at right here in your own province the big Bassano
Dam made possible by a tiny stream taken from the Bow River furnishes
irrigation power for over a million acres? Perhaps that will do about
the water."

"Oo aye," said McTavish, with profound resignation in his voice. "Ye'll
dae wi' that."

"And snow," cried the speaker. "We would not willingly be without our
snow in Canada. Snow means winter transport, better business, lumbering,
and above all, wheat. Where you have no snow and frost you cannot get
the No. 1 hard wheat. Don't quarrel with the snow. It is Canada's
snow and frost that gives her the first place in the world in wheat
production. So much for the water and the snow."

McTavish hitched about uneasily. He wanted to have the speaker get done
with this part of his theme.

From Canada's area Mr. Gilchrist passed on to deal with Canada's
resources, warning his audience that the greater part of these
resources was as yet undeveloped and that he should have to indulge in
loud-sounding phrases, but he promised them that whatever words he
might employ he would still be unable to adequately picture to their
imagination the magnitude of Canada's undeveloped wealth. Then in a
perfect torrent he poured forth upon the people statistics setting forth
Canada's possessions in mines and forests, in fisheries, in furs, in
agricultural products, and especially in wheat. At the word "wheat" he
pulled up abruptly.

"Wheat," he exclaimed, "the world's great food for men. And Canada holds
the greatest wheat farm in all the world. Not long ago Jim Hill told
the Minneapolis millers that three-fourths of the wheat lands on the
American continent were north of the boundary line and that Canada could
feed every mouth in Europe. Our wheat crop this year will go nearly
250,000,000 bushels, and this, remember, without fertilisation and with
very poor farming, for we Western Canadians are poor farmers. We owe
something to our American settlers who are teaching us something of the
science and art of agriculture. Remember, too, that our crop comes from
only one-seventh of our wheat lands. Had the other six-sevenths
been cropped, our wheat yield would be over three and a half billion
bushels--just about the world's supply. We should never be content till
Canada does her full duty to the world, till Canada gives to the world
all that is in her power to give. I make no apology for dwelling at such
length upon Canada's extent and resources.