KOADS AM) RAILWAYS. 69* 



.sj'outaiieoiis ])i(i(luiti(nis aliuiy flu' lower rt^acliL-s ol' the rivi-r' 

 imlicates a iVrlilc >oil." 



CATTM': ItAISlNC;. 



Tlieiv can Ik- little doiilit that llie larilitic-s fuv cattle-raisin.i; 

 ■will speedily atti-aet attention, to this ie,<;ion. Its proximity to- 

 English markets — only six or se\en ihiys" steaming — tlie excel- 

 lent liarltcmr for sliip[)inL; rattle ami the laeilities for ^rowini;- hay 

 and root-crops — the alaindanl ^iipjily of nntritious wild grasses 

 in summer — all conihine to mark out many iioi-tioiis of the Ex- 

 l^loits and other valleys as ranching districts of great promise. 

 With the superior advantages for stock raising the island 

 affords, it seems strange that we should still he importing large 

 quantities of beef (97,600 His. in 1892), some of which i.s hrought 

 from Nevada, a distance of some 4,000 miles ; the cost of carri- 

 age alone being greater than it could bi- raised for here, besides, 

 the grazing grounds are much inferior to our own. 



GKIOAT HIMKKK A AI.LKY. 



After cros.sing the great Barrens the railway runs towards the 

 north-eastern end of Grand Lake and enters the Huml>er Valley. 

 This magnihcent valley, in regard to its soil, timber and scenic 

 beaut}' — its noble river and its hue lake .surpasses anything yet 

 describeth The total area is estimated at 800 square miles. This 

 includes the wide expanse of country around Deer Lake, the 

 narro\\' valleys of the Lower Hund)er and Grand Lake, and also 

 that above Sandy Lake, on the eastern branch. At the head of 

 Deer Lake the valley widens and spreails out in all directions 

 for miles. Its dimensions here are stated to he twenty-five miles 

 in length and twenty in breadth — giving an area of five hun- 

 dred square miles. In the last report of the Geological Survey 

 it is said : " The Avealth of tind)er resources still available on the 

 magnificent Humber Valley, together with the sujjerior ([uality 

 of soil covering so large an area, and capable of being cultivated 

 to advantage, far exceed anything on the eastern side of the 

 island. It may be safely estimated that at least ibur hundred 

 out of the eight hundred s(|uare miles that comprise the entire 



