ANDOVER, VICTORIA COUNTY.

DEAR SIR,-In accordance with promise, I herewith send you my first season's experience in the Province of New Brunswick, with which I am pleased to say I am mere than satisfied. As you are aware, I rented some land here for this year, at what I should call a low rent, and began to work it about the beginning of May, and to seed the middle of the month. The result has been, wheat 13 bushels to 1 sown, and sown on sod; oats, 9 bushels sown on what has carried thirty crops of the same grain without manure. Buckwheat, an average of 28 bushels to the acre, sown on about as poor a peice of land as I ever saw. This result would have been better but for late sowing, 2nd being damaged by the frost carly in September. Hay 2 tons to the acre; beans, 12 bushels to one sown; potatoes, 200 bushels per acre. I have no doubt that in this cality, with high cultivation, that this crop would be doubled, and with the exception of a little rust late in the season, a heathier looking growth, it is impossible to

All kinds of garden stuff, such as is grown in the Old Country, do extremely well, and with the cultivation and attention, I was able to devote to the several varieties, I was simply astonished at the result. One thing that struck me was the most extraordinary rapidity with which things grow in this country. In respect to fruit, I think it is a great pity that more attention is not paid to this useful branch of industry, as apart from food supply, looking at the prices quoted in the various Dominion markets, it would be a source of considerable profit. As I have some experience in the raising of fruit, judging the past to have been an average season, I can safely say, that the fruits (excepting the fig) common to us in England, will do well in this country. I am sorry to have to make one complaint, but it is a serious one, and I may say almost fatal to successful agriculture viz: the scarcity of labour. In this district, it is a general complaint and a justifiable one, when we consider that farmers are willing to pay good wages. Many would have been employed in this vicinity this season if they could have been had, at from $1.25 to $1.50 per day, and found. What a comparison with agricultural labour in England, with this average of 8. to 108. per week and support himself. Why it would pay some of the young labourers to come out here for the season and go back again in the fall and stay till spring and come again, but the misfortune is, you cannot get them to come over. I cannot but think that some blame in this respect lies at the doors of the powers that be. I feel certain that if the advantages that this Province has to offer were properly put before the agriculturist abroad in a practical form, that this labour famine would speedily vanish, but no one knows anything of New Brunswick in Europe, whilst Manitoba, the great North-West, etc., is always before them in the shape of specimens of their products, pamphlets, etc., etc. I hould not have known anything of the Province myself, only through your kindness in troubling yourself to get all the information, etc., I applied to you for. Now that I have fairly settled myself, I hope to be able to report to you of continual success. With best wishes.

Yours truly,

W. H. EDWards.

The writer of the above, after testing the capabilities of the country, bought a farm at Bandsville, on the River St. John, eight miles below Andover. Has all his family on it. Goes to England this winter to dispose of all his interest there, and transport it to New Brunswick, at the same time to report among his many friends his success here.

ANDOVER, 8th January, 1884.

DEAR SIR-I am in receipt of yours of the 13th December. Sickness prevented my answering before. In reply, I beg to report that nine Americans have settled on

farms in this country, bringing with them their effects, also several Canadians have returned.

The free grant settlemnts are doing well; they have raised large crops the past There has been a falling off in the settlement of the free grant land, owing, I think, to the best land for settloment being taken up. Most of the good farming land in the county belongs to the New Brunswick Railway Company. The past year has been marked by a large degree of prosperity, owing to the heavy crops, especially hay, oats, buckwheat and root crops. There has also been a marked improvement in live stock in this county within the last few years, especially in short-horn cattle and grade sheep. Farmers have been getting good prices for all kinds of stock, Americans coming over and buying everything in the way of cattle and sheep, and paying good prices.

This county is yearly improving in population and wealth. Trusting the above will answer your purpose, if not too late,

Your obedient servant,

GEO. A. BEDELL.

COUNTY ST. JOHN, ST. MARTIN's, 28th December, 1883.

DEAR SIR,-I send you a report of St. Martin's Agricultural Society, St. John County. Soil, light and gravelly.

Principal crops-Hay, oats, buckwheat and potatoes.

There is a great improvement in cattle and horses. Our people are now paying more attention to farming. Owing to the gravelly soil of our parish, we can beat the Province in growing good potatoes. Ship building is now confined to small vessels. Eighteen millions of saw-logs got out last winter. The season being dry, they were not all sawed, consequently there will not be so much lumbering this When we get the railway through from St. John, it will be a great benefit

to our parish.

Yours truly,

BENJAMIN WISHART,

President Agricultural Society.

NEW DENMARK,

VICTORIA COUNTY, 15th January, 1884.

DEAR SIR,-On account of being in the woods, I have not been able to reply to your letter before. The settlement of New Denmark has, during the past year, made very satisfactory progress. The season has been very favourable to farming, and an abundant crop has been harvested. The experience of those settlers who left the settlement during last year has had a very good effect on the minds of those remaining for not one of them has been able to report favourably, but all who are honest about it, agree in stating, instead of improving their circumstances by leaving New Brunswick for the highly advocated garden fields of the Western States, they have impoverished themselves, and strongly advise their friends to remain.

The number who left have been more than replaced by the now arrivals, which this year have been fifty-two persons.

The rapid increase of the herds of cattle, the large quantities of produce, such as grain, butter, eggs, beef, cattle, &c., shipped to market; the general signs of improvement in the circumstances of the settlers, is a good proof of the fact which has Bo often been demonstrated, that New Brunswick as a home for emigrants from Scandinavia, Great Britain and other parts of modern Europe; can not be surpassed by any other country on the American continent, with its healthy and pleasant climate, rich soil, magnificent forest of valuable wood, splendid water privileges, and very easy markets. New Brunswick can easily fill any reasonable expectations, and would undoubtedly, if proper means were adopted, be sought as a home, by thousands of those stout-hearted and able-bodied men, who every year leave their fatherland for the promising plains of America.

First of all, the system of giving land away free should cease. This would secure a better class of immigrants in general-and instead of being as it is now, an expense to the Province, it would be, by putting a fair price on the land, made to not only cover the expense of advertising, road building, surveying, &c., but would give a surplus.

There is no reason whatever why the land of New Brunswick should not be sought after by immigrants with means, as well as any other place in America, and I cannot suppose that there is any doubt on any body's mind, that it would be in the general interest of all to have the fertile lands of New Brunswick taken up and converted into productive fields by a good class of emigrants; 2,300 acres of land have been taken up here this year.

Yours truly,

H. PETER LYSGAR PETERSON.

The number of acres ungranted in the Province, 31st October, 1882 :—

In addition to the above, the New Brunswick Railway Company own nearly 2,000,000 acres of the best farming land in the Province, 10 shillings sterling per acre at present.

Compare the products of wheat and oats crop, as given in this report, with that of the United States, for the undermentioned States:

Michigan.....
Indiana
Illinois.......

Wisconsin......

Iowa..

Minnesota......

Kansas

Nebraska.......

Dakota

St. John and suburbs are important manufacturing centres. Mills, foundries, machine shops and factories of almost every kind are scattered all over.

The Waterous Engine Works at Brantford, Ontario, through their resident agent here, have sold a number of their portable steam engines, &c., all over this Province and Nova Scotia.

From other counties I have no report, though urgently solicited.
I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

SAMUEL GARDNER.

Dominion Immigration Agent.

No. 10.

ANNUAL REPORT OF WINNIPEG AGENT.

(W. C. B. GRAHAME.)

DOMINION GOVERNMENT IMMIGRATION OFFICE,

WINNIPEG, Man., 31st December, 1883.

SIR-I have the honour to present to you, this, my second Annual Report, of Work done in the interest of immigration, at this Agency, during the present year. As Winnipeg is the grand point of distribution for immigrants to this part of the Dominion, the Agency here may, with truth, be called the "Castle Garden" of the North-West, lacking, however, the many conveniences and facilities, for the prompt disposal of the new-comer, with which the officials of that great immigration depot are blest.

This country has been visited, during the summer, by numbers of influential and wealthy representatives of European capital and enterprise. Among them I would mention Herr Spielberg, member of the Saalkreis, for Halle, one of the principal University towns of Germany.

This gentleman was, undoubtedly, one of the most practical and observing of delegates.

My assistant (Mr. H. J. Maass) conducted Mr. Spielberg through the district, and ably carried out my instructions, in doing all in his power to let the delegate see both sides of everything.

He (Spielberg) ha I many personal interviews, holding long conversations with the farmers, carefully entering into all the minutiae of their experiences, in re soil, climate, crops, stock, water, fuel and, in fact, everything he could think of, that would in any way affect the well-being of the settler.

In these interviews and conversations Mr. Maass acted as interpreter.

On the return of Mr. Spielberg from the West, I persuaded him to make the trip by team, from Winnipeg to Emerson, up the west bank of the Red River, thus enabling him to visit the thriving settlements of the Mennonites, and hear from the lips of this worthy people (in his own native tongue) praises of a land, the fertility of which, combine with their own industry and frugality, has elevated them from poverty to comparative ease, comfort, and in many cases, affluence; and in addition to which they enjoy the most complete religious and political freedom.

Before leaving the country, this gentleman expressed himself not only well pleased with what he had seen, but surprised that such a vast area of rich territory should be so long in existence, without the rest of the world knowing more of its wonderous productive capacities.

There was still, however, another surprise in store for him. He could not credit the numerous reports, re the old settlers cultivating their farms, year after year, without asing manure.

To confirm these statements, however, he was introduced to a Mr. Sutherland, of Kildonan, whose parents came to this country with the Earl of Selkirk, about the Year 1815, since which period their farm has been cultivated without the use of

ma ure.

We saw the immense manure heap, an accumulation of sixty years, forming a mound and promontory into the river.

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