79 @lfie Garden of 
     
     ©urzaaa 
     
    
   
   
    
     will preserve the fertility of the soil, and give better returns, 
     
     for the labour and skill expended. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Farming Weather.—The summer season is extremely 
     
     favourable for farming operations in Prince Edward Island. 
     
     Although the tedious spring retards to a certain extent the 
     
     early work, yet seeding is generally through by the first of 
     
     June. The summer is short, and the crops grow rapidly to 
     
     maturity—first hay, then barley, closely followed by wheat 
     
     and oats. After the close of October, outside work is prac- 
     
     tically at an end ; and from then until the beginning of April 
     
     the farmer has comparatively little to do but attend to his 
     
     stock, and haul wood. mussel mud, etc. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The farmers of this province are worthy of their fair 
     
     heritage, being industrious, independent, and usually well- 
     
     to-do. They are also up to date, equipping their fine farms 
     
     with all the modern machinery tending to lessen labour. 
     
     There are many really beautiful homesteads—neat and pic- 
     
     turesque—and the surroundings of the farmsteads generally 
     
     are being improved. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Agricultural Progress.~—The progress of agriculture 
     
     was for many years dependent on individual enterprise. 
     
     Apart from the benefits derived from the sale of pure-bred 
     
     stock at the model farm, no government aid was attempted 
     
     for the tiller of the soil. Finally. the necessity for a change 
     
     in farm practices, led the government to take action in the 
     
     matter. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Government Experimental Farm—A stock farm 
     
     devoted to the breeding of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. 
     
     has been maintained by the provincial government for about 
     
     forty years, and the yearly surplus stock is divided among 
     
     the three counties. The farm comprises 250 acres of land 
     
     under cultivation, and twenty-five acres of swamp and 
     
     marsh. The greater part is managed as an ordinary farm, 
     
     and is used in the support of a herd of pure-bred cattle.