CHAPTER IV.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS.

WHEAT.

AMONG farm products, wheat takes the first rank in the husbandry of Upper Canada. Formerly it occupied an equally prominent position in Lower Canada, but for many years this cereal has not been successfully cultivated in the eastern part of the province, in consequence of the Hessianfly, wheat midge, and an exhausting system of culture; it is now, however, slowly regaining its position in Lower Canada.

The following table shows the amount of wheat produced in Lower and Upper Canada in different years:

Long before Upper Canada was invaded by the whites, Lower Canada was a wheat exporting country; but the returns show a gradual falling off from about the year 1819. In 1790 the valley of the Richelieu produced 40 bushels to the acre

EXPORTS OF BREADSTUFFS FROM THE PORT OF QUEBEC, FROM 1793 TO 1802, AND FROM 1816 TO 1822, INCLUSIVE.*

It is probable that a considerable portion of the exports from Quebec

between 1816 and 1822 came from Upper Canada.

An inspection of the foregoing table will show that the cultivation of wheat in Lower Canada has long since been of a precarious character; two instances are known, namely, in 1796 and 1819, when the exports became merely nominal, while in 1802, before Upper Canada could contribute any proportion of exports, the amount of wheat and flour sent from Quebec reached 1,010,033 bushels, and 28,300 barrels respectively. Even when Upper and Lower Canada are taken together in relation to the export of wheat, the progress is shown to be far from uniform.

STATEMENT OF THE NET EXPORTS OF WHEAT, FLOUR, AND BRAN, FROM THE

Until recently, with few exceptions, wheat has been cultivated without regard to rotation of crops, both in Upper and Lower Canada. Several reasons have led to this very improvident system of farming practice, independently of a general want of knowledge regarding the first principles of husbandry. For a long time wheat was the only pro

duct of the farm upon which reliance could be placed as a mean of obtaining ready money. Wheat has always been a cash article; other farm products have often sought a market in vain, and were consequently given by the farmer in barter or exchange for many of the necessaries he required. Since the construction of railways, things have changed; a market has been found for almost every production of the farm, and with a more general spread of agricultural knowledge, a better farming practice has been established, and the value of rotation of crops acknowledged. Both in Upper and Lower Canada, vast areas of most fertile land have been rendered absolutely unproductive by continual wheat cropping. Portions of the valley of the Richelieu in Lower Canada and of the Thames in Upper Canada afford striking proofs of this deterioration in the fruitfulness of the soil. Forty bushels to the acre was by no means an uncommon yield when the land was first cleared of its forest, as it now is in the valley of the Saugeen and Maitland. Rest for a few years, or deep plowing, restores the soil nearly to its original fertility, and where the last artifice is adopted, even on what are called worn-out farms, it is found that fair and sometimes excellent crops can be obtained. This is particularly the case in Lower Canada, where for centuries the soil has been merely skimmed, and the cultivation of wheat abandoned on account of the wretched yield obtained. By deep plowing these "worn-out lands" have been restored, and there is no doubt that the same artifice, if thoroughly carried out, would bring many a wheat field of by-gone celebrity back to its original productiveness, if a judicious rotation of crops were adopted.

THE DESTROYERS OF WHEAT IN CANADA.

Insects here as elsewhere on this continent have been the great enemies of the wheat crops, before which the best practice has failed. The wheat midge, the Hessian-fly, and

that destructive fungus, "rust," have in many instances ruined the productive capabilities of whole counties, and in one instance the greater part of a province, for a term of years. A glance at the tables of annual exportation, given on a preceding page, will show how terrible has been the effect of insect destroyers. In 1856, the exportation of wheat rose to 9,391,531 bushels; in 1857 it fell to 6,482,199, and 1859 to 4,032,627 bushels, or less than one half the exportation of 1856. This diminution must be attributed in great part to the wheat midge, of which a short account is given in subsequent paragraphs.

The first recorded appearance of the wheat midge in Lower Canada took place in 1829. In 1834 it appeared in vast numbers near Montreal, and in the following year, and in 1836, it destroyed a great quantity of the wheat crops in the valley of the St. Lawrence. In the year 1849 it appeared in the eastern counties of Upper Canada, but previously to this date the production of wheat in Lower Canada had fallen from 3,404,756 bushels in 1831 to 942,835 in 1844. In 1851 the average production of some of the best wheat-growing counties of Upper Canada fell from twentytwo to six bushels to the acre in consequence of this pest. Its progress westward in Upper Canada during the years 1851 and 1852 was very marked. In 1854 this insect caused a loss in the wheat crop of the state of New York exceeding fifteen million dollars, and in some counties in Canada, its destructive influence was felt in the same proportion. In the region of the Lower St. Lawrence it was very destructive in 1855, although not generally prevalent in the United States, although very abundant and destructive in the previous year. In 1856 this insect had progressed as far westward as the Niagara counties, and on the lake shore west of Toronto. Its ravages in Canada during this year were estimated at $2,500,000. It appeared on the Thames in 1856, and throughout a large part of the western peninsula its depredations were felt.

There are several species of the wheat-midge, but the differences are so small as not readily to strike the eye of the unpracticed or unscientific observer. The most common species is a small orange-colored fly with delicate, transparent, viridescent wings, and long, slender legs. The length of this insect is about the tenth of an inch, the breadth of its expanded wings slightly exceeds the tenth of an inch. It appears in Canada during the latter part of June, and remains until the middle of August. The eggs are deposited in the germ of the still undeveloped grain, through its chaff or sheath. The number of eggs rarely exceeds ten, but as several insects lay their eggs in the same floret, from ten to forty larvæ have been counted in one floret. The young maggots feed upon the juices of the grain, and dry it up. It appears to be most destructive during dry summers, like other insect pests.

In 1859 this midge was destructive in the county of Welland, but in other parts of Canada it appears to have exhausted itself. The remedy universally adopted or recommended is to sow early kinds of winter wheat very early in the season, and the Fife spring wheat either very early or not until after the 20th of May.

THE HESSIAN FLY.

Between the years 1805 and 1816, the Hessian-fly was very destructive in some parts of Lower Canada. In 1819 the importations of wheat fell to 37,800 bushels, having in 1802 exceeded one million bushels. This diminution is in great part attributed to the Hessian-fly. In 1830 it began to disappear in Lower Canada, and in 1836 it was no longer to be found. In 1846 it appeared in Upper Canada, having been very destructive during the previous year in western New York, Ohio, Michigan, and the western states generally. In 1847 it was common about Toronto, and strange to say, although great fears were entertained for the