134 APPENDIX I.

instances less than it is at the Experimental Farm at
Ottawa. At Dunvegan the grain was sown May 7
and harvested August 21, giving a growing period of
ror days. The same sorts of grain grown at Ottawa,
taking the average of three years, require 106 days.
At Fort Vermillion the time between sowing and
harvesting was also 101 days. At Fort Providence
108 days were required to bring grain to maturity,
from June 1 to September 17, and at Fort Simpson
the wheat was sown June 7 and harvested September
22, giving a growing period of 107 days.
A REASONABLE PROPHECY.

The total imports of wheat and flour into Great
Britain in 1902 were equivalent in all to about 200
million bushels of wheat. Were one-fourth of the
land said to be suitable for cultivation in Manitoba
and the three Provisional Territories under crop with
wheat annually, and the average production equal to
that of Manitoba for the past ten years, the total crop
would be over 812 million bushels. This would be
ample to supply the home demand for 30 millions of
inhabitants (supposing the population of Canada
should by that time reach that figure) and meet the
present requirements of Great Britain threetimes over.
This estimate deals only with a portion of the West,
and it leaves the large Eastern Provinces out of consideration
 altogether. From this it would seem to be
quite possible that Canada may be in a position within
comparatively few years, after supplying all home
demands, to furnish Great Britain with all the wheat
and flour she requires and leave a surplus for export
to other countries. With a rural population on the
western plains in 1902 of about 400,000, over 67
million bushels of wheat were produced. Add to this
the wheat grown in Ontario and the other Eastern
Provinces and we already have a total of over 93
million bushels. These figures are full of promise for