H.—29b

14

investigational work, for which it is well adapted, being near the headquarters of the Agricultural Department's experts. The following investigations, amongst a large number of others, were being conducted: Forage-crop investigations; pathological investigations; electro-culture investigations; bacteriological investigations; soil-fertility investigations; cotton and truck disease investigations; nitro-culture investigations; fibre-plant investigations (principally hemp); a bureau of chemistry investigating fruit-juices and the dry potato; forest-service, confined to basket-willow culture; bureau of soils; manufacture of fertilizers; horticulture; pomology; agricultural engineering; making of public roads; testing of slabs, &c, for use in bridgebuilding. Washington, D.C. The capital of the United States. I had a number of letters of introduction to chief officers in many of the divisions of the Department of Agriculture, and received valuable information and assistance from them in regard to many matters in connection with my mission. Canada. The Dominion of Canada is comprised of eleven provinces, having a total land area of approximately 1,400,000 square miles, together with an area of 2,300,000 square miles unorganized and only partially explored. Its most southern boundary is at 42° north latitude. Except the Yukon Province, the present limit of occupation is about 55° north latitude, in the Province of Alberta. The occupied lands amount to about 100,000 square miles. Only about two-fifths of the entire Dominion has yet been included in the organized provinces, and only about 3 per cent, of the entire area is as yet occupied. As reference and comparisons will be made in other parts of this report to certain of the provinces, it is well for the better understanding to set out the population of each as at the last census (1911) and the area : — Province. Population. Area in Acres. Alberta ... ... ... ... ... 374,663 163,382,400 British Columbia ... ... ... ... 392,480 227,747,200 Manitoba ... ... ... ... 455,614 161,172,298 New Brunswick ... ... ... ... 351,889 17,910,498 Nova Scotia ... ... ... ... 492,338 13,713,771 Ontario ... ... ... ... ... 2,525,274 260,647,636 Prince Edward Island ... ..'. ... 93,728 1,397,991 Quebec ... ... ... ... ... 2,003,232 452,373,601 Saskatchewan ... ... ... ... 492,432 161,088,000 North-west Territories ... ... ... 18,481 132,528,640 Yukon ... ... ... ... ... 8,512 795,023,360 Total ... ... ... 7,206,643 2,386,985,395 The census of 1911 showed the rural population to be 3,925,502 and the urban to be 3,281,141. According to the Census Bureau, Canada's estimated population at 31st March, 1914, was 8,075,000 Canada is larger than the United States; as large as thirty United Kingdoms or eighteen Germanys; twice the size of British. India; almost as large as Europe; eighteen, times the size of France; and thirty-three times the size of Italy. Canada has more miles of railway in operation than Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and Spain combined; more than Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Roumania joined together, with Portugal and Turkey thrown in. By the end of 1915 35,000 miles of lines will have been completed. The completion of such an extensive mileage has given an impetus to the country, and has been the means of throwing open to settlement enormous tracts of country, giving to new settlers immediate facilities of reaching the markets with their stock and produce. Ontario is the most important pirovince in the Dominion from an agricultural standpoint. The Dominion Department of Agriculture maintains an experimental farm at Ottawa, Ontario, with branch farms and stations at nineteen other places throughout the provinces. Agricultural colleges are conducted as follows: At Guelph, Ontario, by the Ontario Provincial Government; at Winnipeg, Manitoba, by the Manitoba Provincial Government; at Truro, Nova Scotia, by the Nova Scotian Provincial Government; and at several other places. At St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, near Montreal, is the Macdonald College of Agriculture, which has been munificently endowed by Sir William Macdonald. Probably no other country in the world is better served in regard to agricultural education and development than the Dominion of Canada. The operations and ramifications in connection with the work undertaken by the provincial Departments of Agriculture are very extensive and far-reaching. The Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada, through a wellorganized department, directs agricultural matters connected -with trade and transportation. Each of the provinces has a Minister of Agriculture who, through his department, directs the educational side of agriculture. In no other British possession are farmers so well organized as in Canada. Live societies, institutions, and associations are to be found in all the provinces, and agricultural education and advancement is given the foremost consideration. The Canadian Government in 1913 voted ,£2,000,000 in aid of agricultural instruction, to be spread over some years. .