=Soil and Surface.=--The surface of Manitoba is not a flat, bare stretch, a "bald-headed prairie." A large part of the land, especially in the south, is, indeed, the flat bed of a wide, prehistoric lake; but even in the southwest the land rises into wooded hills, and in the southeast, close to the Lake-of-the-Woods country, there is a genuine forest. In Western Manitoba are forested areas, and timbered districts exist on the Turtle Mountains and the Brandon Hills. The true forest persists in Central Manitoba as far as the Duck Mountains. From all these points quantities of lumber, fence posts, and firewood are sent to the prairie settlers. The rivers and lakes are skirted by a plentiful tree growth. Down through the heart of the Province stretch two great lake chains. Lake Winnipeg and lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba, which receive the waters of the Saskatchewan and Assiniboine from the west, and discharge through the Nelson River to Hudson Bay. Sloping to the west from the Lake Manitoba plain is a range of gentle hills known as the Duck Mountains, Riding Mountains, and the Porcupine Hills. These hills in no way alter the fact that almost the whole land surface of Central and Southern Manitoba west of its great lakes is ready for cultivation. The northern portion of the Province, though not surveyed, is known to contain a large area of good agricultural land. Manitoba's soil is a deep rich loam, inexhaustible in its productiveness. There are 25-1/2 million acres of land surveyed, about one-fourth of which was under crop in 1913. =Grain Growing.=--Manitoba is noted for its wheat crops and has already an established prestige in yields of oats, rye, and flax; in some parts corn is being grown. In certain districts good yields of winter wheat are reported. The grain statistics for the Province reveal an interesting condition. In 1901 there were 1,965,200 acres of land under wheat, and in 1910 the area had grown to 3,094,833 acres. In 1913, this had increased to 3,141,218 acres. The land under oats, in 1913, amounted to 1,939,723 acres; barley, 1,153,834 acres, and flax, 115,054 acres. The average yield of wheat in 1913 was 20 bushels; oats, 42 bushels. The total grain crop in the Province for 1913 was 178,775,946 bushels, grown on 6,364,880 acres, compared with 182,357,494 for 1912, the decrease being due to a falling off in oats of nearly 7 million bushels and in flax of more than 1 million bushels. Of the 1913 grain crop spring and fall wheat together occupied an area of 3,141,218 acres and yielded 62,755,455 bushels. Oats occupied an area of 1,939,723 acres and yielded 81,410,174 bushels. Barley occupied an area of 1,153,834 acres and yielded 33,014,693 bushels. Flax, rye, and peas occupied an area of 130,105 acres and yielded 1,595,624 bushels. The above are Provincial Government returns.