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  HISTORY OF
  FARMING IN
  ONTARIO

  BY

  C. C. JAMES

  [Illustration: Publisher's Device]

  REPRINTED FROM

  CANADA AND ITS PROVINCES

  A HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN PEOPLE
  AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS
  BY ONE HUNDRED ASSOCIATES

  EDITED BY

  ADAM SHORTT AND A. G. DOUGHTY




  HISTORY OF FARMING
  IN ONTARIO

  BY

  C. C. JAMES

  C.M.G.

  [Illustration: Publisher's Device]

  TORONTO
  GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY
  1914




This Volume consists of a Reprint, for private circulation only, of the
One Hundred and Sixteenth Signed Contribution contained in CANADA AND
ITS PROVINCES, a History of the Canadian People and their Institutions
by One Hundred Associates.

Adam Shortt and Arthur G. Doughty, General Editors




HISTORY OF FARMING


THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

From the most southern point of Ontario on Lake Erie, near the 42nd
parallel of latitude, to Moose Factory on James Bay, the distance is
about 750 miles. From the eastern boundary on the Ottawa and St Lawrence
Rivers to Kenora at the Manitoba boundary, the distance is about 1000
miles. The area lying within these extremes is about 220,000 square
miles. In 1912 a northern addition of over 100,000 square miles was made
to the surface area of the province, but it is doubtful whether the
agricultural lands will thereby be increased. Of this large area about
25,000,000 acres are occupied and assessed, including farm lands and
town and city sites. It will be seen, therefore, that only a small
fraction of the province has, as yet, been occupied. Practically all the
occupied area lies south of a line drawn through Montreal, Ottawa, and
Sault Ste Marie, and it forms part of the great productive zone of the
continent.

The next point to be noted is the irregularity of the boundary-line, the
greater portion of which is water--Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario,
the St Lawrence River, the Ottawa River, James Bay, and Hudson Bay. The
modifying effect of great bodies of water must be considered in studying
the agricultural possibilities of Ontario.

Across this great area of irregular outline there passes a branch of
the Archaean rocks running in a north-western direction and forming a
watershed, which turns some of the streams to Hudson Bay and the others
to the St Lawrence system. An undulating surface has resulted, more or
less filled with lakes, and almost lavishly supplied with streams, which
are of prime importance for agricultural life and of incalculable value
for commercial purposes. To these old rocks which form the backbone of
the province may be traced the origin of the large stretches of rich
soil with which the province abounds.

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; while in the extreme north,
spruce, somewhat stunted in size and toughened in fibre, are still to be
found in vast forests.

It is with the southern section, that lying south of the Laurentian
rocks, that our story is mainly concerned, for the occupation and
exploitation of the northland is a matter only of recent date. 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.


EARLY SETTLEMENT, 1783-1816

Originally this province was covered with forest, varied and extensive,
and was valued only for its game. The hunter and trapper was the
pioneer. To protect and assist him, fortified posts were constructed at
commanding points along the great waterways. In the immediate vicinity
of these posts agriculture, crude in its nature and restricted in its
area, had its beginning.

It was into this wooded wilderness that the United Empire Loyalists,
numbering in all approximately ten thousand people, came in the latter
part of the eighteenth century.[1] They were a people of varied
origins--Highland Scottish, German, Dutch, Irish Palatine, French
Huguenot, English. Most of them had lived on farms in New York State,
and therefore brought with them some knowledge and experience that stood
them in good stead in their arduous work of making new homes in a land
that was heavily wooded. In the year 1783 prospectors were sent into
Western Quebec, the region lying west of the Ottawa River, and
selections were made for them in four districts--along the St Lawrence,
opposite Fort Oswegatchie; around the Bay of Quinte, above Fort
Cataraqui; in the Niagara peninsula, opposite Fort Niagara; and in the
south-western section, within reach of Fort Detroit. Two reasons
determined these locations; first, the necessity of being located on the
water-front, as lake and river were the only highways available; and,
secondly, the advisability of being within the protection of a fortified
post. 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.

Having been assigned their lots and supplied with a few implements, they
began their work of making small clearings and the erection of rude
log-houses and barns. Among the stumps they sowed the small quantities
of wheat, oats, and potatoes that were furnished from the government
stores. Cattle were for many years few in number, and the settler, to
supply his family with food and clothing, was compelled to add hunting
and trapping to his occupation of felling the trees.

Gradually the clearings became larger and the area sown increased in
size. The trails were improved and took on the semblance of roads, but
the waterways continued to be the principal avenues of communication. In
each of the four districts the government erected mills to grind the
grain for the settlers. These were known as the King's Mills.
Water-power mills were located near Kingston, at Gananoque, at Napanee,
and on the Niagara River. The mill on the Detroit was run by wind power.
An important event in the early years was when the head of the family
set out for the mill with his bag of wheat on his back or in his canoe,
and returned in two or three days, perhaps in a week, with a small
supply of flour. In the early days there was no wheat for export. The
question then may be asked, was there anything to market? Yes; as the
development went on, the settlers found a market for two surplus
products, timber and potash. The larger pine trees were hewn into timber
and floated down the streams to some convenient point where they were
collected into rafts, which were taken down the St Lawrence to Montreal
and Quebec. Black salt or crude potash was obtained by concentrating the
ashes that resulted from burning the brush and trees that were not
suitable for timber.

For the first thirty years of the new settlements the chief concern of
the people was the clearing of their land, the increasing of their field
crops, and the improving of their homes and furnishings. It was slow
going, and had it not been for government assistance, progress, and even
maintenance of life, would have been impossible. That was the heroic age
of Upper Canada, the period of foundation-laying in the province.
Farming was the main occupation, and men, women, and children shared the
burdens in the forest, in the field, and in the home. Roads were few and
poorly built, except the three great military roads planned by
Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe running east, west, and north from the town
of York. Social intercourse was of a limited nature. Here and there a
school was formed when a competent teacher could be secured. Church
services were held once a month, on which occasions the missionary
preacher rode into the district on horseback. Perhaps once or twice in
the summer the weary postman, with his pack on his back, arrived at the
isolated farmhouse to leave a letter, on which heavy toll had to be
collected.

Progress was slow in those days, but after thirty years fair hope of an
agricultural country was beginning to dawn upon the people when the War
of 1812 broke out. By this time the population of the province had
increased to about eighty thousand. During this first thirty years very
little had been done in the way of stimulating public interest in
agricultural work. Conditions were not favourable to organization. The
'town meeting' was concerned mainly with the question of the height of
fences and regulations as to stock running at large. One attempt,
however, was made which should be noted. Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe took
charge of affairs early in 1792, and, immediately after the close of the
first session of the legislature at Newark (Niagara) in the autumn of
that year, organized an agricultural society at the headquarters which
met occasionally to discuss agricultural questions. There are no records
to show whether social intercourse or practical agricultural matters
formed the main business. The struggle for existence was too exacting
and the conditions were not yet favourable for organization to advance
general agricultural matters.

When the War of 1812 broke out the clearings of the original settlers
had been extended, and some of the loyalists still lived, grown grey
with time and hardened by the rough life of the backwoods. Their sons,
many of whom had faint recollection of their early homes across the
line, had grown up in an atmosphere of strictest loyalty to the British
crown, and had put in long years in clearing the farms on which they
lived and adding such comforts to their houses, that to them, perhaps as
to no other generation, their homes meant everything in life. The
summons came to help to defend those homes and their province. For three
years the agricultural growth received a severe check. Fathers and sons
took their turn in going to the front. The cultivation of the fields,
the sowing and the harvesting of the crops, fell largely to the lot of
the mothers and the daughters left at home. But they were equal to it.
In those days the women were trained to help in the work of the fields.
They did men's work willingly and well. In many cases they had to
continue their heroic work after the close of the war, until their
surviving boys were grown to years of manhood, for many husbands and
sons went to the front never to return.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] See 'Pioneer Settlements' in this section.


A PERIOD OF EXPANSION, 1816-46

The close of the war saw a province that had been checked at a time of
vigorous growth now more or less impoverished, and, in some sections,
devastated. This was, however, but the gloomy outlook before a period of
rapid expansion. In 1816, on the close of the Napoleonic wars in Europe,
large numbers of troops were disbanded, and for these new homes and new
occupations had to be found. Then began the first emigration from
Britain overseas to Upper Canada. All over the British Isles little
groups were forming of old soldiers reunited to their families. A few
household furnishings were packed, a supply of provisions laid in, a
sailing vessel chartered, and the trek began across the Atlantic. The
emigrants sailed from many ports of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Sometimes the trip was made in three or four weeks; but often, through
contrary winds or rough weather, three or four months passed before the
vessel sailed up the St Lawrence and landed the newcomers at Montreal.
Hardly half of their difficulties were then overcome or half of their
dangers passed. If they were to find their new locations by land, they
must walk or travel by slow ox-cart; if they journeyed by water, they
must make their way up the St Lawrence by open boat, surmounting the
many rapids in succession, poling the boats, pulling against the stream,
at times helping to carry heavy loads over the portages. Their new homes
in the backwoods were in townships in the rear of those settled by the
loyalists, or in unoccupied areas lying on the lake-fronts between the
four districts referred to as having been taken up by the loyalists.
Then began the settlements along the north shore of Lake Ontario and of
Lake Erie, and the population moved forward steadily. In 1816 the total
population of the province was approximately 100,000; by 1826, according
to returns made to the government, it had increased to 166,000; in 1836
it was 374,000, and in 1841 it was 456,000. The great majority of these
people, of course, lived upon the land, the towns being comparatively
small, and the villages were composed largely of people engaged in
agricultural work.

This peaceful British invasion contributed a new element to the
province and added still further to the variety of the people. 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. Even to this day can be seen traces
of the differences in construction of buildings introduced by the
different nationalities that came as pioneers into the various sections
of the province--the French Canadian constructed his buildings with
long, steep roofs; the Englishman followed his home plan of many small,
low outbuildings with doors somewhat rounded at the top; the German and
Dutch settler built big barns with their capacious mows. These latter
have become the type now generally followed, the main improvement in
later years being the raising of the frames upon stone foundations so as
to provide accommodation for live stock in the basement. It would be
interesting and profitable to study carefully the different localities
to determine what elements have contributed to the peculiar agricultural
characteristics of the present day. In this connection the language also
might be investigated. For instance, to the early Dutch farmers of Upper
Canada we owe such common words as'stoop,' 'bush,' 'boss,''span.' To
the early British settler these were foreign words. When the oversea
settlers came up the St Lawrence they were transported from Montreal
either by 'bateau' or by 'Durham boat.'[2]

Special reference must be made to the live stock introduced by the
British settlers. This was one of the most important elements in the
expansion and permanent development of the agriculture of the province.
The British Isles have long been noted for their pure-bred stock. In no
other part of the world have so many varieties been originated and
improved. In horses, there are the Clydesdale, the Shire, the
Thoroughbred, and the Hackney; in cattle, Shorthorns, Herefords,
Ayrshires, Devon, and the dairy breeds of Jersey and Guernsey; in sheep,
Southdowns, Shropshires, Leicesters; in swine, Berkshires and
Yorkshires. Many other breeds might be added to these. Poultry and dogs
also might be referred to. The Britisher has been noted for his love of
live stock. He has been trained to their care, his agricultural methods
have been ordered to provide food suitable for their wants, and he has
been careful to observe the lines of breeding so as to improve their
quality. In the earliest period of the settlement of the province live
stock was not numerous and the quality was not of the best. Whatever was
to be found on the farms came mainly from the United States and was of
inferior type. 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.

By 1830 the population had grown to about 213,000, practically all
located on the land. In that year there were only five towns of 1000 or
over: namely, Kingston, 3587; York (Toronto), 2860; London, (including
the township), 2415; Hamilton (including the township), 2013; and
Brockville, 1130. The returns to the government show that of the
4,018,385 acres occupied 773,727 were under cultivation. On the farms
were to be found 30,776 horses, 33,517 oxen, 80,892 milch cows, and
32,537 young cattle. It is interesting to note that oxen, so useful in
clearing land and in doing heavy work, were more numerous than horses.
Oxen were hardier than horses; they could forage for themselves and live
on rough food, and when disabled could be converted into food. They thus
played a very important part in the pioneer life. There were no improved
farm implements in those days: the plough, the spade, the hoe, the fork,
the sickle, the hook, the cradle, and the rake--implements that had been
the husbandman's equipment for centuries--completed the list. With these
the farmer cultivated his lands and gathered his crops. With two stout
hickory poles, joined together at the end with tough leather thongs, a
flail was made with which he threshed out his grain on the floor of his
barn.

The earliest pioneers raised some flax, and from the fibre made coarse
linen fabrics, supplementing these by skins of wild animals and the
hides of cattle. With the introduction of sheep by the British settlers
wool became an important product, and homespun garments provided
additional clothing for all the members of the family. Seeds of various
fruit trees were planted, and by 1830 the products of these seedlings
supplemented the wild plums and cherries of the woods and the wild
raspberries that sprang up in abundance in the clearings and slashes. 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. The
isolation of the former period disappeared as roads of communication
were opened up and extended.

Here and there societies were formed for the exhibition of the products
of the farm and for friendly competitions. So important were these
societies becoming in the life of the whole community that in 1830 the
government gave them recognition and provided an annual grant to assist
them in their work. This is an important event in agricultural history,
for it marks the beginning of government assistance to the agricultural
industry. Between 1820 and 1830 probably not more than half a dozen
agricultural societies were organized. Some records of such were
preserved at York, Kingston, and in the Newcastle district. From the
record of the County of Northumberland Agricultural Society it is
learned that its first show was held in the public square of the village
of Colborne on October 19, 1828, when premiums were awarded amounting in
all to seventy-seven dollars. There were fourteen prizes for live stock,
two prizes for cheese, two for field rollers, and two for essays on the
culture of wheat. The first prize essay, for which the winner received
five dollars, was printed for distribution. 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. Let the
      underwood be cut in the autumn before the leaves fall, and
      the large timber in the winter or early in the spring. This
      will insure a good burn, which is the first thing requisite
      for a good crop. Do your logging in the month of June, and
      if you wish to make money, do it before you burn your brush
      and save the ashes; these will more than half pay you for
      clearing the land: and by burning at this season you will
      attract a drove of cattle about you that will destroy all
      sprouts which may be growing; do not leave more than four
      trees on an acre and girdle these in the full moon of March
      and they will never leaf again; thus you may have your land
      prepared for the seed before harvest.

The act of 1830 provided a grant of L100 for a society in each district,
upon condition that the members subscribed and paid in at least L50, and
in the case of a society being organized in each county the amount was
to be equally divided among the societies. The condition of making the
grant was set forth in the act as follows: 'When any Agricultural
Society, for the purpose of importing valuable live stock, grain, grass
seeds, useful implements or whatever else might conduce to the
improvement of agriculture in this Province,' etc.

As a result of this substantial assistance by the government,
agricultural societies increased in number, and their influence, in
assisting in the improvement of the live stock and the bringing of new
implements to the attention of farmers, was most marked.

Horses, sheep and milch cows increased rapidly. Purebred cattle now
began to receive some attention. The first record of importation is the
bringing of a Shorthorn bull and a cow from New York State in 1831 by
Robert Arnold of St Catharines. In 1833 Rowland Wingfield, an Englishman
farming near Guelph, brought a small herd of choice animals across the
ocean, landed them at Montreal, took them to Hamilton by way of the
Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal, and Lake Ontario, and then drove them on
foot to Wellington County. The Hon. Adam Fergusson of Woodhill followed
two or three years later with a similar importation.

The first Ayrshire cattle can be traced back to the Scottish settlers
who arrived during this period. These emigrants had provided their own
food for the voyage to Canada, and in some cases brought a good milch
cow to provide fresh milk on the voyage. She would be disposed of on
landing, at Montreal or in the eastern part of Upper Canada. This
accounts for the early predominance of Ayrshires in Eastern Ontario.
Thus to the period 1830-45 belongs the first foundation of the pure-bred
stock industry.

It was in this period also that the first signs appear of improved farm
implements and labour-saving machinery. Ploughs of improved pattern,
lighter and more effective, were being made. Land rollers and harrows
made in the factory began to take the place of the home-made articles.
Crude threshing machines, clover-seed cleaners, root-cutters, and a
simple but heavy form of hay-rake came into use. 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 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 agricultural paper called the _British American
Cultivator_ had been established in York, and through this paper, in
letters and editorials, the idea of a provincial association was
advocated. For three years the discussion proceeded, until finally, in
1846, there was organized the Provincial Agricultural Association and
Board of Agriculture for Canada West, composed of delegates from the
various district societies. The result was that the first provincial
exhibition was held in Toronto on October 21 and 22 of that year. The
old Government House at the south-western corner of King Street and
Simcoe Street, then empty, was used for the exhibits, and the stock and
implements were displayed in the adjoining grounds. The Canada Company
gave a contribution of $200, eight local societies made donations, about
$280 was secured as gate money, and 297 members paid subscriptions.
Premiums were paid to the amount of $880, the bulk of which went to live
stock; books, which cost about $270, were given as prizes; and there was
left a cash balance on hand of $400. A ploughing match was held, and on
the evening of the first day a grand banquet was given, attended by the
officers and directors and by some of the leading citizens of Toronto.
Among the speakers at this banquet were Chief Justice Robinson and
Egerton Ryerson, superintendent of education.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] See 'Shipping and Canals' in section v. pp. 489-90.


ORGANIZED AGRICULTURE, 1846-67

The organization of this provincial association fittingly introduces
another era in agricultural growth. It is to be noted that this
provincial organization was a self-created body; it drew at first no
government funds direct. It commended itself to the people, for on July
28, 1847, the provincial parliament in session at Montreal passed an act
incorporating it under the name of the Agricultural Association of Upper
Canada, and in the charter named as members a number of the leading
citizens of the province. It was governed by a board of directors, two
of whom were chosen annually by each district agricultural society. The
objects set forth were the improvement of farm stock and produce, the
improvement of agricultural implements, and the encouragement of
domestic manufactures, of useful inventions applicable to agricultural
or domestic purposes, and of every branch of rural and domestic economy.
Out of this provincial association came all the further agricultural
organizations of a provincial nature, and ultimately, some forty years
later, the Ontario department of Agriculture.

The second provincial exhibition was held at Hamilton in 1847, and Lord
Elgin, the governor-general, was in attendance. He was also a generous
patron, for his name appears as a donor of $100. The address which he
delivered at the banquet has been preserved in the published records and
is copiously marked with cheers and loud applause.

The third exhibition was held at Cobourg in 1848. The official report of
the exhibits indicates that pure-bred stock was rapidly increasing and
improving in quality; but the most significant paragraph is that dealing
with implements, and this is well worth quoting in full.

      Of implements of Canada make, the Show was deficient; and
      we were much indebted to our American neighbours for their
      valuable aid on this occasion. A large number of ploughs,
      straw-cutters, drills, cornshellers, churns, etc., etc.,
      were brought over by Messrs Briggs & Co. of Rochester, Mr
      Emery of Albany, and a large manufacturing firm near
      Boston. Mr Bell of Toronto exhibited his excellent plough,
      straw-cutter, and reaping machine. The first prize for the
      latter article was awarded to Mr Helm of Cobourg for the
      recent improvements which he has effected. Mr Clark of
      Paris exhibited his one-horse thrashing-mill, which
      attracted much attention.

At the fourth exhibition, held at Kingston in 1849, the show of
implements was much more extensive, and comment was made on the
improvement of articles of home manufacture. At this meeting Professor
J. F. W. Johnson, of Edinburgh, who was making a tour of North America,
was present. The address of the president, Henry Ruttan of Cobourg, is a
most valuable reference article descriptive of the agricultural progress
of the province from the first settlements in 1783 to the time of the
exhibition. Ruttan was a loyalist's son, and, from his own personal
knowledge, he described the old plough that was given by the government
to each of the first settlers.

      It consisted of a small iron socket, whose point entered by
      means of a dove-tailed aperture into the heel of the
      coulter, which formed the principal part of the plough, and
      was in shape similar to the letter L, the shank of which
      went through the wooden beam, and the foot formed the point
      which was sharpened for operation. One handle and a plank
      split from the side of a winding block of timber, which did
      duty for the mould-board, completed the implement. Besides
      provisions for a year, I think each family had issued to
      them a plough-share and coulter, a set of dragg-teeth, a
      log chain, an axe, a saw, a hammer, a bill hook and a
      grubbing hoe, a pair of hand-irons and a cross-cut saw
      amongst several families, and a few other articles.

He then refers to the large number of implements then being pressed upon
the farmers, until 'they have almost become a nuisance to the farmer who
desires to purchase a really useful article.' All of which indicates
that a distinctive feature of the period beginning with 1846 was the
introduction and rapid extension of improved farm machinery.

A few words as to the reaping machine, which contributed more than any
other modern implement to the development of agriculture in the past
century, may not be out of place. Various attempts had been made at
producing a machine to supersede the sickle, the scythe, and the cradle
before the Rev. Patrick Bell, in 1826, presented his machine to the
Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland for its examination. Bell's
machine was fairly successful, and one was then in operation on the farm
of his brother, Inch-Michael, in the Carse of Gowrie. One set of knives
was fixed, another set worked above and across these like the blades of
a pair of scissors. The grain fell on an endless cloth which carried and
deposited the heads at the side of the machine. A horse pushed it
forward and kept all parts in motion. It was simple, and, we are told,
harvested twelve acres in a day. This was in 1826. In the _New York
Farmer and American Gardener's Magazine_ for 1834 may be found the
descriptions and illustrations of Obed Hussey's grain-cutter and Cyrus
H. McCormick's 'improved reaping-machine.' The question has been raised
as to whether either of these United States inventions owed anything to
the earlier production of Patrick Bell. It was, of course, the improved
United States reaping machines that found their way into Upper Canada
shortly after the organization of the Provincial Agricultural
Association. Our interest in this matter is quickened by the fact that
the Rev. Patrick Bell, when a young man, was for some time a tutor in
the family of a well-to-do farmer in the county of Wellington, and there
is a tradition that while there he carried on some experiments in the
origination of his machine. The suggestion of a'mysterious visitor'
from the United States to the place where he was experimenting is
probably mere conjecture.

This period, 1846 to 1867, was one of rapid growth in population. 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.

