  1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,—I am staying for a few days with a friend who has a farm on the plains. His house is five miles from the railway. 2. My friend met me at the station with a motor car, and drove me over rough roads between huge fields. There are no hedges in this part of the country. The fields are divided from each other by fences. 3. This farm is much larger than any farm which you have seen in England. The house is built of wood. All round it is a pretty garden. Not far away are the stables and the barns. 4. I am sure you would like to hear something about the farmer's children. There are three of them—a girl and two boys. The girl is the youngest, and she is about eight years of age. 5. All the children make themselves very useful in the house. Servants are hard to get in Canada, so people must learn to help themselves. The boys clean the boots and chop wood. The girls think nothing of helping to scrub the floors. 6. After breakfast the children trudge off to school, which is three miles away. They take their lunch with them. When they return in the evening they have many odd jobs to do. 7. In the playground of their school you will see many young trees growing. There are very few trees on the plains, and far more are needed. 8. On one day in each year the children make holiday, and plant trees in the school grounds. The teacher tells them that when they grow up they must plant trees on their farms. 9. Harvest is the busiest time of the year. Then the children rise at half-past four, and work all day long in the fields. Every one who can work at all must do so at harvest time. 10. There is also plenty of work to be done in the autumn. Everything needed in the house must be brought in before the snow begins to fall. 11. Winter is the real holiday time. No work can then be done on the land. The rivers and lakes are frozen, and everywhere there is plenty of skating. The wheels are taken off the carriages, and runners are put on instead. Horses draw them very swiftly over the frozen snow. BOYS OF CANADA IN WINTER. 12. Look at the picture post-card which I send you with this letter. It shows you how Canadian boys are dressed in winter. On the ground you see a pair of snow-shoes. The boys can travel very quickly on these snow-shoes without sinking into the snow. 13. In the picture you also see a toboggan. It is a small sledge. The boy drags his toboggan up to the top of a hill. He seats himself on it and pushes off. Away he goes over the frozen snow like an arrow from a bow. It is splendid fun. 14. Those boys and girls whose homes are in towns live very much as you do. They go to school, and they play in the streets and parks. When summer comes many of them go to the seaside or to the lakeside for a holiday. 15. Sometimes a whole family goes camping in the woods. They then live in tents or in little huts by the side of a river or a lake. What happy times the children have! They go fishing, they bathe, and they dart to and fro in canoes. 16. Most of the young folks of Canada are strong and healthy. They are happy and bright, and they are not afraid of work. No children are more useful to their parents than the boys and girls of Canada. |
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