788 \

Or an average annual increase of 4,154,949 lbs. in quantity, and |

of $338,980 in value during the eleven years. Last year (1885), the I

quantity exported was 79,655,367 lbs., shewing an increase over the ^

eleven years' average of 5,744,995 lbs., and an increase over the
exports of the previous year of 9,899,944 lbs., thus indicating that
the average rate of progress is being rapidly accelerated. The value |

of last year's exportation of cheese was .f8,265,240, an increase of
$1,013,251 over the previous year, and of $674,271 over the eleven
years' average.

Such a rapid development in the cheese trade has naturally had
the eirect of limiting the production of butter ; but nevertheless
7,330,788 lbs, of the value of $1,430,905, were exported last year, and
efforts are being made with Government assistance, to establish cream-
eries and improve the art of butter making, which has not as yet been
very thoroughly understood among the majority of the rural population.
In 1835, the population of Upper Canada (now the Province of
Ontario) was about 300,000 ; now it is between two millions and two
millions and a quarter. In that year the area of land in occupation
was about 1,800,000 acres; now it is 23,300,000 acres. In other
words, the number of the population has been multiplied by seven
and the area of the land in occupation by thirteen, in half a century,
and this development has taken place by steady progress without any
periods of phenomenal expansion followed by collapse, for every year
of the whole fifty has its record of advancement, be it less or more.

26 ONTARfO AS A HOMR

Iff '<l

The total value of the exports of the produce of the Dominion of
Canadii, for the fiscal year ending June .'50th, 1885, as given in the last
published Trade and Navigation lletiirns, amounted to $70,183,518.
liut as has before been mentioned, Monti-eal and Quebec are the sea-
ports of Ontario for seven months in the year, and as there are no
customs entries of goods or animals passing from one Province to
the other within the Dominion, it follows that the bulk of the
exports of Ontario, consisting of timber, agricultural products, and
animals and their produce, sent to the British markets are shipped
from the ports named and do not appear in the Canadian Customs
JJeturns as the exports of the Province of Ontario.

The timber trade, or as it is called in Canada the " lumber " trade,
oflers a safe and profitable field for the employment of capital under
experienced management. By the recent award of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council, Ontario acquired undisputed sway

?' over about ninety-three thousand square miles of territory nearly all

of which is under forest of the most valuable description, and for many
years to come this industry must continue to prosper and expand.
Tlie produce of the Mine from Ontario is shipped almost exclusively

< j to the United States. The industry is yet in its infancy, but there

I are opportunities for its development to an almost unlimited extent,

' and the o^cperienced man of very moderate means can readily estab-

lish himself in the business, as mining lands are sold by th(! Govern-
ment at the trifling cost of one dollar per acre, and the mining regu-

, ^ . / lations arc of the most liberal character. In the matter of iron

'|: I alone it is attirmed by competent judges that the Province of Ontario

is rich enough in ore to make it a successful competitor with the
United States in the production of iron. Gold, silver, lead and cop-
per mining are also being successfully prosecuted, though the prin-
cipal part of the country supposed to be the richest in mineral
wealth is yet almost unexplored.

FACILITIES FOR OBTAINING FARMS.

IMany Ontario farmers are still wedded to the old system, and do
not readily adapt themselves to the changes which the general
advance in agriculture imposes on those who would make farming a
financial success. Hence, finding their farms becoming graduallj
impoverished by repeated cropping with grain ; finding also that tho
reduced yield is still more raduced in valu« by the lower prices now

FOR THE BRITISH TKNANT PARMER. 27

ruling in the markets, they naturally desire to sell, and turn their
steps towards the boundless Canadian North-West, which is now
looked upon as the future granary of the world, where they can take
up land for nothing, or acquire a large farm at an average cost nf a
dollar an acre, and resume the cultivation of their favourite grain on
a soil so deep and rich that it seems capable of defying the exhausting
effects of repeated cropping for many generations to come. What-
ever he. the cause, this is the tendency of population in Canada as it
has been, and is still in the United States ; the older settlements in , |

the east send forth their emigrants who .settle upon and cultivate the |

virgin soil of the west ; and, thus by degrees, a homogeneous nation
is being built up, and room is made in the old settlements for those
who leave the still older and more crowded countries in Europe, to
make for themselves a home in America.

Following this law of the movement of population, Ontario has
already contributed many settlers to Manitoba and the North-West,
and their leaving this Province has tended, in some measure, to reduce
the price of land, and render the acquisition of farms much easier
than it would have been, but for the opening up of the North-West.
Many English farmers may prefer going at once to these new regions
instead of settling in Ontario, but, as Professor Sheldon suys, it
seems a nice arrangement that English farmers of capital should take
the places of the Ontario farmers who go to the west. " It would
seem, ' he adds, " that the systems of farming to which English
farmers have been long accustomed, are well adapted to restore the
condition of the land, while Canadian methods are better suited to
the present condition of the North-West." There is much truth in
these reflections. The change from Britain to Ontario may be made
with advantaije to the one, while the change from Ontario to the
North-West may be equally beneficial to the other, and this for the
obvious reason that T'ritish methods of farming are better adapted
for Ontai'io, under the changed conditions of the markets of the
world, while Ontario methods may still prove profitable on the
prairies.

The price of farming land varies much according to locality. In .

the neighbourhood of the cities and large towns in the old settled
districts, it is sometimes as high as 3100 or twenty pounds sterling
per acre, and from that figure it runs all the way down to two pounds!,
«r $10 per acre, for partially cleared farms in the newly settled dis-

ONTAKIO AS A HOME

?ii

»l'

--■I

tricts 111 the nortlunistoni part of the Province. Tn spr'ukin^ of tlio
price of a farm in Ontario, it is usually rated at 8o niucli per acre,
including huildings, fencing, and all fixed iniprov(!inents ; hence many
of the so called highly-priced farms may carry a charge of twenty dol-
lars or more per aero on account of the value of the dwelling hous(!,
stables, barns and other out-buildings, which are sometime" very
commodious, substantial structures of brick or stono, costing from
i?3,000 to .^5,000, or more.

The average price for good farms in the i)est agricultural districts
in the old S((ttlements, is from $50 to $75 (.£10 to £15) per acre, and
at this ligure usually a large amount of the i)uriha.se money may
remain unpaid for a term of years, secured by mortgage at a rate of
interest not exceeding six per cent. In tin; newer counties, where
the land is but partially cleared, where a half or three-fourths of the
farm is still in its primitive wooded condition, or *' in l)ush," as the
local phrase has it, prices range from 820 to $50 (say £4 to ,£10) per
acre for really good farms, in good situations, to still lower figures
wh(!re the situation and soil are not so favourable.

In the still newer regions in the northeastern part of the Province,
prices are lower yet, going down to from $G to $15 (£1 5s. to .£3)
per acre. This is the case more particularly in the County of
HaIibi»rton, and the ISIuskoka and Parry Sound districts, where
settlers have gone in and made a beginning, and though doing com-
paratively well, have caught the " western fever," and desire to sell
out and go ofl to new regions. It is the old spirit of pioneer life,
which has manifested itself more or less in almost every section of
Ontario. The man who clears the farm, or a considerable part of it,
unless he has been brought up to agricultural life, prefers si^lling out
and taking up another " bush lot," because " clearing " has become
to him a trade with which he is familiar, and he would rather follow
it than trouble himself to master the details of practical farming.

In this way many railway labourers, mechanics, weavers and other
tradesmen from the old world became successful pioneer farmers in
Canada ; but though successful in the early process of clearing and
preparing the soil, many of them have not been equally fortunate as
practical cultivators of cleared farms. These and such as these are
the men who are now casting their eyes about them for a purchaser
for their "clearance" to enable them to resume their pioneer life
either in the North- West Territories or in the north-western region

toll THE BUITISU Tl'NANT FAUMEH. 2U

of Ontario, in which thoro are hirge tracts of rich soil under the
unbroken forest tliat oder to the settler th(! same prospcict as did a
consid(iral)le portion of the now tlourisLing counties of Huron, Grej
and Bruce, iive and twenty years ago.

In this region of cheap farms, wliich lies inimediatcily north of the
oldest settled portions of the Province, and on the eastern shore of
the Georgian Hay, stock-raising and sheep-farming might be followed
with jjroiit, as the land is exceptionally well watered, produces
«^normous root crops and is admirably fitted for grazing jiurposes.
In this region a large area of land might be actpiired for a less sum
than would purchase a hundred acres on the frontier, while ordinary
skill in the branches of agricultural industry just indicated could not
fail to secure a handsome return.

It is generally sound policy for an immigrant, even if he has
the means to buy a farm when he lands in the Province, to put
himself in the way of acquiring some experience of the country
before he makes a purchase. This may be done in two ways : If
disposed to undertake the manual labour of the farm he can hire out
for a season or two, or should he deem that course unsuitable he can
readily rent a farm for a short term of years, one, two or three years'
leases being not uncommon, at a moderate rental of from Ji?2 to
^4 per acre, payable in money, or for a certain portion of tlj# crop,
etc., (say one-third) in kind. The latter arrangement is not recom-
mended to a stranger ; it is better for him to make his bargain for I
Ko much cash. Tn renting farms it is usual only to calculate the
rental on the nuniber of cleared acres, and it may be laid down as a
general rule that farm rents in Ontario are sometimes below and
seldom exceed four per cent, of what is. considered the selling price
of the farm.

FREE GRANT LANDS.

In the year 1885 there wore one hundred and twenty-nine town-
ships open for location under the " Free Grant and Homestead Act,
of 18G8," each containing from 50,000 to G0,000 acres. Other
townships will be opened as railways and colonization roads are
■constructed. I ,

The following is a summary of the regulations respecting Free
Orants : — The Lieutenant-Governor in Council is authorized to
appropriate lands, not being mineral lands or pine timber lands, as

)♦ 30 ONTAIUfi AS A IIOMK

•■i;

.11

■

fr(!« giantH to tutual scttliMS, undor r«'j,'ulaHonH to lio iiiacU! for tliat
purpose; ; no sncli i(raiit to Ix; iiiadc to a iiiaici under cii^ditccn, or for
uiorc! tluin 200 ac-ies. Failuie to ptM'forni llio settlement <liities ror-
feits tho kxMition. Tlie liead of a family, whether malo or fcunale,
havinjj cliildnju under eighteen years of aj{(^, can obtain a grant of
200 acres, and a single man over eighteen years of age, or a nuvrried
man having no children under eighteen residing with him, can obtain

Ijl rt grant of 100 acn^s in the Fnnt (irant Districts.

Any locatce umlcr the Act, IxMiig tin; liead of a family as iit"or(v
said, is alio\vt!(l to purchase an advlitioiial 100 acres at 50 cents p(ir
acre, cash, at th(! tiiiu; of such location, suliject to tlio same reserva-
tions and conditions, and tlio performanc(! of the sanu; settlement
duties, as are provided in respect of Free ( Jrant locations by the Uth
and 10th sections of the Act, except that actual residence and build-
ing on land purchased will not be required.

The settlement duties are : — To have iifteen acres on each grant
ch>ared and under crop, of which at least two acres are to be cleared
and cultivated annually for live years ; to build a liabitabh; iiouse,
at least lGx20 feet in size ; and to reside on tho land at least six
months in each year.

i The Free Grant Lands are marked on tho ollicial map by being

I\ coloured pink.

;! By an Act passed at the last session of the Lcigislature (1886) the

Free Orant system is extended to tlie llainy River District upon

!' the same terms and conditions of settlement as above set forth. The

1'.
ii (juantity of land wliich may be obtained is one hundred and sixty

acres to a head of a family having children under eighteen years of

af'e residing with him (or lier) ; and one liundrrd and twenty acres

to a single man over eighteen, or to a married \uan not having

i| 1 children under cigliteen residing with him ; eac'' person obtaining a

free grant to have the privilege of purchas^ing forty acres additional

t, at the rate of one dollar per acre, payable in four annual instalments.

Several townships have already been surveyed on tlie (Canadian bank

of the llainy River on the one mile square section plan — the same as

has been followed in the North-west. The Ontario Legislature has

adopted and legalized these surveys by the Act just mentioned, and

provided that any lands in the Rainy River District considered

suitable for settlement and cultivation may by Order in Council be

appropriated as free grants upon the terms specified. The Rainy

Fou Tim uurnsii tenant faumeu. 81

llivcr I^istri't is the vv<>.stoni division of Ontario lionlcririiif on
Manitolia, and coniptiscH a laij^M* area of tlio most vuluaKIt! timber
lands in thct whole Duniinion. The Rainy Riv(!r itsolf marks the fntor-
national houndary line, and its valley, whieh is the most extensive
in th(! district, is admirably adapted for Hf,'rionlturp, the soil being a
rich alluvial deposit, and convsidered ociual in fertility to the best
lands in ^fanitoba and tlie North-west. Here are located the Town-
ships set apart as free grants, and in addition to a soil that is as
rich as the most favoured portions of Manitol)a and the North- West
prairies, the settler will have the; important advantages of an un-
limited supply of wood and water. The river is about eighty miles in
length, and the whole of the right, or Canadian, bank is covered with
a heavy growth of forest trees, shrubs, climbing vines and beautiful
flowers. The forests in the district are of immense value, and the
lumbering industry which will undoubtedly be prosecuted there on
an extensive scale will make farming a protitable undertaking in
Rainy lliver valley. The climate is similar to that of the old
settled parts of 'lie Province, and the luxuriance of the vegetation
gives evidence of the richness of the soil. All kinds of grain, roots
and gard(!n vegetables yield abundant crops, as has been proved by
the few settlers who have already taken up land in the neighbourhood
of Fort Frances, which is situated on th(! river bank about two miles
from Ilainy Lake. The name of Alberton has been given to this
settlement.

In order to make a successful settlement upon a free grant, the
settler should have at least £G0 to £100 (8;}00 to $500) after reach-
ing his location. But immigrants on their arrival in the country,
are advised to go out first for a year or more as agricultural labourers.
The experience thus acquired will far more than compensate for the
time lost. The settlers are always willing to help new comers. A
house, such as is required Vjy the Act, could be erected by contract
for from £S to £10 (!?40 to $50) ; but with the assistance the settler
would certainly receive from his neighbours, it might be erected for
even less. The best season of the year to go on to a free grant is
the month of September, after harvest work in the old settlements is
over. There is time to put up a house and get comfortably settled
before the winter sets in, and during the winter the work of chopping
and clearing can go on. In this way a crop can begot in during the
fiist spring. The operation of putting in the first crop is a very

I'ii

I f

32 ONTARIO AS A HOME FOR THE BRITISH TENANT FARMER.

■I

' ■'.■'

: i.

simple one. Ploughing is at once impracticable and unnecessary.
The land is light and rich. All it needs is a little scratching on the
surface to cover the seed. This is done with a drag or harrow, which
may either be a very rough, primitive implement, or it may be care-
fully made and well finished.

FARM LABOURERS AND DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

From the beginning of April till the end of October there is always
a steady demand for farm labourers, especially for single men. More
than double the number arriving could easily find eniployment by the
year at fair wages. It must, however, be understood that only
experienced men are wanted by the year. A single man who can
plough well, and who has had some experience in taking care of stock,
can readily obtain employment at about 8150 per annum with mnin-
tenance, with a prospect of considerable increase if he should be found
to be a good trustworthy man. Should thirty or forty come together
and advise the Immigration Department on th'^b- arrival at Qtiebec,
farmers would certainl}^ be in waiting at Toronto to employ them.

Families of farm labourers can find ready employment if tliey are
experienced and have the means of pi'oviding a little furniture and
provisions. If there are young women in the family, able and willing
to take places as servants, so much the better.

The d(Mnand for female domestic servants is constant everywhere
throughout the Province at all seasons of the year. Wages of
experienced servants wore higher in 188.5 than in the preceding year.
Good general servants can readily find employment at from 88 to $10
per month. Young women, liowevcr, who are not able or willing to
work will not succeed in the Province.

Full inforr , 'tion regarding all matters connected with

Jmmigration, will be furnished on application, personally

or by letter, to

DAVID SPENOE,

Secretary of the. Departmi'jd of Immigration,

65 SIMCOE ST., TORONTO.

Or to

PETER BYRNE,

Nottinyham Jiidhllngs, I!) Brinisioick St.,

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

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