igoi] Campbell — Algonquin Park. 87 



where, so that, with the afore-mentioned restrictions in force, the 

 finny tribes should there have great opportunities for increase. 



GEOLOGICAL FORMATION AND MINERALS. 



The land comprised in the Algonquin Park is in general of little 

 use for agricultural purposes, being, as might be expected from its 

 situation on a watershed, for the greater part rough, broken and 

 stony. There are few high hills, th-=' surface being mostly com- 

 posed oi rocky ridges, alternating with valleys, swamps and 

 marshes. The rough ribs of the Laurentian formation everywhere 

 protrude, and in granite or gneiss dip at all angles to the south- 

 east, the strike of the strata being northeast by southwest. No 

 limestome, so far as the writer knows, occurs, and the indications 

 of mineral hitherto found are few, consisting principally ol traces 

 of iron. Mining exploration or prospecting for minerals within 

 the Park is prohibited except under certain conditions and pro- 

 visions. The working of mines and the developing of mining 

 interests would be regulated in the same way. 



A FIELD FOR EXPERIMENTS IN FORESTRY. 



Much might be said about the possibilities for useful experi- 

 ment in forestry which such a region affords. The re-planting of 

 burnt areas, the re-filling of gaps in the original forest, the ob- 

 taining of accurate information anent the soils, localities and ex- 

 posures suitable for certain trees, the discovery of the best method 

 of obtaining from a forest the maximum amount of product which 

 it is capable of yielding without at the same time trenching upon 

 its capacity, and the solution of the problem of destroying the 

 branches and tree tops left on the ground by the lumberman during 

 the culling of a pine forest, are all experiments of a great probable 

 value which might advantageously be made. 



CLIMATE. 



The retention of such an extensive block of forest is bound to 

 « have a beneficial influence on the climate of the surrounding 

 ( country. Forests tend to promote humidity, and exert a temper- 

 ^ ing eflfect upon injurious winds, preventing the fierce hurricanes 

 I and "blizzards" common in unforested lands. They also help to 

 S equalize the atmosphere, cooling the summer air and mitigating 



