OCR Text |
Show A MINNESOTA FARMER Does Well la Western Canada. Virden. Man., Nov. IS. 1S09. Hon. Clifford Pifton. Minister of tin Interior. Ottawa. Canada Sir: Thinking Think-ing that my experience in Manitoba might be both useful and interesting to my fellow-countrymen in the United States who may be looking to Manitoba Mani-toba and The northwest with the intention in-tention of settling there. I have much pleasure in stating that through information in-formation received from Mr. W. F. McCreary, immigration commissioner at Winnipeg. I was induced to visit Manitoba in February. 1S9S. When I called upon Mr. McCreary he spared no pains to give me all the information, etc., in his possession, the result of which was that 1 came here with a letter of introduction from him to the secretary of the Viuien Board of Trade. That gentleman provided me with a competent land guide, and, although there was considerable snow-on snow-on the ground, I had no difficulty in selecting three homesteads for myself and sons. Having made the necessary homestead entries at the land office in Brandon, I returned to my home in .Lyon county, Minnesota. and came back 'here in May following, accompanied by one of my boys, bringing with us two teams of horses, implements, etc. Our first work was to erect a temp -rary shanty and stable, after which we" broke and leveled seventy-five acres and put up thirty tons of hay. I went back to Minnesota about July 20, leaving my son here. I returned in October, bringing my family with me. I found that the land wo had acquired was of good quality, being a strong clay loam with clay subsoil. Last spring I sowed 100 acres in wheat and fifty acres in oats and barley. (Seventy-five acres of this grain was sowed on "go-back" plowed last :.. -XT,. tlivoched 111 spiiny.; -u. hup " no - October, the result being over 2,700 bushels of grain In all. Wheat averaged aver-aged fifteen bushels per acre and graded No. 1 hard, but that which was sown on land other than sod ("go-hack") ("go-hack") went twenty four and one-halt bushels per acre. To say that I am well pleased with the result of my first year's farming operations in Manitoba does not adequately ade-quately express my feelings, and I have no hesitation in advising those who are living in districts where land is high in price to come out here, if they are willing to do a fair amount of work. I am ten miles from Virden. which is a good market town, and nine miles from Hargrave, where there are two elevators. This summer I erected a dwelling house of native stone and bought a half-section of laud adjoining adjoin-ing our homesteads, for which I paid a very moderate price. There are still some homesteads in this district, and land of fine quality can be purchased from the Canadian Pacific. Railway company at $3.50 per aero on liberal terms. Good water is generally found at a depth of from fifteen to twenty feet. I have 175 acres ready for crop next year. The cost of living here is about, the same as in southern Minnesota. Some commodities are highe.v and others lower in price, but the average is about the same. I remain, your obedient obe-dient servant. (Signed.) I JACOB REICHERT. |