B.C.agricultureBC省农业历史简介.docVIP

History of Agriculture in British Columbia The inhabitants of any area depend on the products provided by the land to survive. Agriculture in British Columbia today came with the influx of Europeans who came in search of furs and later gold. However, the utilization of the land as a source of food and domestic materials began much earlier with the hunting, gathering and processing of natural products by the aboriginal people. The dramatic development of the agricultural industry is reflected in statistics recorded over the years. In 1891, the Canadian census placed the total population of the province at 98,173. Of this, 22% (22,000 approx) were located on 6,500 farms, mostly located on Vancouver Island, the lower mainland and in the Okanagan and Kootenay valleys. One hundred years later, the 1991 census shows the past trend towards urbanization with only 1.5% (61,135) out of a total population of 3,282,060 living on farms. The total number of farms had increased to 19,225. The farm of the 1890s was more closely linked to the farm of two centuries ago, than of today. There were no cars, few telephones and little electricity. Most of the work now done by gasoline and diesel powered equipment was done by the 17,000 horses in use on British Columbia farms in 1894. Tractors first appeared in the early 20th century and by 1922 numbered 332. Today there are well over 33,000. As late as 1933, there were only 20 combines - today there are over 1700 in the province. To produce 1 acre (20 bushels) of wheat in 1890 with a gang plow, a seeder, a harrow, a binder, a thresher, and wagons and horses, took 8 to 10 man hours of labour. It has been said that to produce todays crops without fuel and electricity and with turn of the century technology would require 27 million more farm workers and 61 million more horses and mules. When the farmer of 1912 looked at egg production, he or she would find an investment of $2.75 per hen per week on feed would yield an average of 3-4 eggs.