C. C. James

“ The North-West could send her raw products in the shape of wheat; Ontario must send finished products—beef, bacon, cheese, butter, fruit, eggs, and poultry—these and similar products could be marketed in large quantities if only they could be supplied of right quality. Transportation of the right kind was a prime necessity. Lumber, wheat, and other rough products could be handled without difficulty, but perishable goods demanded special accommodation. This was a matter belonging to the government of Canada, and to it the Dominion department of Agriculture at once began to give attention. ”

“ Nature provided conditions for a diversified agriculture. It is to such a land that for over a hundred years people of different nationalities, with their varied trainings and inclinations, have been coming to make their homes. We may expect, therefore, to find a great diversity in the agricultural growth of various sections, due partly to the variety of natural conditions and partly to the varied agricultural training of the settlers in their homelands. ”

“ Before referring to the methods of instruction and assistance provided for the developing of this new agriculture in Ontario, reference should be made to one thing that is generally overlooked by those who periodically discover this rapid urban increase, and who moralize most gloomily upon a movement that is to be found in nearly every progressive country of the civilized world. In the days of early settlement the farmer and his family supplied nearly all their own wants. The farmer produced all his own food; he killed his own stock, salted his pork, and smoked his hams. ”

“ The free-grant land policy of the government was a great attraction for tens of thousands of people in the British Isles, who were impelled by social unrest, failure of crops, and general stagnation in the manufacturing industries to seek new homes across the sea. In the twenty years referred to the population more than doubled, and the improved lands of the province increased fourfold. The numbers of cattle and sheep about doubled, and the wheat production increased about threefold. ”

“ The means of bringing in horses, cattle, and sheep were limited. The result was that field work at that time was largely done by hand labour. Hunting and fishing helped to supply the table with the food that to-day we obtain from the butcher. When the Britisher came across the Atlantic he brought to Upper Canada his love for live stock and his knowledge how to breed and care for the same. The result was seen in the rapid increase in the number of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, and the placing of the agriculture of the province on a firm basis for future growth. ”

“ Ontario, with her rich grasses, clear skies, and clean springs and streams, is well adapted to dairying; large numbers of her farmers came from dairy districts in the mother country; the co-operative method of manufacture tends to produce a marketable article that can be shipped and that improves with proper storage; Great Britain has proved a fine market for such an article; and the industry has for over thirty years received the special help and careful supervision and direction of the provincial and Dominion governments. ”

“ Add to this the growing home market in Ontario, and, keeping in mind that [578] the West can grow wheat more cheaply than Ontario, it will be understood why of recent years the Ontario farmer has been compelled to give up the production of wheat for export. His line of successful and profitable work has been in producing to supply the demands of his own growing home market, and the demands of the rapidly increasing people of the West, both rural and urban, and also to share in the insatiable market of Great Britain. ”

“ Agriculture continued to expand, and associations for the protection and encouragement of special lines increased in number and in importance. Thus there were no fewer than three vigorous associations interested in dairying: the Dairymen's Association of Eastern Ontario, and the Dairymen's Association of Western Ontario, which were particularly interested in the cheese industry, and the Ontario Creameries Association, which was interested in butter manufacture. There were poultry associations, a beekeepers' association, and several live stock associations. ”

“ Approximately $125,000 is spent each year on the work by the provincial government, in addition to the $500 granted annually by the county to each district office. The result of all this is that new and more profitable lines of farming are being undertaken, specializing in production is being encouraged, and Ontario agriculture is advancing rapidly along the lines to which the soils, the climate, and the people are adapted. ”

“ In one township could be found a group of English settlers, most of whom came from a southern county of England, near by a township peopled by Scottish Lowlanders, and not far away a colony of north of Ireland farmers, or perhaps a settlement composed entirely of people from the vicinity of Cork or Limerick.
These British settlers brought new lines of life, new plans for houses and barns, new methods of cultivation, new varieties of seed, and, what was perhaps of most influence upon the agricultural life of the province, new kinds of live stock. ”

“ These graduates organize short courses at various centres, conduct classes in high schools, assist the farmers in procuring the best seed, advise as to new lines of work, assist in drainage, supervise the care of orchards—in short, they carry the work of the Agricultural College and of the various branches of the department right to the farmer, and give that impetus to better farming which can come only from personal contact. ”

“ The former attracted Ontario's surplus population, and made it no longer profitable or desirable to grow wheat in the province for export; the latter closed the doors to the export of barley, live stock, butter, and eggs. The situation was desperate; agriculture was passing through a period of most trying experience. Any other industry than that of agriculture would have been bankrupted. The only hope of the Ontario farmer now was in the British market. ”

“ And this rapidly growing urban population also has demanded food products. Their own farmers grow wheat and oats and barley. British Columbia produces fruit for her own people and some surplus for the prairie provinces. There is some stock-raising, but the rapid extension of wheat areas has interfered with the great stock ranches. From out of the Great West, therefore, there has come an increasing demand for many food products. ”

“ The history of agricultural work in Ontario in recent years may be put under two heads—expansion of the various organizations and extension of their operations, and the development of what may be called 'field work.' Farmers' institutes and women's institutes have multiplied; agricultural societies now cover the entire province; local horse associations, poultry associations, and beekeepers' associations have been encouraged; winter fairs for live stock have been established at Guelph and Ottawa ”

“ Wheat for the European market has been their principal product, therefore they in turn have become consumers of large quantities of food that they do not themselves produce but must obtain from farmers elsewhere. But not all who have gone West have become farmers. The Dominion census of 1911 gives the following statement of population for the provinces and districts west of Lake Superior:
The western provinces are generally considered to be almost purely agricultural, and yet the percentage increase of urban population has been nearly double the percentage increase of rural population. ”

“ By this time every farm had one or more milch cows and the farmer's table was supplied with fresh milk, butter, and home-made cheese. As the first half-century of the province was drawing to its close, some of the comforts of home life began to be realized by the farming community. ”

“ It seems rarely to occur to the new arrival that the average farm in Ontario could produce more than a quarter section of prairie land. Signs, however, point to an increase in rural population, through the spread of intensive agriculture. ”

“ The mowing machine and the reaper were making their appearance in Great Britain and the United States, but they had not yet reached Upper Canada.
The organization of agricultural societies in the various districts, and the great impetus given to the keeping of good stock, led in 1843 to the suggestion that a provincial organization would be of benefit to the farming industry. In the [562] neighbouring State of New York a similar organization had been in existence since 1832 and successful State fairs had been held, which some of the more prominent farmers of Upper Canada had visited. ”

“ An examination of the map, and even a limited knowledge of the geological history of the province, will lead to the conclusion that in Ontario there must be a wide range in the nature and composition of the soils and a great variety in the climatic conditions. These conditions exist, and they result in a varied natural production. In the extreme south-western section plants of a semi-tropical nature were to be found in the early days in luxurious growth ”

“ The dependence of the settlers upon the military will be realized when we remember that they had neither implements nor seed grain. In fact, they were dependent at first upon the government stores for their food. It is difficult at the present time to realize the hardships and appreciate the conditions under which these United Empire Loyalist settlers began life in the forest of 1784. ”

“ The surplus population of the farms has gone to the towns and cities of Ontario and to the western provinces. Now for a moment let us follow these people to the West. Many of them have gone on the land to produce wheat. ”

“ The prize list was limited in range, but it shows how this new settlement, formed largely by British settlers since 1816, was giving particular attention to the encouragement of live stock. A short quotation from the prize essay as to the best method of clearing the land for wheat should be found of interest.
As a great part of our County is yet in a wilderness state and quite a share of the wheat brought to our markets is reared on new land, I deem it important that our enterprising young men who are clearing away the forest should know how to profit by their hard labor. ”

“ A study of the history of Ontario agriculture shows many changes in the past hundred years, but at no time has there been so important and so interesting a development as that which took place in the opening decade of the twentieth century. ”

“ Gradually, however, through the early eighties the farmers began to recover their former prosperous condition, sending increasing shipments of barley, sheep, horses, eggs, and other commodities to the cities of the Eastern States, so that at the close of the period to which we are referring agricultural conditions were of a favourable and prosperous nature. ”

“ This, of course, results in a steady increase in land values and is followed by an increase in rural population. The farmers of Ontario are putting forth every effort to meet the demands for food products. The one great difficulty that they have encoun [579] tered has been the scarcity of farm labour. Men have come from Europe by the tens of thousands, but they have been drawn largely to the growing towns and cities by the high wages offered in industrial lines; and the West, the 'Golden West' as it is sometimes called, has proved an even stronger attraction. ”

“ While in some sections farms are being enlarged so as to permit the more extensive use of labour-saving machinery and the more economical handling of live stock, in other sections, particularly in counties adjacent to the Great Lakes, large farms are being cut up into smaller holdings and intensive production of fruits and vegetables is now the practice. ”

“ On taking office Carling found the following agricultural organizations of the province ready to co-operate with the government: sixty-three district agricultural societies, each having one or more branch township societies under its care, and all receiving annual government grants of slightly over $50,000; a provincial board of agriculture, with its educational and exhibition work; and a fruit-growers' association, now for the first time taken under government direction and given financial assistance. ”

“ Butter, cheese, and maple sugar were products of her skill, as well as bread, soap, canned fruits, and home-made wine. In those days the farm was a miniature factory or combination of factories. Many, in fact most, of these industries have gradually moved out of the farm home and have been concentrated in great factories ”

“ They were the 'growing pains' of a progressive people. The Crimean War, in 1854-56, gave an important though temporary boom to Canadian farm products. Reciprocity with the United States from 1855 to 1866 offered a profitable market that had been closed for many years. Then came the close of the great civil war in the United States and the opening up of the cheap, fertile prairie lands of the Middle West to the hundreds of thousands of farmers set free from military service. This westward movement was joined by many farmers from Ontario ”