PROCEEDINGS OF 1913 XXXI 



definite and precise to be of much service to those who would utilize the 

 resources. 



At the same time, settlement is discouraged by the very prevalent 

 idea that the country is too barren in an agricultural sense to support 

 a population, although it is the belief of those best informed that there 

 are great agricultural possibilities. 



Moreover, a very serious deterrent to enterprise, either individual 

 or associated, is the want of facilities for communicating with the out- 

 side world. 



The utility of the proposed research stations in regard to the fore- 

 going is evident. At each station there should be a sufficient stafï of 

 men specially trained at our Universities or Colleges in science and 

 agriculture whose duty it would be to explore within a radius of fifty or 

 one hundred miles from the station, making a thorough investigation as 

 to the character of the soil, and the climatic conditions in respect to 

 agriculture, e.g., the temperature, precipitation, number of hours of 

 sunshine, and as to the suitability of the country for the support of 

 cattle, reindeer, etc. 



They would also enquire into the water powers, the timber and 

 other growth, the minerals, the fisheries, the birds and the fur-bearing 

 animals within their district. 



They would take scientific observations of various kinds, among 

 which of very high value would be daily meteorological observations at 

 the station to be telegraphed to the Director of the Meteorological Ser- 

 vice. In this way the research stations would directly contribute to 

 the efficiency of the weather forecasting service of Canada. 



Facility of communication would be a valuable aid in the admini- 

 stration of law. 



It is suggested that in the first instance the stations be placed at 

 points selected as central, four or five hundred miles apart. Other sta- 

 tions might be added in the future as their utility became manifest. 



While each station would doubtless in a short time become a nucleus 

 of population, the establishment of telegraphic communication would 

 serve the interests of settlement in another way, by facilitating the 

 survey of the country. 



Under the direction of the Chief Astronomer the determination of 

 latitudes and longitudes of points throughout the southern part of Canada 

 has been carried on systematically for many years. These determina- 

 tions are used to correct the maps and to afford points upon which 

 accurate surveys may be based; but the scope of these operations has 

 heretofore been limited by the fact that telegraphic communication is 

 necessary for the determination of the longitude with the requisite 

 precision. 



