It is first
of all broken with a fourteen or sixteen inch plough, so shaped
that it turns the sod over as flat as possible, generally from the
depth of two to two-and-a-half inches deep, the shallower the
better, and then left to rot with the sun and rain for two months
and a half.
It has often been tried, and with very good results, to put in a
crop of oats on the first breaking, sowing broadcast and turning a
very thin sod over them; and the sod pulverizes and decomposes
under the influence of a growing crop quite as effectually as if
only turned over and left to itself. There are also fewer weeds,
which is of importance, as it often happens that the weeds which
grow soon after the breaking are as difficult to subdue as the
sod. If the soil is nice and soft a man and team of horses will
break an acre and a half a day, and average throughout the season
an acre. The breaking goes on until the middle of July, and the
end of August the "backsetting" begins, which is ploughing the
same ground over again about two inches deeper.
The following spring the harrows (which are "disc" of a peculiar
shape, twelve to eighteen razor-wheels on an axle, and in going
round cut through and break any sods), are run over repeatedly
both before and after the seeding; the ground is also rolled and
then left, and for the two-and-a-half bushels of oats or two
bushels of wheat-seed per acre, hopes for a grand return being
always entertained.
By some experts late autumn sowing is strongly advocated, as,
during the fall, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere, there is
scarcely any growth; so that the grain sown late cannot germinate,
nor can it absorb water or rain enough to rot it, the winters
being so dry. And when the first days of spring come the snow
melts, the starch of the seed has changed to grape-sugar, and
begins to germinate; so that the young plants will in no way be
damaged by subsequent droughts, nor by the frosts which sometimes
come after heavy rains in August and much injure the crops. At the
present moment we are craving for rain, and should the crops not
be as plentiful this year as expected, on account of the drought,
I should feel much inclined to try autumn sowing.
Before the prairie is broken, the turf is very tough, and requires
a great deal of force to break it; but when once turned the
subsequent ploughings are easy.
Our chief difficulty and trouble are the stones; they generally
lie just beneath the surface, differing very much in size. Some
are huge and have to be regularly trenched round and horses
harnessed to a chain put round them to raise them out of the
ground; when they are put on to the stone-boat and conveyed to the
boundary fence. It generally falls to E - - 's and my special lot
to drive the stone-boat or the waggons, whilst the men with
crowbars and spades go before the ploughs clearing them all away,
for fear they may blunt the shares and throw them out of the
furrow.
The last two or three days, when not stone-picking, A - - and Mr.
B - - have been stretching the barb-wire with which they are
enclosing the property; and there has been great chaff about our
"Jehuship." The wooden posts along which the wire is run are put
in the ground, and they then have to be rammed down with a
fearfully heavy wooden mallet, which I can hardly lift. To get
purchase on the mallet A - - mounts into the waggon, which
accordingly has to be driven quite close up to the post without
touching it.
The two old mares we drive are more than difficult to turn or stop
to a nicety, the result being that once I went too near and broke
off a piece of the waggon. Another time, after a corner-post had
been driven in most securely with props, E - - drove up against
it, taking the whole concern away bodily.
The weather is quite delightful, no mosquitoes as yet to speak of;
but the two big marshes on either side of the farm harbour them
dreadfully.
Wild duck also abound in these marshes; there are thousands about,
and we have found many nests and been revelling in the eggs, a
delightful change to our regular _menu_. The nests are very
difficult to find; we two went one afternoon in the buggy to look
for some, and the men declare we looked in the marshes themselves
for them, which was not certainly the fact; though after driving
round all the outsides, and not having been warned that the marsh
on the eastern boundary of the farm was very deep, we came home
that way, not at all liking the water coming up to the axle-trees
and the horse floundering about at every step. To turn back was as
bad as to go on, and as we saw wheel-tracks along the fence we
stuck to them, thanking our stars when we got through safely.
* * * * *
June 12th.
We have had a real visitor lately - I mean one who has brought a
change, and a toothbrush; and for the auspicious event we rigged
him up a stretcher bed, the most comfortable of things, canvas
stretched on to a wooden frame, with a mattress on the top. You
could not wish for anything softer. He was one of our ocean
companions; his nickname of Mike still sticks to him. On getting
to Winnipeg at night he had great difficulty in finding our
whereabouts; even at the Club he was told the only W - - known
kept a store in Main Street.
