Frost, Hail, Prairie Fire and Weeds: Families Harvesting Crops on a Saskatchewan Homestead, 1872-1914

Abstract

Under the Dominion Lands Act of 1872, certain regulations needed to be met by homesteaders to ensure that they could eventually acquire title to their 160 acres of free land. This land needed to be cleared, seeded and harvested, however problems existed which threatened the successful cultivation of a homesteader’s crops. Early frosts, hail, prairie fires and weeds would destroy the plants as would pests such as grasshoppers, cutworms, and gophers. Trying to combat mosquitoes, and bulldog flies while working the fields also posed a hazard to both the homesteader and their working farm animals. Using survey data collected by the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan in the mid-1950s, this paper highlights the labour-intensive nature of farm work and the numerous difficulties faced by homesteaders and their families in their attempt to successfully produce crops.