The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

l . , countrygt lavage, finanoipl press of Canada, as well gs by private and special correspondence. I One of the branches of study of aimost in-_ teresting andsimportantcharacter, is tuat of the continuously changing conditions of the cultivation of the land. ' _ “'e see in Great Britain immense estates ceasing to be profitably cultivated, whilst the peo le of the towns and cities find. it impossi le to procure fruits or vegetables at reasonable prices, so that, in fact, the work- ing classes scarcely know the taste of fruit and seldom obtain such vegetables as are necessary to health of body and mind. In the Eastern United States we see a similar state of affairs gradually increasmg in intensity, yet in both Great Britain and in the United States there is a rapid in- crease in general wealth, with a gradual widening of the dividing line betWeen rich and poor, between those who have every comfort at their command and those whose lot is constantly becoming more cheerless and hopeless. The cities and towns are in- cita big in extent, in population and in riches, whilst the country and the Villages are being depleted and impoverished ; mort- gages are being renewed, increased or fore- closed, although the rates of interest, by their decrease, show that there is not profit- able use for the borrowed money. _ It is my intention, if possible, at some time in the mar future, to write upon the causes of the mistakes and hindrances in connec- tion with the mining industries of Canada, but my present subject is that of the culti- vation of the land in Ontario and the Bour- bonism of those who should have the inter- ests of the cultivators as their chief study and care. I am not ignorant of the work done at the Government farms and colleges, in fact, I write in the hope that their pre- sent comparative uselessness, may by an occasional glance outside of theirboundaries on the part of those who have the control of them, lead to such breadth of statesman- ship as will cause them to minister to the ' wealth, comfort and happiness of the agri- cultural classes en masse. I do not wish to see any material change in the“National Policy,” but I do regret the general feeling that everything should be sacrificed to the interests of the manufac- tiirers or that it should be imagined that the-welfare of Canada depends altogether upon their success, whilst our forests are being depleted, our mines are unworkcd, our immense stores of iron are not utilized, and our lands are being exhausted, although it must be obvious to every careful observer that we should so protect the regions in which trees only can be sources of in- come, as that new forests may grow to re- place those properly removed, we should remedy the faults of our mining systems, and as “grain areas” remove north-west- ward, we should rcplaco grain crops by others more remunerativc. I aiu aware that spasmodic attempts in this latter direction have been made by gentlemen in the province of Quebec, by which they have suffered severe losses, but as these attempts were made without previous consideration of the peculiar circumstances of the country, they have proved hindrances instead of benefits. I refer particularly to the establishment of beet sugar factories at Coaticook, West Farnhain, Berthieren Haut, etc. , cuterpiiscs of it character to advance the interests of the agriculturists, but under- taken iii such manner as not to be adapted to the habits and circumstances of the peo- ple, consequently, just as certainly fore-con- demned to loss and failure, as would the erection of a monster cheese factory to be dependent upon milk to be carried from for distant points without any provision for either the purity or the quantity or the re- gularity of the supplyâ€"for the protection of the material from decay or for the utiliza- tion of the waste. ' In the latter part of the preceding para- graph I have indicated the matter to be considered when providnig for the introduc- tion of any industry which has previously been foreign to the country, because no one could dcsi '11 more beautiful machinery ; appliances )ctt-er adapted for the purposes for which they were intended, have never been seen in Canada than was placed in these eastern beet sugar factories. There is no doubt of the practical patriotism of their promoters, nor that they had assurances of success from parties whom they deemed to be competent, so that the fact that these factories either remain idle or are diverted from their proper use, is a matter greatly to be regretted by all Canadians, the more es- pecially as whether for the productlonof the raw material or for the disposal ofthc finish- ed product, no country can excel Canada. With thcze facts in mind, and enlighten- cd by our cxpcricnccs, let us consider the necessary concomitanis of ilic production of sugar from heat roots with profit to all conâ€" cerned. 'l'iics‘c arc, l. The propcr cultivation of the beet in order that it may produce the llltLXllllllll‘iUf s:i.‘ch.irinc with a minimumof saliuc matter. ‘2. Au assurcd supply of properly culti~ vatcd roots in order that the factories may not be illlL‘ for want of mafcriul. 3. A method of manufacturc which will dispense with the expensive land carriage ofthc boots to distant points. 4. A market or use for the refuse of the crushed beets. 5. A “'1‘” organized system of cultivation and of gradual mauufucturc with a view to such economy as will not prevent efficiency in any state of the operations. 6. The cooperation of all the interests fcr the general benefit. There is no doubt but that the system which prevails on the continent of Europe could be established here, but as it would confer only local benefits and tho:e ofdoubt- I ful character, it is not wise to contemplate its introduction. vet we should learn what we can from it and find how far they may be adopted, or with advantage combined wiih industries which are already established in Canada. \Vc do not want colonies of serfs in this country, but more frccmcu breath- ing pure air and living pure lives. I. The proper cultivation of bee! roots must be provided for when the guarantee for market and payment is given, license ne 'ligence or carelessness in their cultivation wi result in such excem of saline matter as will cause loss, not only in respect to the particular crops which are improperly grown, but to all that they may be mired with, thus embarrassing all the stages of _ marke 6 il- usgfvlosdfp the gro j, '. its gm! value f u e v ' ' ‘urance d :‘, ‘ fgdthe cultiva " n fies as wo A n ni xmre with chaff or gi‘ain‘of al, still there would be no necessity for either failure of market or of payment ifa thorough system wereadopted. _ , ,_ ‘ p , _ 7 3. The carta'ge and freight charges upon the beets which form the raw material are generally very important items in‘tlie‘ cost of the finished product, ‘whilst the profitable disposition of the waste of the crushed beets is'absolutely ’ésse‘htial fo the financial 'suc- cess of the enterprise. I propose to lessen the cost for cartage 'by lessening the weight and hull: of the product to be conveyed, and to secure the profitable disposition the re- fuse by causing it to be consumed on the farms upon which the beets are rown. This can only be done by widening t ie sphere of usefulness and of interest, but cannot‘be done so long as the one unconibined idea of making sugar from beets restricts the scope of the enterprise. Let us then consuler the facilities now in existence and all the in- cheese factories is generally continued from the beginning of June to the end of Decem- ber; they are idle during the remainder of the ycar. If they could be put to profitable use from the first of October every year to the end of May every succeeding year their returns, in proportion to the capital invested in them, would be doubled. These cheese factories have enabled the profitable breeding and feeding of cattle and the conservation of the productions of the soil because of the return to it of the elements of fertility; they necessitate the use of large tin cans which could be used for the conveyance of other 1i ,uids when not required for milk; they contain steam boil ers and pipes and pans which could be used for the purpose of evaporation. The sugar beet reaches prefectiou at the time of the year when the ordinary use of the cheese factories has ceased. At this time of the year certain cows are dried, some for fatten- ing and others for breeding purposes. The leaves of the beet are excellent food for cat- tle, either for milk-producing, or fattening for ordinary feeding purposes, or for com- bination with other contents of silos. That which is required is aprocess of eva- poration and a treatment of the cheese fac- tories or slight additions thereto, so as to advance the syrup to such a stage as will enable it to be conveyed to the central or sugar-producing factory to be finished into refined sugar. 'Theii the farmer will wash and crush his beets at home day by (lay in such quantities as will enable him to feed his cattle the re- fuse of the beets whilst it is fresh and pal- atable. He will fill the cans, erstwhile used for containing milk, with the expressed juice of the beets; these cans will be 1. rynpt- ly collected just as the .' now are, conveyed to the now syrup factory and their contents immediately operated upon; the sacchar- ometer will take the place of the lactomct- er; the patrons of the factory will be pro- tected from fraud in the same way they now are in reference to milk ; the buildings and appliances of the cheese factory will be in use for at least three months longer every year than they now are, and another source of income will be open to every agricultural- ist. But we go further, because the gain to the farmer will be so great as to encourage him to an extension of the principles of co- operation which have proved so advantageous to him in the matter of cheese factories. In order to use his daily supply of crushed beets, the farmer will require to feed a large quantity of hay or chopped straw and of crushed grain, thus using on his own land 1 with profit what he now sells without any... But his great advantage will be in the in: creased means of preservin the fertility of the soil which will enable Iiiin to cultivate crops which are now impossible because of their exhausting nature. growing of flax would become more general, which would add another month to the sea: son for profitable labor, because there is no reasonwhy the separationof theseedand the preparation of the fibre should not be done )y the farmer at his own home. In Ontario and Quebec the growth of grain for export has ceased to be profitable ; it is not likely that it will ever again be a profit- able pursuit in either province, so that it is necessary for some other means of profitable farming to be found. The breeding and fat- tening of cattle; the breeding and trainiiur of horses ; the production of cheese, cggsaud poultry, and the growth of fruit are now the only profit yielding branches of agriculture. If we can only add to these such other oish producing products as sugar, flux- llax-sccd, linseed oil and oil cake, with out the requirements of extraordinary outlay of capital, and with the preservation of the fertility of the soil aswell as with a prolong- ation of the season for profitable labourupon our farms we shall have made as desirable :in advance as was the case when the cheese factory systrm was adopted. Not only will this be done, but the fertility of the soilwill be increased by the consumption upon the farm of much that now leaves it for want of combination, and by reason of the better cultivation requisite for the production of sugar beets and of flux. So much for the farms : now for the beet sugar factories. liy this system they would receive a regular supply of material,little of which would be waste, concerning none of which there would be doubt of danger ; in connection with which there would beneithcr unnecessary frcights nor unavailable pro- duct. They would require less capital than the culinary factory, their output would keep pace with their outliy, they would at the end of each: month pay for the syru re. ccivcd during the month, and would iave returns from most of the month's product of ihcirown factory before the. time of payment for the syrup would arrive. As to the country in general, no one can estimate the benefits which would accrue from this sytcui. A rough calculation shows an increase in the cash receipts of the farm- ers of about twenty five per cent. not from the growth of sugar beet alone as that would be an absurd computation, but from the in- creased ‘iroductions of beef, pork, fax eggs and poultry. all of which bring cash to the farmer, and because the fact of the profit would stimulate the better cultivation of duccments which rm uire to be offered. First, we have in various parts of the coun- try, buildings and applian :es for the manu- facture of cheese which have been the means of distributing immense amounts of ready money in the districts in which they are situated. The active operation of these So, therefore, .to m witli’lgt-his dififiulty at once. I £3. The country store-keeper, the the machinist, the whole- t, indeed all classes of society ' ‘ lar ow into th , oftt‘the gaff t the iion-neggsss' {for the mi, . f raw material-Jo ..,our-;.sugu‘ a: c , eézf‘l'i‘ould‘keep in the moldy an im- m' mense‘tainount‘of money which now. goes out of it. The missing link is the mode of treat- ment of the expressed juice from the beets. I think this is not a very formidable diffi‘ cultv if properly faced, and I think it is worth the while of our sugar refiners, the owners of the now idle beet sugar factories, our ministers of agriculture, the managers of our experimental farm and agricultural colleges, our agricfilt'ural societies, our chemists and our machinery manufacturers ot see why we should not p beet sugar justas successfully as the French or Germans do, or iron as good as the Rus- ian‘s or SWedes, nor yet why we should be obliged to follow the methods of France, Germany, Sweden ’or Russia, when we can reach the same end by means better cal- culated to promote the health, comfort, morality and prosperity of our people. The solution of the robleins as to the best methods of transp anting old-world indus- tries into a new country in which the con- ditions of climate, land tenure, habits of life, and many other considerations are iii- volved, is worthy of the study of our most enlightened citizens, not only from a patrio- tic point of view, but because of the material benefit‘which would accure to every interest in which we are concerned, not the least of which is preservation of that independ- ence of character which can only be, found in the ranks of the successful agricul- turist. Many, years ago the farmer found pro- fitable employment in the fall and winter, in the clearing of forests and the piepara- tion of §laiid and timber for the opera.- tions of the succeeding Spring, but now he is without money producing pursuits for himself and for his labourers from Octo- ber to May, except in very few caSes ; con- sequently, the labourers are driven out of the country or into the towns, and the farmer is handicapped during the season of active operations, by the difficulty and expense of obtaining assistance which he cannot utilize except one half of the year. Increase the length of the term of profit- | able labour upon our farms, and you induce the settlement of labourers, who, working constantly, could afford to work more cheap- ly, working regularly, would do better work, I lead better lives, be profitable customers to our merchants and increase the prosperity of the whole of our countrymen. “'0 must not lose sight of the fact that beet root sugar is gradually and continu- ously driving cane sugar out of the market as an article of commerce. The decline of cane sugar is at the rate of about 100,000 tons per annuin. It is stated that fourteen thousand tons of beets were crushed in the sugar factory of Claus Spreckless in Cali fornia, last season. The sugar from these beets weighed 1,640 tons. Farmers who en- tered upon beet culture netted an average of $35 an acre. Next season the production of beet sugar will be much larger. In confirmation of my assertion as to the progress of the beet sugar industry, I quote from the popular Science Monthly of May last: “The simple and inexpensive methods adopted in the German factories have made the beet sugar manufacture one of the most profitable of industries, and the work goes on day and night, at a prime cost for conversion of $2 per ton of beets, or 1 Cent per pound of sugar, not estimating the cost of beet root, but including labour and all materials used, like coal, coke, lime, charcoal, wear and tear, and interest on the invested capital. The monthly disbursements of such an establish- ment exceed sixty thousand dollars, and give employment to thousands of wage earn- ers in direct and collateral industries. One sugar corporation in France reported a net profit derived from the manufacture of beet an ar e. fewyears ago of two 'millions of do Vrs,-aiid"the‘ seasondld not extend be- ;yond one hundred and twenty days. Under these‘iiew conditions the, produc. tion of beet'sugar in coiitinental Europe has doubled in the last decade; and after the home populations are supplied, the surplus is exported" to Great Britain and the United States, reducing the price of sugar in the markets of the world more than fifty per cut. The sugar refineries of this country use the beet and cane sugar indiscriminately in the manufacture of the block sugar of com- merce, and the family grocer sells the im- ported refined beet sugar at a price from twenty five to fifty per cent above the price of cane sugar. Before the late war, Louisiana produced more sugar than Germany, and although the beef. sugar industry in the latter country ,Mas greatly stimulated by the high prices of sugar prevailing incident to the entire destruction of the cane sugar industry of the United States, yet as late as 187:3 the eni- pii'c produced only twenty five hundred :roduction ~ n us , , .éhi .m l -‘-| ‘u ' if! K C‘ _.,'i- theegporid's Eyield of; j .1 was 233230030” as ,‘minsgfzwo, :j r,% year before, 1.3 dmei‘of near tons. Last year ‘fiie yield of beet "sugar was 2,808,000, an increase of about,400,000 tons over the yield of the previous year. THE FLAX INDUSTRY IN CANADA.‘ The flax industry of Ontario has grown to be aconsiderable one. Its head quarters are in the County of Waterloo, where the l , flax, and it was so t sin fforiued the scin t of his letter would be e red by tho :depart . i m l “\v‘“ ifevl‘niid‘gin it said an ;English mytdlli ‘ . “skin 3 'mcs. llilt ;there are different inds df‘frighf. l have [served in India, in Egypt and in Western lAfrica, but the worst 'funk’ I was ever in ;wus when thcre was no enemy within ltliousunds of iuilcs'of iiic. ; "I was a captain at the time. and was sta- ltioncd at Fort Royal. Jamaica. \\'c. had ; just got u lot of recruits on our hands, the Periues of Doon and the Livingstones of ruwcst, 'rcencst recruits you ever saw. I Baden have develo day of small things. After many experi- ments and vicissitudes these firms and otheis ffitalily done; how far native flax can be produced and used with advantage, and when it is necessary to import from Hol- iland. There are now a number of mills, I besides the establishments, such as that of Elliot 5: Co. of Toronto, which crush the seed and make oil cake. “'eir, of St. Mary‘s, and S. J. & D. Taylor l of Guelph, and some others scutch flax and export it. For several years past efforts have been made to develop flax-growing in Manitoba, and the reports of the Department of Agri- culture iii that province contain yearly re- ference to the crop. There appears at pre- sent to be a desire to not only grow flax there but to manufacture it into binding twincs, with the praiseworth ' object of ro- ducing at home an article so largely user by the farmers of our North “'est. It is well to remember, however, that there are limi- tations of soil and climate which affect the ‘istaple. Some-samplesfrom Manitoba are i pronounced, we are told, too hurt in straw lor fibre to be suited for such manufactur- l l l ing purposes. The Messrs. Periiie, of Bonn, Oiit., after an experience of some twenty-five years 3111 growing, scutching and manufacturing, l now run two scutching mills, and l have reached a pitch of success which enables them to turn out, as . we are told, a ton of goods per day, principally twine, for grain-binders, counter use, express, furniture, sacking and whatnot. They exhibit eighty seven difi'creiitsamplcs. I They employtlic year round some 160 hands, , men, women and girls, and in the fall of the year about 400 in all. Their flax binder- twineiiow forms a very important portion of l their total output. Some gentlemen at Amherst, U. S., pur- pose starting afactory for the manufacture I of linens, twines, threads &c., from home l grown flax. During the past five years ’ Canada exported nearly $400,000 of flux, and imported over $6,000,000 worth of manufactures of flux. The work of manu- facturing home-grown flax in the country would appear to be a promising industry. A new process with Flax Fibreâ€"The U. S. Economist of New York publishes the following letter from an American, travelling | in Ireland, which should bear some interest [for Ontario Flax growers : “There is nothing in the climate or soil conflicting with the assertion that just as good flax and linen may be produced in every state in the American Union as in any coun- try. Germany now spins and weaves the finest linen, and she has no essentially (lif- fering climate from America. There is every reason why the American farmers should producea million acres for flux for both seed and fibre over and above what is now produced, which would give 12,000,000 to 15,000,000, bushels of seed, worth as many millions of dollars, and 2,500,000 tons of flux straw, worth $50,000,0()0,€and from which 500,000 tons of flax fibre would bc'ob- tained worth $100,000,000. Once established, American invention would soon build up an industry to consume this raw material. Further than this I have to say t-hathelieve an entire revolution in flax and linen for the whole world is at hand, and most assuredly awaitin the operations of the next few months to emonstrate this in America. I have discovered a rocess by which the flax strawi is handle , and its fibre recovered in a length of time of but five minutes, from the dry natural straw to the perfect fibre, doing-away with all water or dew wetting and the labor of soutching, and producing a fibre as soft and fine as raw silk, saving the great expense of bleaching, while the fibre is much stronger and the yield much greater than by the old pro- cesses of dew and water rotting. I have demonstrated the practicability of this iii- vention, made the ‘fibre from American, Irish and Belgian flax straw, and had it spun and woven, and there is an exhibit of the American product at the late l’uris ex- ped. the business from the {was drillin them in rifle practice at long i range, and iiid great trouble to make them obeyorders with precision. In fact, one could reduce ; have found out what can and cannot be pro. ‘ never be sure whether they would fire when E van wanted them to r . resent or present when 3 you wanted them to _ e. ' l "‘I"had been sending "them through a , practice one afternoon and they were so : terribly stupid that I got into a vile humor. The diiy was .fcarfully warm Shae thc sun Then Weir 8:. beat down so fieralythaflntheja wicked jbrute, got into. anmlmost uugovcrnablc . temper. I sat on my horse at the right of i the squad and was giving them volley prac- tice at long range. , Whenpiy patience was entirely one the men ’seeiiicd to giiiiiu little sense out began to fire with rapidity and l accuracy. T iings were running as smooth- ‘ 1y as clockwork and I was soon soothed iii- to checrfuhiess despite the heat. Not so my horse. He was never more vicious. “\Ve were getting along so well by this time that it was ‘Reudy ! l‘rcscnt ! li‘irc !’ and the volley would ring out like a single report. ‘f Once I cried out ‘Rcady 1’ and the work was as pretty as that ‘of veterans. ” ‘l‘resent,’ and rifle went up to shoulder in perfect form. At the very instant I was about to say ‘Firc !’ my fretting horse bolted, cutting directly across the range. I was not twenty feet from the squad. My cyc caught. the glittering rifles leveled right at me and instinctively I closed my eyes and ducked my head. If you know what- llritish soldiers are you can imagine my feelings, my terrible fear, for as I said before, I was never before in such a ‘funk.’ I knew that ifI opcncd my mouth those recruits would riddle my body with rifle balls, for they were expecting the word ‘Fire !’ and probably would have taken any sound for that. My desire to cry out “As you were !’ to get the rifles off my body was so great that 1 had to clciich my teeth to keep from crying out. Of course the whole thing took only it few seconds, but it was many minâ€" utes longer than that to me. “When my plunging horse had carried me froiu before the motionless rifles I managed to wheel him. As he came around I cried ‘firc!’ and every one of those stolid men obcyed the command with absolute precision. 'l‘luit assured me all the more that had I opened my month while crossing their range I should have been a dead man, for they were not drilled sufficiently to distinguish a (lillbl‘t‘lll) order at the last instant and yet followed onc’s words with a blind fidelity. “I have often thought,” added the oilicci‘, with a strange smile on his lips, “that those recruits fancied I had cut across them to test their drill, for they showed no sur )I'lSo, not the faintest sign of emotion, when sud- denly wheeled and cried ‘fir \ !’ Butyou may well believe that this was not the Case. And I pledge you that never afterward in rifle practice did I get caught in so danger- ous and helpless a situation.” ~<>â€"~â€"â€"â€"â€" The Month of Maiiiages. When the clover’s in its prime, Then’s the sweetest marriage time, They the longest honeymoon Have who marr ' now in June, \Vheii the earth 3 been Wooed and won, And the summer’s just begun ; “KL-en the daylight loves to stay, And steals half the ni ht away ; And the moonbcaius s iino so deep That there seems no time for sleep ; When the air throbs with the gush 0f the silver-throated thrush, And the soil has felt the thiill, And bursts into bloom at will, Imitating every shade That the skies have ever made; \thn the perfume, songs, and light, Earth’s fulfilment of her plight, Steal into the human heart, Making all the love chords start Into harmonics so sweet _ That there secmcth no retreat But to sing and blossom, too, Just- as the birds and flowers do. .â€"â€"â€"’â€"â€"â€"-â€"â€"â€"â€" Smoking in Venice. It is the all but universal custom among hibition, placed there by Mr. Dodge of the the fashionable ladies of venicc of the pro- l)epartiuent of Agriculture at \Vushington, sent day to smoke cigarettes, both when last January. I enclose you a small sample l alone and in company: The hostess. at u. oftlic fibre as produced in five minutes by bull among the. nobility i‘oitoiVl's her guests the new process from the flux straw takcii - with a cigarette between her fingers, and all in its natural condition, and no injurious the fair damcs smoke in the pauses of the chemicals are used, nothing more so than an , dance. emulsion of linseed oil." The sample cn-l The wifcof the son of Robert Browning, closed was examined with much interest by i an American lady, ci'cutml a profound H'llf-ll- l'rof. Willcts, Assistant Secretary of Alzri- l tion in \‘cnctiun societ'i' lit-‘1 lel' l'\' ill‘vlitl“ culture, who in his earlier days, had liacklcd i lug that she would not'inviicladirrsin Hiwlm l at her house, and the littlc daughter of nu- TIIE SUPPRESSION 0F VICE. other Aiiici'ii_-iiii lady uiimnm'iously uttci'cd a severe criticism upon the custom. The mother was visiting :in italiau woman of title, and in her honor a ball was given in 'thc palace of the hostess. The little girl, I who was (5 years old, was tukt-ii by her lilll‘i-u: lfroin her bed ton gallery whore Hlll' would ' look down into the bull-roqu after the min- niiiy had assembled. Slit- lookwl at the bril- liant sight for a moman in silciicc, and thvu - asked. in much wonder. “\thrc are the ladies '1" “\Vhy, the hall is full of thcm,"unsworcd I the nurse. “Oh, no," said the child, “all those women but uizuuma are smoking." 1 .._.._..___.'__â€"â€"â€"â€"-- ‘ The Cholera in Europe. 'l'hc march of the cholera is worth noting lixtrcfully. 'l'hc gruesome prophecies about ' the proluibilitics of a sweep of the drradful 'peutilcncc ovt-r the world in 1890 announces i that it Would start from Asia, as it has dour. ; It has swap! on to the Mmlitcrrancan, and ! has now made a descent upon Spanish ports which are in commut communication with , our Atlantic seaports. Valencia, when: the gviuitation is now extremely severe, in con- ] stantly receiving and sending out American itiadiug shi sand steamers. Perhap» the plague will )0 mastered and ltxxihzcd before it creeps northward to Paris and London; perhspait will defy all science. If it in- creases in Europe all American cities should Policeman No. 1379-31 .'â€"Look out boys, clear away quick, we are going to make a pay special attention to their sanitation raid on you. until the autumn frosts arrive.