slow for us, they have failed also to keep pace with the vigorous, wide-awake instincts of our neighbors to the North. Canada, in proportion to her population, is just as full of Base Ball fans as is our own country. They play ball, talk ball, and speculate on results of pennant races and league contests just as we do.
The chief drawback to the game in Canada is the presence of a sparse population in a widespread territory. This means a country of magnificent distances, with long and expensive railroad jumps for league teams, and a consequent discouragement to the investment of capital in professional clubs.
And yet, notwithstanding all the hindrances, wherever there is a congested population in Canada the game flourishes. Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton are centers of Base Ball interest and enthusiasm in the East, while in all the smaller cities adjacent to these are strong teams of high-class players. In the Far West, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, in fact, all cities of consequence, maintain clubs. It is quite noticeable, too, that when Canadians have a team in a league whose schedule crosses the border the pennant is not always left on this side of the line. British Americans had a way, long years ago, of annexing Base Ball trophies, as exemplified by the victory of the Tecumsehs, of London, in 1877, and only four years ago, in 1907, the Toronto Club defeated Buffalo for the Eastern League pennant.
In a recent able and comprehensive paper on Base Ball in Canada, Mr. J. P. Fitzgerald, of Toronto, has some exceedingly interesting facts. He shows that some
