ONTARIO 



4382 



ONTARIO 



Fisheries. Ontario shares with the United 

 States the fisheries of the Great Lakes, with the 

 exception of Lake Michigan. Trout, whitefish, 

 herring, pickerel and pike are taken in large 

 numbers. Eels, perch, maskinonge (muskel- 

 lunge) and catfish are also important. The 

 annual value of the commercial fisheries ex- 

 ceeds $3,340,000, and the industry employs over 

 120 tugs and about 4,100 men. The manufac- 

 ture of sturgeon caviare is an important branch 

 of the industry, the annual output exceeding 

 7,000 pounds, most of which is shipped to New 

 York, where it is prepared for European mar- 

 kets. See CANADA, subtitle Fisheries of Canada. 



Minerals and Mining. Ontario is rich in all 

 common minerals except coal. It leads the 

 world in the production of nickel and cobalt, 

 and is the leading province of the Dominion in 

 the production of gold. The chief mineral re- 

 gion lies north of lakes Huron and Superior. 

 Sudbury is the seat of the nickel mines, and 

 the most important gold mines are around Por- 

 cupine, about 140 miles north of Sudbury. Co- 

 balt is the site of the largest silver mines in the 

 Dominion, and probably the center of one of 

 the richest deposits of silver in the world. The 

 ore contains cobalt in such large proportions 

 that these mines have become the world's chief 

 source of supply (see COBALT). Copper is found 

 all along the north shore of Lake Huron. Iron 

 is found north of Lake Huron and Lake Su- 

 perior, and in the Rainy River district west of 

 Lake Superior there are extensive deposits of 

 iron ore. It is also found in smaller quantities 

 in the southeastern part of the province, in 

 Frontenac, Hastings and Haliburton counties. 



The chief smelting works are at Sault Sainte 

 Marie, Deseronto, Hamilton and Midland. In 

 the counties bordering on Lake Huron are 

 valuable deposits of salt, which are reached by 

 sinking wells from 1,100 to 1,700 feet. The salt 

 is obtained by pouring water into the wells, 

 then pumping out the brine and evaporating it. 

 Petroleum is found in the counties of Lambton 

 and Kent, also bordering on Lake Huron, and 

 natural gas occurs in the same locality. The 

 total value of the metals mined in Ontario in 

 1915 was $47,721,180; of this $4,501,391 was 

 gold; $17,742,463 silver; $7,019,500 nickel and 

 $764,515 iron ore. The natural gas used was 

 valued at $2,299,307 and the salt obtained at 

 $585,022. 



Forests and Lumbering. Most of the best 

 farm land of Ontario was originally covered 

 with forests, and the pioneers had to clear 

 the land. Even now it is estimated that about 



one-fourth of the area is forest. In the south- 

 ern part the trees are chiefly hard woods oak. 

 maple, walnut, hickory, etc. In New Ontario 

 are about 60,000,000 acres covered with spruce, 

 jack pine and tamarack. On the Timapanu 

 Forest Reserve, around Lake Timagami, are 

 large quantities of red and white pine. The in- 

 land lakes are set in forests, and trees line 

 the river banks. There is abundant water 

 power for converting the trees into lumber. 



Forest Reserves. The following forest re- 

 serves and national parks are in Ontario : Tima- 

 gami, 6,000 square miles; Missisagi, 3,000 

 square miles; Nipigon, 7,300 square miles; 

 Algonquin Park, 2,060 square miles; Quetico, 

 1,560 square miles, including Eastern, Sibley 

 and Rondeau. The total area of these parks 

 is 20,038 square miles, and it is estimated that 

 over seven billion feet of pine are on them. 

 This is under the control of the government, 

 and is sold under strict rules. 



Lumbering. Ontario is next to Quebec in the 

 production of lumber. The chief centers of 

 the industry are the Upper Ottawa River, north 

 of Georgian Bay, and west of Lake Superior, 

 along the Rainy River. The logs are cut and 

 hauled to the rivers in the winter and are 

 floated down to the mills in the spring, when 

 the streams are swollen by the melting snow. 

 White pine lumber is exported to the United 

 States and to England, and spruce is in great 

 demand for pulp, used in the manufacture of 

 paper. Shingles, lath and railway ties are pro- 

 duced in large quantities. The annual output 

 of lumber, shingles and lath is valued at over 

 $21,000,000. 



Agriculture. Agriculture is the most impor- 

 tant industry, and that part of the province 

 between the Great Lakes and the Ottawa River 

 is one of the most highly developed agricul- 

 tural regions in North America. The soil is a 

 rich black loam (see SOIL), the farms are in a 

 high state of cultivation, and the farmers are 

 prosperous. Hay, oats, wheat, barley, peas 

 and other produce are raised. Flax is also an 

 important product. The tongue of land be- 

 tween lakes Erie and Huron, because of its 

 low altitude and the modifying climatic in- 

 fluence of the lakes, is well adapted to fruit, 

 and peaches, pears, plums, grapes and small 

 fruits are raised in abundance. Apples in large 

 quantities are grown in all of Old Ontario ex- 

 cept along the Ottawa River. Large quantities 

 of fruit are exported to England, and canning 

 factories enable the grower to preserve and 

 market his surplus product. 



