REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 191 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



two larfje streams available, Toby creek and Horse Thief creclc, but the scheme is one 

 that will involve a considerable expenditure. This land lies from 50 to 200 feet above 

 the lake and should prove suitable for apples and other hardy fruits. As Lake Winder- 

 mere is between 2,600 and 2,700 feet above the soa-lcvel, tender varieties are naturally 

 precluded. Very little agriculturally has, so far, been done about Wilmer, which has 

 been a mining centre, but our meeting there was largely attended and it was evident 

 from the interest in the various subjects discussed that in the near future a good deal 

 of planting will be done. However, no extensive progress towards the opening up of 

 the available land in this district will occur till the advent of the railroad and the 

 scheme for irrigation is put through. 



Fairmont. — Journcjung southward from Windermere, our iiret stopping place was 

 at Fairmont, where Mr. Brewer had some fine apple trees in bearing. His ranch had 

 an ample supply of irrigation water from a large creek. He had found stock-raising 

 profitable, cutting a large quantity of wild hay on the low lands of the vicinity. A 

 splendid crop of clover — the third that season — was seen. It is evidently a country in 

 which clover and alfalfa do well. 



Thunder Hill was reached at noon, where Mr. Santo has a fine ranch, most 

 beautifully situated. Garden produce was looking very well and some excellent 

 poultry were seen, notes being taken of certain new crosses between White Wyandottes, 

 Barred Plymouth Eocks, and Black Minorcas, which struck me as very good. The 

 only other ranches in this district are those of Mr. Douglas Grainger and Mr. Hard- 

 wick Grainger. 



Sheep Creeh about 40 miles from Windermere was reached at nightfall. Mr. 

 Alex. Emery has a small area under ciiltivation, but very little has been done here ex- 

 cept cutting hay and raising some produce for local consumption and the lumber 

 camps. The creek, however, is a large one and we were told there is a considerable 

 area of land that could be cultivated, and for which water would be available, at some 

 distance back from the road. 



Soon after leaving Windermere the country loses in part its open character and 

 is in places densely wooded, Douglas fir and poplar predominating. Reaching the 

 Columbia lake, the Yellow pine (Pinus ponder osa) is seen and timber increases as one 

 proceeds from Canal Flat to Wasa, where there is an excellent growth of larch with 

 some Yellow pine and Douglas fir. We noticed that larch makes a fine growth all 

 through this part of East Kootenay. 



Wasa. — A stop-over of several hours was made at Wasa 26 miles from Sheep 

 Creek, where there is an excellent up-to-date hotel kept by Mr. Nils Hansen, who has 

 also a ranch and small orchard. The latter was suffering from too much irrigation 

 water accompanied by insufficient drainage. As the trees were now old and worthless 

 we selected a more suitable site on the slope of the hill on which Mr. Hansen will plant 

 a new orchard. Above Wasa on the benches are the ranches of Mr. H. Barr and Peter 

 Winfeldt, whore good crops of grain and hay grown under irrigation were found. 

 Small orchards on both places were doing fairly well, but it was quite evident here, as 

 in several other ranches visited, that an elementary knowledge, at least, regarding the 

 requirements of young trees is most desirable at the oiitset. 



Fort Steele. — This was the next point reached; it is about 30 miles from Sheep 

 Creek. This once thriving village is now almost deserted, owing to the decline in 

 mining and the fact that Cranbrook, 12 miles distance on the Crow's Nest road, 

 has attracted many of its inhabitants. Under the guidance of Mr. R. L. T. Gal- 

 braith. Government Agent, and Dr. Watt, we visited many of the ranches in the 

 vicinity and learned that small fruits and vegetables were the chief crops, these 

 finding a good sale in Cranbrook. We held a meeting here in the evening, at 

 which about 40 attended. The chief difficulty appeared to be that the price of 



