Dr. Bell's Hudson's Bay Explorations. 365 



The soil consists, for the most part, of a brownish, somewhat gravelly, 

 loam or earth, resting upon " till," and frequently upon stratified 

 clays or the solid rock. The latter is never seen, however, except 

 along the river banks where there are rapids or falls. Dr. Bell 

 says : " I examined the country for a mile or two back from the 

 rivers in many places, for the special purpose of ascertaining the 

 nature of the soil, and found it excellent in all cases, but tending to 

 become more swampy in receding from the river in the Devonian 

 region below the Long Portage. Samples of the soil were collected 

 in a few places for subsequent examination. In traversing such a 

 great extent of almost unbroken wilderness, one is apt to forget the 

 possible value of this vast region for agricultural purposes. But the 

 examples of the farms at New Brunswick House and Moose Factory 

 show, upon a small scale, what might be extended over a great part 

 of the country. I have no doubt that at some future time this 

 territory will support a large population." 



Thus it will be seen from the most reliable evidence that Canada 

 has a vast stretch of territory situated between the Great Lakes 

 and James's Bay — a tract of land large enough for a separate pro- 

 vince — of exceptionally good soil, and well adapted to the pursuits 

 of agriculture. The district in question has a fair seaport for 

 light craft at Moose, by which its future surplus products may be 

 exported to Europe over the waters of Hudson's Bay. The climate 

 of the country is about the same as that of the Province of Mani- 

 toba, as will be, seen by the following meteorological records: — 



