Top

Owing to the number of questions asked daily, it has been deemed advisable to put in condensed form, such questions as most naturally occur, giving the answers which experience dictates as appropriate, conveying the information commonly asked for. If the reader does not find here the answer to his particular difficulty, a letter to the Superintendent, or to any Government Agent, will secure full particulars.

1. Where are the lands referred to?

In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and in British Columbia.

2. What kind of land is it?

The land is mostly prairie (except in British Columbia) and can be secured free from timber and stones, if desired, the soil being the very best alluvial black loam from one to two feet deep, with a clay subsoil. It is just rolling enough to give good drainage, and in places there is plenty of timber, while some is underlaid with good coal.

3. If the land is what you say, why is the Government giving it away?

The Government, knowing that agriculture is the foundation of a progressive country, and that large yields of farm produce insure prosperity in all other branches of business, is doing everything in its power to encourage settlement. It is much better for each man to own his own farm, therefore a free grant of 160 acres is given to every man who will reside upon and cultivate it.

4. Is it timber or prairie land?

The province of Manitoba has considerable open prairie, especially in the southwest; towards the centre it is parklike with some timber belts in parts.

The southern parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta are chiefly open prairie with growths of timber along the streams. As you go north or northwest about 20 per cent of the country may be said to be timbered.

5. Then as to climate?

The summer days are warm and the nights cool. The fall and spring are most delightful, although it may be said that winter breaks almost into summer, and the latter lasts until October. Winters are pleasant and healthful. There are no pulmonary or other endemic complaints. Snow begins to fall about the middle of November and in March there is generally very little. Near the Rockies the snowfall is not as heavy as farther east, and the chinook winds have a tempering influence. The absence of the snowfall would be regretted by the farmer. Nature has generously provided for every mile of the country, and there is really very little choice with the exception that farther west the climate is somewhat milder.

6. Is there sufficient rainfall?

A sufficient supply can be relied upon. The most rain falls in May and June, when most needed.

7. What are the roads like?

Bridges and culverts are built where needed, and roadways are usually graded up; but not gravelled or macadamized. The natural prairie road is superior to most manufactured roads, and afford good travelling in ordinary seasons and every fall and winter.

8. What sort of people are settled there, and is English generally spoken?

Canadians, English, Scotch, Irish, French, and English-speaking Americans (who are going in, in large numbers), with Germans and Scandinavians. English is the language of the country, and is spoken everywhere.

9. Will I have to change my citizenship if I go to Canada?

An alien, before making entry for free homestead land, must declare his intention of becoming a British subject and become naturalized before obtaining patent for his land. In the meanwhile he can hold possession, and exercise right of ownership. If not a British subject he must reside three years to become naturalized. To become a British subject a settler of foreign birth should make application to anyone authorized to administer oaths in a Canadian Court. An alien may purchase land from any of the railway or land companies and hold title deed without changing his citizenship.

10. How about American money?

American money is taken everywhere in Central Canada at its face value.

11. Can a man who has used his homestead right in the United States take a homestead in Canada?

Yes.

12. If a British subject has taken out "citizen papers" in the United States how does he stand in Canada?

He must be "repatriated," i.e., take out a certificate of naturalization, which can be done after three months' residence in Canada.

13. What grains are raised in Central Canada?

Wheat (winter and spring), oats, barley, flax, speltz, rye and other small grains, and corn is grown chiefly for silo purposes.

14. How long does it take wheat to mature?

The average time is from 100 to 118 days. This short time in accounted for by the long hours of sunlight which during the growing and ripening season, will average 16 hours a day.

15. Can a man raise a crop on the first breaking of his land?

Yes, but it is not well to use the land for any other purpose the first year than for raising garden vegetables, or perhaps a crop of flax, as it is necessarily rough on account of the heavy sod not having had time to rot and become workable. Good yields of oats have been reported on breaking.

16. Is there plenty of hay available?

In many parts there is sufficient wild hay meadow on government or vacant land, which may be rented at a very low rental, if you have not enough on your own farm. Experience has proven that timothy, brome, clover and other cultivated grasses do well. Yields of brome have been reported from two to four tons per acre. Alfalfa under proper cultivation in many places gives successful yields.

17. Do vegetables thrive and what kinds are grown?

Potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, onions, parsnips, cabbages, peas, beans, celery, pumpkins, tomatoes, squash, melons, etc., are unequalled anywhere.

18. Can fruit be raised and what varieties?

Small fruits grow wild. The cultivated are plums, cranberries, strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, currants. In British Columbia fruit growing of all kinds is carried on very extensively and successfully.

19. About what time does seeding begin?

As a rule farmers begin their seeding from the first to the fifteenth of April, sometimes continuing well into May. The average yield of all grains in Central Canada would be largely increased, did not some farmers unwisely do seeding until the middle of June.

20. How is it for stock raising?

The country has no equal. In many parts cattle and horses are not housed throughout the winter, and so nutritious are the wild grasses that stock is marketed without having been fed any grain.

21. In what way can I secure land in Central Canada?

By homesteading, or purchasing from railway or land companies. The Dominion Government has no land for sale. The British Columbia Government sells land to actual settlers at low figures.

22. Can I get a map or list of lands vacant and open to homestead entry?

It has been found impracticable to keep a publication of that kind up to date, owing to the daily changes. An intending settler on reaching the district he selects should enquire of the Dominion Lands Agent what lands are vacant in that particular locality, finally narrowing down the enquiry to a township or two, diagrams of which, with the vacant lands marked, will be supplied free. A competent land guide can be had.

23. How far are homestead lands from lines of railway?

They vary, but at present the nearest will be from 15 to 20 miles. Railways are being built into the new districts.

24. In which districts are located the most and best available homesteads?

The character of homestead wanted by the settler will decide this. Very few homesteads are vacant in the southern districts; towards the centre and north portions of the provinces, homesteads are plentiful. They comprise a territory in which wood for building purposes and fuel are plentiful.

25. Is there any good land close to the Rocky Mountains?

The nearer you approach the mountains the more hilly it becomes, and the elevation is too great for grain raising. Cattle and horses do well.

26. If a man take his family there before he selects a homestead can he get temporary accommodation?

At the following places the Government maintains Immigration halls with free temporary accommodation for those desiring such and supplying their own provisions. It is always better for the head of the family, or such member of it as may be entitled to homestead, to select and make entry for lands before moving family:

Biggar, Brandon, Calgary, Caster, Cereal, Edmonton, Edson, Emerson, Entwistle, Gravelburg, Herbert, Kerrobert, Lloydminster, Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, North Battleford, North Portal, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Strathcona, South Battleford, Swift Current, Tisdale, Unity, Vegreville, Vermilion, Viking, Virden, Wainwright, Wilkie, Yonkers.

27. Where must I make my homestead entry?

At the Dominion Lands Office for the district.

28. Can homestead lands he reserved for a minor?

An agent of Dominion Lands may reserve a quarter-section for a minor over 17 years of age until he is 18, if his father, or other near relative live upon homestead or upon farming land owned, not less than 80 acres, within nine miles of reserved homestead. The minor must make entry in person within one month after becoming 18 years of age.

29. Can a person borrow money on a homestead before receiving patent?

No; contrary to Dominion Lands Act.

30. Would the time I was away working for a neighbour, or on the railway, or other work count as time on my homestead?

Only actual residence on your homestead will count, and you must reside on homestead six months in each of three years.

31. Is it permissible to reside with brother, who has filed on adjoining land?

A homesteader may reside with father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or sister on farming land owned solely by him or her, not less than 80 acres, or upon homestead entered for by him or her not more than nine miles from entrant's homestead. Fifty acres of homestead must be brought under cultivation, instead of 30 acres, as is the case when there is direct residence.

32. How shall I know what to do or where to go when I reach there?

Make a careful study of this pamphlet and decide in a general way on the district in which you wish to settle. Then put yourself in communication with your nearest Canadian Government Agent, whose name appears on the second page of cover. At Winnipeg, and in the offices of any of the Dominion Lands Agents in Central Canada, are maps showing vacant lands. Having decided on the district where you will make your home, the services of a competent land guide may be secured to assist in locating.

33. What is the best way to get there?

Write your nearest Canadian Government Agent for routes, and settlers' low railway rate certificate good from the Canadian boundary to destination for passengers and freight.

34. How much baggage will I be allowed on the Canadian railways?

150 pounds for each full ticket.

35. Are settlers' effects bonded through to destination, or are they examined at the boundary?

If settler accompanies effects they will be examined at the boundary, without any trouble; if effects are unaccompanied they will go through to the nearest bonding (or customs) point to destination.

36. In case settler's family follow him what about railway rates?

On application to Canadian Government Agent, settlers' low railway rate certificate will be forwarded, and they will be given the settlers' privilege.

37. What is the duty on horses and cattle if a settler should want to take in more than the number allowed free into Canada?

When for the improvement of stock free; otherwise, over one year old, they will be valued at a minimum of $50 per head, and duty will be 25 per cent.

38. How much money must one have to start grain farming and how little can he do with if he goes ranching?

See Chapter "What wins in Central Canada," page 37.

39. How can I procure lands for ranching?

They may be leased from the Government at a low rental. Write for full particulars to Secretary of the Interior, Ottawa, Canada.

40. In those parts which are better for cattle and sheep than for grain, what does a man do if he has only 160 acres?

If a settler should desire to go into stock raising and his quarter-section of 160 acres should not prove sufficient to furnish pasture for his stock, he can make application to the Land Commissioner for a lease for grazing lands for a term of twenty-one years, at a very low cost.

41. Where is information to be had about British Columbia?

Apply to Secretary Provincial Bureau of Information, Victoria, B. C.

42. Is living expensive?

Sugar, granulated, 14 to 18 lbs. for $1, according to fluctuation of market. Tea, 30 to 50 cents a lb.; coffee, 30 to 45 cents a lb.; flour, $2.25 to $3.00 per 98 lbs. Dry goods about Eastern Canada prices. Cotton somewhat dearer than in United States, and woollen goods noticeably cheaper. Stoves and furniture somewhat higher than eastern prices, owing to freight charges.

43. Are the taxes high?

No. Having no expensive system of municipal or county organization, taxes are necessarily low. Each quarter-section of land, consisting of 160 acres, owned or occupied, is taxed very low. The only other taxes are for schools. In the locations where the settlers have formed school districts the total tax for all purposes on a quarter-section amounts to from $10 to $14.50 per annum.

44. Does the Government tax the settler if he lets his cattle run on Government lands? If they fence their land, is he obliged to fence his also?

The settler is not required to pay a tax for allowing his cattle to run on Government land, but it is advisable to lease land from the Government for haying or grazing purposes, when needed. If one fences his land, his adjoining neighbour has to stand a proportionate share of the cost of the fence adjoining his property, or build one-half of it himself.

45. Where can a settler sell what he raises? Is there any competition amongst buyers, or has he got to sell for anything he can get?

A system of elevators is established by railway companies and others throughout the entire West. Grain is bought at these and forwarded to the great markets in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe. Canadian flour mills, oatmeal mills, and breweries use millions of bushels of grain annually. To the west and northwest of Central Canada lie mining regions, which are dependent upon the prairies for supplies and will to a great extent continue to be. Beef is bought on the hoof at the home of the farmer or rancher. Buyers scour the country in quest of this product.

46. Where can material for a house and sheds be procured, and about what would it cost? What about fuel? Do people suffer from the cold?

Though there are large tracts of forest in the Canadian West there are localities where building timber and material is limited, but this has not proven any drawback as the Government has made provision that should a man settle on a quarter-section deprived of timber, he can, by making application to the Dominion Lands Agent, obtain a permit to cut on Government lands free of charge the following, viz.:

1. 3,000 lineal feet of building timber, measuring no more than 12 inches at the butt, or 9,250 feet board measure. 2. 400 roofing poles. 3. 2,000 fencing rails and 500 fence posts, 7 feet long, and not exceeding five (5) inches in diameter at the small end. 4. 30 cords of dry fuel wood for firewood.

The settler has only the expense of the cutting and hauling to his homestead. The principal districts are within easy reach of firewood; the settlers of Alberta and Saskatchewan are particularly favoured, especially along the various streams, from some of which they get all the coal they require, at a trifling cost. No one in the country need suffer from the cold on account of scarcity of fuel.

47. Is it advisable to go into a new country during the winter months with uncertain weather conditions?

A few years ago, when settlement was sparse, settlers were advised to wait until March or April. Now that so many have friends in Western Canada there need be no hesitation when to start. Lines of railway penetrate most of the settled districts, and no one need go far from neighbours already settled. There is no longer the dread of pioneering, and it is robbed of the romance that once surrounded it. With farm already selected, it is perfectly safe, and to the prospective homesteader he can get some sort of occupation until early spring, when he will be on the ground ready for it.

48. What does lumber cost?

Spruce boards and dimensions, about $20 per thousand feet; shiplap, $23 to $28; flooring and siding, $25 up, according to quality; cedar shingles, from $3.50 to $4.25 per thousand. These prices fluctuate.

49. What chance is there for employment when a man first goes there and isn't working on his land?

There are different industries through the country, outside of farming and ranching, such as sawmills, flour mills, brick-yards, railroad building in the summer, and lumbering in the winter. The chances for employment are good as a large percentage of those going in and those already there farm so much that they must have help, and pay good wages. During the past two seasons from twenty to thirty thousand farm labourers have been brought in each year from the eastern Provinces and the United States to assist in caring for the large crops. The capable and willing worker is sure to succeed in Canada.

50. Can I get employment with a farmer so as to become acquainted with local conditions?

This can be done through the Commissioner of Immigration at Winnipeg, who is in a position to offer engagements with well established farmers. Men experienced in agriculture may expect to receive from $25 up per month with board and lodging, engagements, if desired, to extend for twelve months. Summer wages are from $30 to $35 per month; winter wages $10 to $15. During harvest wages are higher than this.

51. If I have had no experience and simply desire to learn farming in Central Canada before starting on my own account?

Young men and others unacquainted with farm life, willing to accept from $8 up per month, including board and lodging, will find positions through the Government officers at Winnipeg. Wages are dependent upon experience and qualification. After working for a year in this way, the knowledge acquired will be sufficient to justify you in securing and farming on your own account.

52. Are there any schools outside the towns?

School districts cannot exceed five miles in length or breadth, and must contain at least four actual residents, and twelve children between the ages of five and sixteen. In almost every locality, where these conditions exist, schools have been established.

53. Are churches numerous?

The various denominations are well represented and churches are being built rapidly even in the most remote districts.

54. Can water be secured at reasonable depth?

In most places it can be had at from fifteen to forty feet, while in other places wells have been sunk to fifty or sixty feet.

55. Where are free homesteads to-day, and how far from railway?

In some well settled districts it may be possible to secure one by cancelling, but such chances are few. Between the lakes in Manitoba as well as north and southeast of Winnipeg. In the central portions of Saskatchewan, Alberta and west of Moose Jaw and Swift Current. A splendid homestead area is that lying north of Battleford, and between Prince Albert and Edmonton north of the Canadian Northern railway. One will have to go at least twelve or fifteen miles from a line of railway at present, but extensions will soon make many homesteads available.