270 • THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — ONTARIO
Area and Population.— The area of the Province is 407,262 square miles. Area of lake surface, 25,701,944 acres. The population in 1911 was 2, 523, 274 (1,299, 200 males and 1,223, 984 females), which is 9 "67 to the square mile. In 1901 it was 2,182,947, making an increase by 1911 of 15"59 per cent. The rural population in 1911 was 1,194,785 (1,246,969 in 1901); the number of houses in 1911 was 528,303 (445,310 in 1901); the number of families 544,301 (455,261 in 1901). Population of the principal cities (1911):— Toronto (capital), 376,538: Ottawa, 87,062; Hamilton, 81,969; London, 46,300.
Instruction. — Education is fully developed in the Province in all its branches, and the school system serves as a model for the other provinces, Quebec only excepted. The University of Toronto, founded in 1827, has 5,000 students. It was originally a denominational institution (Church of England), but by the University Act of 1906, was changed into a State University. There are 6,575 schools, 514,774 pupils and 11,873 teachers in the Province.
Finance. — The revenue in 1910-11 was 9,370,834 dollars and the expenditure 9,619,934 dollars.
Production and Industry.— The crops and acreage of the agricultural produce of the Province for 1912 were as follows: — wheat, 759,888 acres, 14,688,495 bushels; barley, 647,382 acres, 18,938,489 bushels; oats, 2,601,735 acres, 96,115,119 bushels; rye, 105,949 acres, 1,861,575 bushels; peas, 221,524 acres, 4,108,883 bushels; beans, 69,703 acres, 1,203,420 bushels. The returns for 1911 give 2,593,200 cattle, 1,040,200 sheep, 1,745,000 pigs, and 738,000 horses. The farm values for 1909 were:— land, 680,789,629 dollars; buildings, 277,690,826 dollars; implements, 78,290,754 dollars; and live stock, 184,747,900 dollars.
There were in 1911 14,744 acres under tobacco; 11,586 acres under vines; and 328,548 acres of orchards and small fruits.
In the first six mouths of 1912 the mineral production of the Province was gold, 11,854 ozs. (235,198 dollars); silver, 14,258,403 ozs. (7,936,600 dol- lars); nickel, 10,179 tons of 2,000 lbs. (2,166,895 dollars); copper, 5,170 tons (736,469 dollars); iron ore, 12,342 tons, (33,060 dollars). The total value of all minerals for three years was:— 1910, 39,313,895 dollars; 1909, 32,981,375 dollars; 1908, 25,637,617 dollars.
Total area of forests 102,000 square miles; chief timber is spruce, pine and poplar.
In 1910 Ontario had 8,001 industrial establishments, with a capital of 595,394,608 dollars, employing 238,817 .wage-earners, and producing com- modities to the value of 579,810,225 dollars. For the making of butter and cheese there were 1,248 establishments, and for the manufacture of log products 1,079.
Communications. — in 1911 there were 8,322 miles of railway in Ontario, as compared with 7,368 in 1907. There were (1911) 38,661 miles of telephone wires, 9,563 urban and 29,098 rural.
The vessels arriving at Toronto in 1911 numbered 3,192, with a tonnage of 1,649,887. Most of them were lake-trade ships.
Books of Reference.
Reports of various Goveniuieiit Departments. Hee also under Canada.
