REPORT OF TEE CHEMIST 189 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



With irrigation and drainage we are confident that this most valuable crop would 

 yield two or three cuttings in a season. In the past the impression has been that the 

 rainfall is ample for all purposes^ but on the occasion of both of my visits the district 

 was suffering badly from drought. The initial outlay for irrigation and drainage 

 would undoubtedly be repaid in a short time by the increased crop yields, and I placed 

 this matter before the farmers in a strong light for their earnest consideration. 



lievelstokc. — Very little agriculture on anything like an extensive i^lan has been 

 done here. There are some small orchards set out, and dairying, chiefly to supply millc 

 to the town, is carried on to a limited extent. The land is heavily timbered and unfor- 

 tunately in clearing it much of the vegetable matter in the soil is being destroyed. The 

 soil, generally speaking, is light and sandy and consequently the fire burns deeply, 

 with the loss of the greater part of the humus and nitrogen that has been accumulat- 

 ing for centuries. This matter was explained fully at the meeting held in the evening 

 and which was well attended. The use of fire in clearing the land is necessary, but by 

 piling the brush in heaps it can be confined and a large area saved from its most in- 

 jurious effects. Irrigation is not necessary here, there being an ample rainfall. Clover 

 does excellently and should be more commonly used to enrich the soil, which, as already 

 remarked, is of a light and open character. Climatic conditions are evidently suitable 

 for cherries and plums, and exi')erienc9 no doubt will show that the district is one 

 favourable for a large number of fruits and for dairying. 



The Upper Columhia and the Kootenay. — From Revelstoke the train was taken 

 to Golden, the starting point for our survey of the valleys of the Upper Columbia and 

 the Kootenay. The journey from Golden to Cranbrook, a distance between 175 and 

 200 miles, was made by private conveyance in order to allow us the better to visit the 

 ranches along the way, to examine the soils and make observations as ta general condi- 

 tions and possibilities of the district for agriculture. This trip occupied ten days. 



Before leaving Golden, a few places in the immediate vicinity where orchard- 

 planting had been begun were visited. The soil was generally light and gravelly — and 

 clover-growing was advised to supplement the small supply of manure that was avail- 

 able. By request, we went over the hospital grounds with a view to making sugges- 

 tions for their management. It is a pleasure to record our appreciation of the splendid 

 order and care that this institution evinced in its administration both in the grounds 

 and the hospital itself. 



For some miles after leaving Golden the stage road follows the river closely, the 

 valley being narrow. There is consequently very little settlement arid ranches are 

 small and only occur at comparatively long distances, more particularly at spots wliere 

 the Rockies have receded, leaving a cultivatable area between their foothills and the 

 Columbia. In places, however, valleys strike back into the mountains, affording 

 opportunities for agriculture on a more extended scale. A projected railway, the 

 Kootenay Central, from the main line of the C.P.E. to the Crow's Nest line is being 

 constructed and we noticed that some 10 or 12 miles from Golden had been graded. 

 Wlicn completed, a new impetus will be given to this valley, as at present besides the 

 stage the only means of transportation is by steamer which plies during the summer 

 twice a week between Golden and Windermere. At low water this service is irregular 

 and uncertain and settlers have di-ificulty in reaching the landings. Tlie expense at- 

 tached to shipments and the necessary delay, it is stated by settlors, are now such that 

 they cannot put their products upon the market profitably. Undoubtedly the advent 

 of the railway will do much towards settling this valley, which has assuredly a future 

 in the production of fruit, of dairy products and vegetables that will find a ready market 

 in the Northwest. Settlement, as I have said, is sparse and irregular, but many no 

 doubt will find when m.eans of access are better that there are considerable areas of 

 fertile soil that can be profitably cultivated. 



At Spillimachcen, 18 miles from Golden, and at various points between that ]ilace 

 and Briscoe, 50 miles out, the soil was of excellent quality, producing apples, and 



