Inaug. diss. - Berlin. / Lebenslauf. Incomplete remainder of work appeared in Quellen und forschungen zur alten geschichte und geographic.

Inaug. diss. - Berlin. / Lebenslauf. Incomplete remainder of work appeared in Quellen und forschungen zur alten geschichte und geographic.

This thesis examines the rate and pattern of settlement of the Canadian Prairies over the period of the 'Wheat Boom'. The principal aim of the work Is to explain the economic reasons for the late start to that settlement. Economic growth of the Canadian Prairies did not begin until almost the turn of the 20th. century, long after the initial occupation of the American West. I hypothesise in this thesis that the delay in the development of the Canadian Prairies was principally due to an initial lack of appropriate technology. The growing season In Canada is shorter than that further south, leaving grain farmers with little time to sow in spring and harvest In the fall. The technology available in 1880 enabled farmers to crop less than 50 acres even in the best areas, making farming uneconomical over most of the Prairie area. The technology available to the Prairie farmer over the period is carefully examined to determine the effects of various changes which occurred. In order to analyze the implications of technological change, a number of representative Prairie farms are modelled using the technique of dynamic linear programming. Five locations which were first occupied on different dates are analyzed, and for each location the value of capitalised rent for a typical new farm is calculated on four dates. The results of these calculations show that in 1880 most Prairie land was economically worthless. Over time all the hypothetical farms showed Increases in value, and settlement appears to have occurred on approximately the date at which the calculated value of the land rose above zero. The reasons for the increases in the value of the land are examined, and the most important exogenous change appears to have been the improvement of mechanical farming equipment. The development of appropriate 'dry-farming' techniques was also important, but it is argued that this was endogenous to Prairie growth. Wheat prices did not begin to increase until about 1904 and therefore were not a cause of the start of the 'Wheat Boom', although they contribute significantly to farming profits by 1910. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

The distribution of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mo and Se in earth surface materials on the Southern Canadian Interior Plain was examined with the aim of recommending appropriate methods of producing regional geochemical maps. Investigations were undertaken in three separate areas, one in each of the prairie provinces, selected to represent a range of environmental conditions. In the Swan River - Dauphin area emphasis was placed on investigating the regional distribution of Mo in both soil and stream sediment. These patterns were related to data on the Mo status of plants and to information on Mo-induced Cu deficiency in cattle. In the Rosetown area of Saskatchewan, and the Red Deer area of Alberta, attention v/as focussed on examining variations in the Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Se content of soils; in the Rosetown area concentrations of these elements in whole wheat plants were also determined. Procedures for regional geochemical mapping using stream sediment are well established. On the Southern Canadian Interior Plain, however, stream density is generally inadequate for routine application of these techniques. Although tributary drainages are relatively common in parts of southern Manitoba, results of investigations in the Swan River - Dauphin area indicate that Mo concentrations in stream sediment typically reflect Mo levels in upstream soil, but not those of associated plants. In contrast to findings reported by V7ebb and his associates in the United Kingdom, Manitoba stream sediment data are of little value in identifying areas where potentially toxic Mo concentrations are likely to occur in forage. Reconnaissance surveys based on soil sampling, on the other hand, can be applied throughout the Canadian prairies. Results of studies around Rosetown and Red Deer indicate that regional compositional trends for soil may be efficiently described in terms of variations among means estimated for individual soil parent materials. In the Rosetown area, for example, over 70% of the total variance for Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in A horizons is attributable to differences among parent material means. This parent material effect appears, in turn, to be mainly a function of textural variations, with lowest concentrations associated with sand-rich and highest with clay-rich deposits. The importance of differences among means for soil associated with individual surficial deposits is also emphasized, in the Rosetown area, by relatively strong positive relationships (r>0.73) between parent material based Mn, Fe and Cu means for wheat and soil. When data are considered on an individual sample basis relationships between plant and soil concentrations are generally much weaker (r< 0.40). It is suggested, therefore, that on the Southern Canadian Interior Plain, regional geochemical maps can be efficiently produced using parent material based soil compositional data. The procedure recommended involves collection of A horizon samples at randomly chosen sites over each of the major parent materials recognized, and estimation of geometric mean and deviation values for each deposit. Duncan's New Multiple Range test is used to identify significant differences among means, and results are summarized in map form, showing only composition-ally distinctive parent materials or parent material groups. In view of close relationships noted between parent material based means for soils and plants, maps produced in this fashion should be useful in identifying areas where trace element excesses or deficiencies are limiting crop or livestock productivity. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Historians and geographers have focused on the study of the images of the West. Their studies have demonstrated that the images of the West were as important as reality itself in understanding the history of western Canada and the western Canadian identity. Both the regions history and identity have been influenced by the images of the West. Another way to look at the history and identity of the West is through climate. This thesis examines the images of the climate of western Canada in order to obtain new insight into western Canadian history and western Canadian identity. This new attempt is considered from three perspectives. First, the way in which Canadian expansionists advertised the West is described. In the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, Canada needed to dispel negative images of the western climate in order to attract millions of homesteaders. The climate portrayed in immigration pamphlets was all positive. Secondly, the actual experience of pioneer homesteaders is investigated by examining pioneer questionnaires, recorded interviews, and diaries. Settlers encountered the harsh reality of the climate. The real perception of the climate was very different from the idealized climate. Finally, literature and arts of the 1920s and 1930s demonstrate how the climate of western Canada was viewed at that time. The expansionists views were still influential even after the settlement boom. The actual perception was minimized by the ideal climate myth.

Historians and geographers have focused on the study of the images of the West. Their studies have demonstrated that the images of the West were as important as reality itself in understanding the history of western Canada and the western Canadian identity. Both the regions history and identity have been influenced by the images of the West. Another way to look at the history and identity of the West is through climate. This thesis examines the images of the climate of western Canada in order to obtain new insight into western Canadian history and western Canadian identity. This new attempt is considered from three perspectives. First, the way in which Canadian expansionists advertised the West is described. In the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, Canada needed to dispel negative images of the western climate in order to attract millions of homesteaders. The climate portrayed in immigration pamphlets was all positive. Secondly, the actual experience of pioneer homesteaders is investigated by examining pioneer questionnaires, recorded interviews, and diaries. Settlers encountered the harsh reality of the climate. The real perception of the climate was very different from the idealized climate. Finally, literature and arts of the 1920s and 1930s demonstrate how the climate of western Canada was viewed at that time. The expansionists views were still influential even after the settlement boom. The actual perception was minimized by the ideal climate myth.

Thesis--Facultati litterarum Parisiensi.

Thesis--Facultati litterarum Parisiensi.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1919. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 121-124.