98 AGiarr];m;AL UKsoriaKs. 



iilso l)et'ii fuiniil li(')i_'. Its agTirultur.il caiialiilitic.-, Imwi-w-i-, aiv 

 i'ar I'rounk'sjiicalilc. The (leoloo-iral Ifrpin-l states thai there ari' 

 nearly 100 .s[Uare iiiih-s iu the pi'uiiisiUa avaihiUe I'ur at^rieul- 

 tural i)ur2)0ses. A luxuriant grass grows in certain ]ilai.'es ; -while 

 the timber in sdiiie portions is ol' good (|nality t(jnsisting of -white 

 spruce, balsam, hr, and vellow liirch (eommonly known as witch- 

 hazel). The \-iilh'y of Benoit's lirook contains an area of ('Af 

 square miles, at least one-half of wliicli could lie reclaimeih The 

 whole area of the valley of Serpentine IJivei- is aliout oS scpiare 

 miles, mucli of the lowei- lands being of gooil soil. Here loo, are 

 found ])ine and tamarack trees of large size. The recent dis-- 

 covery of asbestos here is niost promising. 



ST. OKOltOK'S COAT. VlKTAt. 



In addition to the resources of tins i-egion already enumerated 

 it should be I'lanendiered that St. Georges Bay contains a large 

 coal-field, not less than twenty miles in width and ten in length, 

 awaiting develo]iment. The discovereil seams are four feet, thi-ee 

 and a half and one and a half fe(-t thick ivsjiecti\ely. ( 'ompeteut 

 authorities lia\'e cahulated thai if shipments ut :^.")0,00O tons ]ier 

 year were maih' the coal-beds of St. Cie(a-,ue's Bay would not lie 

 exhausted in a century. Further acctamt i- reser\-ed for the 

 (diapter on the ndneral weahh of the islam'. 



oTiiKit ix<)No:>ii(' ijKsoi i:ci:s. 



Tlie Rejiort already i[Uoted contains the following: — "Tin' 

 innuense gy]>sum deposits, so frei[Uently met with thi-oughout 

 this region cannot fail to become of con-iderabK- economic im- 

 poitance in tlie future, esjiecially as mucli of it ]iartakes of the 

 character known as alabastio-. It^ value a> a lertilizer w hen tlie 

 country becomes settled witli an agricultural populalion, can 

 hardly be o\'er-eslimaled. ]\lany substances of udiior inqioitance, 

 such as liuilding stones, linn'stones, brick-clays, grindstoiu^s, whet- 

 stones, etc., occui' in abundance. The Laureutian hills in the 

 rear give promise of considerable deposits of ii-on ores, liouhlei-s 

 and fragments n|' which are i'ound plenlilully di.-tributeil along 

 the beds of the ininciiial sti'eani^. These and other less known 



