Excerpt from Canada and Illinois Compared!: Being an Answer to Caird's Slanders on Canada

Had Mr. Caird journeyed through this country in any other way than by railway, he would have formed a much more correct Opinion of the extent under cultivation this he has very much underrated. Fully three fourths of this whole district of country is cleared and enclosed, and a. Large portion of it highly cultivated. If there was little Indian Corn in 1858, it was because other crops promised to pay better, and the Spring of 1858 was peculiarly wet and cold; but there is a very large extent of it this year, and although a little late it will prove an abundant crop. The absence of r1oks outside the barn, as alluded to by Mr. Caird, is owing to the great abundance of timber, and the great facility with which Canadians construct large barns, quite sufficient to hold even very luxu riant crops. Every good Canadian farmer provides substantial covering for his whole crops, instead of having recourse to ricks with their tem porary covering of straw. The material, except nails, they have within themselves, and most of them can help to build them. The work of building a barn 60 feet by 30, and 18 feet post, can be done for £40 ster ing; and most farmers have two if not three of these large barns, besides long Sheds in which to store hay, &c.; so that the absence of ricks is no criterion of deficiency; but, on the contrary, their presence is rather a, Sign that the farmer is a new settler, and as yet unable to put up the permanent covering for his produce, which old and successful farm ers universally provide. As to Mr. Caird's assertion that on this 1 easier and more fertile soil the cultivation of Indian corn demands too much labour, it may be safely urged that labour is cheaper in Canada than in Illinois, and that the corn crop is nearly as productive in the district he alludes to as it is in Illinois, and being of a much superior quality sells at a much higher price. The fact is, that wheat in this district has been hitherto so fine, and selling at such high prices, that the growth of Indian corn has been neglected too much for the welfare of the farmer. This very part of Canada which Mr. Caird describes in the above quotation is noted for producing the very finest samples of wheat, weighing 621bs., and even 63 lbs., to the Winchester bushel, and has for years carried ofl'

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.