Cartoon Articles Archive

This cartoon originally appeared in the May 13, 1944 issue of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a ram representing the “rush of spring work” chasing a farmer accompanied by a caption reading: “He’s got to get a move on.” It is a humorous take on the Spring season, the busiest time of year for many farmers. This is especially the case for farmers in Canada, where spring is liable to start late, furthering the sense of urgency to get the crops planted before the...

This cartoon originally appeared in the January 8, 1944 issue of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a giant empty bowl representing “The world’s food needs” waiting to be filled by a diligent Canadian farmer. It reflects an understanding that with the Second World War heading in the direction of total Allied victory, Canada’s vast agricultural resources would be needed to help feed a war-ravaged world. This sentiment took on the force of official government policy...

These advertisements appeared in the October and November 1933 issues of The Farmer. They were advertisements for “Dominion Dried Beet Pulp”, a feed designed for “dairy cows, show stock, and beef cattle.” Like all beet pulps, this brand was produced as a byproduct of the sugar beet. In this case, it was produced by the Canada and Dominion Sugar Company Ltd. out of Chatham, Ontario. In addition to its low cost, the product was marketed as a nutritious “appetizer...

This cartoon first appeared in February 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a man representing “rising wages” leapfrogging over another representing “rising prices” and a caption exclaiming: “We hope they don’t start playing leap-frog again!” The cartoon demonstrates the fears of many farmers during this period, as Canada was beginning to emerge from the Great Depression, that rising wages would have the effect raising the costs of...

This cartoon originally appeared in the June 13, 1912 edition of The Farmer’s Advocate. It depicts a man labelled “stick-to-the-hog farmer” happily tossing his mortgage into the pen to feed his pigs and proclaiming: “Well done - three cheers for the rooter.” The cartoon is clearly meant to lampoon those farmers who advocated sticking with their pig stock, by depicting them as essentially giving up the farm in order to do so. Appearing as it did in 1912, the...

This advertisement appeared in the June 1949 issue of Canada Lumberman. Taken out by the chemical manufacturer, Canadian Industries Limited, it is an advertisement for their chromated zinc chloride product. The chemical was designed to treat wood to make it fire retardant, repel insects, and prevent other forms of organic decay. While zinc chloride was recommended for use in wood treatment as early as 1815, it began to see more widespread adoption in the post-war period following the rapid...

This cartoon appeared in the July 13, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It depicts four men, labelled “farmer”, “labor”, “industry” and “finance” on the same side engaged in the tug-of-war labelled “war effort.” It was accompanied by the caption reading “All together!” making an appeal to class unity in the face of the Nazi armies sweeping across Europe. The cartoon reflects the general spirit of unity that prevailed in...

This advertisement appeared in the July 13, 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It was taken out by the Bell Telephone Company of Canada (now Bell Canada) to advertise “farm telephone service.” It was marketed to farmers as a cheap way of connecting them to their friends, neighbours, and markets. While telephone lines were slow to make their way to rural Canada, by the 1940s the technology and infrastructure had developed enough to begin to make it affordable and realistic for...

This advertisement appeared in the October 1953 issues of The Canadian Dairy and Ice Cream Journal, an industry publication appealing to, you guessed it, dairy producers. It was taken out by McKague Chemical Company Ltd., a now-defunct chemical firm based out of Toronto. It was an advertisement for their “McKemco Bottle Washing Alkalies” product, designed to clean and sanitize milk bottles. Clearly, this was marketed during a period when milk was still delivered in returnable...

This cartoon originally appeared in the November 2, 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a Canadian farmer shouldering the heavy burdens of two bags labelled “food” and “surplus.” The caption states that “It may change from a burden to a blessing.” The cartoon was intending to say that the burden of surplus and unmarketable crops that Canadian farmers had suffered under for ten years of the Great Depression was coming to an end. This was because...

This cartoon originally appeared in the August 24, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a uniformed egg labelled “100,000,000 Bushels of Canadian Wheat” reporting for duty to John Bull, the national personification of the United Kingdom. Appearing as it did in late-summer 1940, when Britain stood alone against Hitler’s armies, this cartoon represents the sense of duty with which Canadian farmers viewed their contributions to the war effort. While exports of...

This cartoon first appeared in the October 19, 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a goose representing “Canadian employment figures” soaring skywards, while a duck representing “farm prices” looks upward followed by the caption “Will they go up together?” It essentially asks the question of whether rising employment among Canadians will be followed by a similar increase in the price of agricultural produce. This was an important question...

This cartoon first appeared in a December 1944 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts an imprisoned man representing “world trade” sitting in his cell, accompanied by a caption reading: “another prisoner who must be ‘Free’ again.” The cartoon represents free trade as a solution to the economic problems caused by the Second World War, which was almost at its end. This was a solution offered up by those who were eager to avoid a repeat of the economic...

This cartoon originally appeared in the March 9, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It is a humorous depiction of the reforestation spirit that was sweeping the nation during this period, particularly in the countryside. The forestry industry in Canada had expanded dramatically from the turn of the century up until 1940, and formed a staple of the country’s economy. Little thought, however, had been paid to conservation efforts during this period. In response to shrinking woodlands,...