Agriculture and Rural Economy

Where it surfaces

• Welcome to the Prince of Wales

  The farmer splitting fence rails and the yeoman singing in the woods reflect rural life and agricultural labor.

• Lines on Ingersoll

  The chapter emphasizes the agricultural economy through references to mills grinding oats and wheat, and the town's dairy industry.

• Lines on Salford

  The poem highlights the success of dairy farming, cheese production, and the abundant harvests of barley, oats, and hay.

• Farrington, 1866, Factory System

  The poem highlights the shift to factory-based cheese production, which enriched farmers and spurred local economic growth.

• Oxford Cheese Ode

  The poem details the transformation of Oxford farms through dairy farming and cheese production, emphasizing economic prosperity and the importance of treating cows well.

• Thomas Campbell

  The chapter highlights the foundation of prosperity in intelligent, well-directed farming, with bounteous crops and snug farm homes.

• Thomas Campbell

  Highlights the success of farming through bounteous crops and abundant yields, underscoring the economic foundation of rural life.

• Agricultural Implements and Machinery

  The poem centers on the economic impact of mechanization on farming, showing how machines like the reaper and binder made work cheaper and farmers richer, while displacing manual labor.

• A Rabbit Story

  The rabbit is shot for fat, reflecting rural subsistence practices.

• The Cheese Pioneer

  The poem highlights the transformation from a small two-cow operation to a large herd, emblematic of agricultural progress and economic contribution.

• Lines on Removal

  The advertisement of furniture, including easy chairs, highlights the rural economy's reliance on local tradesmen and goods.

• A Canadian Romance

  Details the agricultural work of John and Jane, including reaping, spinning wool, making butter, and sugaring off maple sap.

• Potato Bug Exterminators

  The poem focuses on a practical agricultural problem—potato bug infestation—and promotes a natural, economical solution using peafowl.

• Oliver Goldsmith

  The poem contrasts the past prosperity of the village with its current state of tillage and poverty, highlighting economic shifts.

• Will Carleton

  Carleton's farming songs celebrate rural life and agricultural themes.

• Facts About Cheese

  The poem directly addresses the economic challenges faced by dairymen and the hope for a recovery in cheese prices.

• St. Andrew

  The mention of owning a 'fine prairie farm' underscores the agrarian opportunities and rural economy in Canada.

• Harvest Home Festivals

  The decorations of wheat, oats, pumpkins, and corn highlight the agricultural bounty central to the rural economy and the harvest festival.

• Episcopal Harvest Home

  The arch adorned with sheaves of wheat, oats, pumpkins, and corn highlights the agricultural bounty.

• Father Ranney, the Cheese Pioneer

  The poem details the economic impact of cheese-making on farmers, including profits from milk, the purchase of supplies, and the enrichment of soil through dairy farming.

• Hints to Cheese Makers

  The chapter focuses on cheese making as a key agricultural enterprise, stressing quality control and the profitable use of by-products like whey for pig fattening.

• Ode on the Mammoth Cheese

  The poem celebrates a massive cheese as a product of rural industry and agricultural pride.

• Canadian Charms

  The chapter highlights bounteous crops, grass, roots, and the productivity of farm fields, underscoring the importance of agriculture.

• The Vale of Thames

  The depiction of cattle grazing and the cow as a farm creature highlights the centrality of agriculture and livestock to the rural economy and daily life.

• Ranney, 1856, Dairy System

  The dairy system is central to the chapter, showcasing the growth of livestock farming as a key economic activity in rural Ontario.

• Lines Read at a Dairymen’s Supper

  The poem directly addresses the economic challenges of grain farming and advocates for dairy farming and cheese making as a solution.

• Ensilage

  The poem focuses on the practical benefits of ensilage for dairy farmers, highlighting its role in increasing milk production and supporting the rural economy.

• Fertile Lands and Mammoth Cheese

  The poem highlights the connection between fertile farmland and the production of a mammoth cheese, underscoring the importance of dairy farming and rural prosperity.

• Windmills and Stone Stables

  The poem focuses on dairy farming practices, emphasizing the benefits of windmills and stone stables for cow comfort and milk yield.

• Dairy Ode

  Focuses on dairy farming as a source of prosperity, with practical advice on cheese-making and cattle breeding.

• Cheese Curd for Bait

  The setting at a cheese factory and the use of cheese curd as bait highlight the agricultural and dairy economy of rural Ontario.

• Thanksgiving Ode

  The poem celebrates the yield of corn, apples, roots, and the return of milk production, highlighting the central role of farming in rural life.

• When to Sell Grain and Farm Produce

  The chapter provides direct economic guidance on selling grain, cheese, and livestock, emphasizing market timing and financial prudence.

• Four Acre Farm

  The poem details Ruth's farming activities, including growing vegetables and fruits, keeping a cow, sow, geese, sheep, and chickens, and producing butter and wool.

• Coon Hunting

  The use of coon furs for practical items like overcoats and sleigh robes underscores the resourcefulness of rural economy.

• Wild Goose Shot at Midnight

  The hunter's consumption of the goose reflects the subsistence lifestyle of rural settlers, where hunting supplemented food supplies.

• Adventures with Bears

  The narrator's efforts to farm, sell honey, and profit from bear grease and skins highlight the economic aspects of rural life.

• United States

  Detailed enumeration of American agricultural products (tobacco, sugar, cotton, grapes, rice, corn, cattle, oranges, peaches) highlights the rural economic base.

• Golden Egg

  The poem celebrates the hen as a source of both eggs and gold, linking rural poultry farming to economic fortune.

• Lay of the Spring

  Focuses on the domestic hen's egg-laying as a useful, productive theme, emphasizing rural life and farmyard economy.

• Card of Thanks to the Press

  The poem enumerates agricultural products like cows, milk, cream, cheese, fat steers, horses, hogs, sheep, hens, and bees as central themes.

• The Glorious Land of Maple Leaf

  The poem looks forward to the plough enriching the 'young empire vast,' linking prosperity to farming.

• Canadian Cheese Trade

  Highlights the establishment and success of dairying and cheese-making as a key economic activity in rural Ontario.

• Peculiarities of Oxford County

  The chapter highlights the role of windmills in supporting dairy farming and cheese production, emphasizing the economic importance of agriculture in Oxford County.

• Prophecy of a Ten Ton Cheese

  The poem centers on cheese production as a key rural industry, with multiple factories collaborating to create a massive cheese.

• Low Price of Cheese

  The poem directly addresses the economic hardship of dairy farmers due to low cheese prices, a key aspect of the rural economy.

• An Average Rule to Judge of Cheese

  The poem details the economic calculations and industrial scale of cheese production in Ontario.

• Address to the Dairymen’s Association

  The poem celebrates the dairymen's association and the economic importance of cows and pigs, highlighting cheese production and pork processing.

• The Mammoth Cheese and Cheese Factories

  The chapter details the dairy industry's growth, including cheese factories and the production of a mammoth cheese, reflecting the agricultural economy of the region.

• The Centennial Prize Winner

  The chapter focuses on cheese production as a key economic activity, highlighting factories, districts, and prize-winning achievements.

• Lines on a Hog

  The poem celebrates the size and weight of a farm-raised hog, reflecting rural agricultural life.

• Lines on a Big Ox

  The poem centers on a prize ox exhibited at a fair, highlighting the importance of livestock and agricultural displays in rural life.

• Lines Written to Alderman Frankland

  The poem celebrates the cattle trade as a major economic force, highlighting the export of live bullocks and the elevation of beef standards.

• Lines on the Pioneer Exporter of Canadian Bullocks to Britain

  Celebrates the export of Canadian bullocks and the growth of the cattle trade.

• The Patriotic Canadian Hen

  The poem centers on farm life, egg production, and the economic impact of tariffs on rural livelihoods.

• The Canadian Horse

  The chapter highlights the horse's role in plowing and pulling heavy loads, underscoring its importance to rural farming life.

• Sheep

  The chapter highlights the economic benefits of sheep farming, including the sale of lamb and wool, and the role of home production in building wealth.

• Tile Drains

  The poem focuses on the agricultural practice of tile drainage to improve land fertility and crop yields, directly tied to rural economic productivity.

• Mild Christmas

  The poem notes that a snowy winter leads to a more abundant yield, and that farmers can easily load their sleighs and travel over icy roads, highlighting the practical benefits of snow for agriculture.

• Strange Water Wheels at Beachville

  The quarry operations and perpetual kilns highlight the rural economy's reliance on natural resources and industry.

• Big Crops of 1891

  The poem focuses on the abundant crops of 1891, emphasizing the central role of farming and harvest in the region's prosperity.

• Endnotes

  Extensive notes on cheese factories, dairy production, and the economic importance of agriculture in Ontario.