112 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



The traverse of Lake St. Joseph was started at a point^on the south side 

 of the narrows of the lake, 59.00 chains north of the 61 mile post on the meridian 

 run by myself in 1919. The whole of Lake St. Joseph, lying west of this mer- 

 idian, was traversed during the season. Included in this are 470 islands, ranging 

 in size from small bare rocks to several hundred acres in area. 



In the traverse, all angles were measured with a transit, and the distances 

 were obtained by stadia and micrometer. The traverse was checked carefully 

 by astronomical observations taken as often as possible, and also by ties to the 

 base and meridian lines run during the season, which intersected the shores of 

 the lake a number of times. Every night the traverse work of the day was 

 plotted on cross-section paper, on a scale of twenty chains to an inch, and by 

 this means any error in the traverse was at once located and corrected. The 

 closing errors in the traverse were remarkably small during the whole survey. 



At intervals of about a mile on the shore, prominent trees were blazed on 

 four sides, and marked on the side next the water with the letter "P," followed 



by the number of ihe tree, thus, "P. No " Similarly, the islands were 



marked by having the letter "I," followed by the number of the island. Each 

 of the trees thus marked was tied to the nearest transit station, the bearing 

 and distance from the station to the tree being recorded in the field notes. 



The details of the traverse, showing all measurements, all posts, trees, 

 and other monuments, and all information necessary for the proper interpreta- 

 tion of the survey, have been plotted on a scale of ten chains to an inch, and 

 tracings of these have already been sent to your department. A plan on a scale 

 of one mile to an inch has also been prepared on drawing paper mounted on 

 cotton. This plan shows the base and meridian lines, and their relation to the 

 surrounding country. The shore line of Lake St. Joseph and of all islands within 

 the limits of the survey, have been reduced by a pantograph and plotted on 

 this plan. This plan accompanies this report. 



The country around this part of Lake St. Joseph is rolling and rocky. 

 South of the lake, the country is hilly, with ridges of rock and deposits of sand 

 and gravel arising in places, to form rounded hills. The valleys are occupied 

 by deposits of muskeg, and in places by stones and boulders. The easterly 

 part of the country north of Lake St. Joseph, is more level, the first eight miles 

 of the second base line being mostly in swampy country and crossing only a 

 few low ridges. West of this, the country becomes more broken, conditions 

 being very similar to those south of the lake. 



There are no areas of any consequence fit for agriculture. Areas of sandy 

 loam, suitable for garden purposes, exist here and there, but the total area of 

 these, in comparison with that of the country as a whole, is insignificant. 



The whole country has suffered extensively from fire. Practically the 

 whole of the south side of the lake has been burnt over at diff'erent times, and 

 the timber is second-growth of various ages, depending upon the date of the 

 fire. Much of the country has been burnt over more than once. There are 

 a few isolated areas of fairly good spruce in some of the valleys, which have 

 escaped the fires, but these are rather small in comparison with the total area. 



North of Lake St. Joseph there is a fairly extensive area which has not 

 been burnt over, and on which there is a good growth of spruce. The second 

 base line enters this area about half a mile west of the starting point, on the 

 meridian of 1919, and continues in it for six miles, to where the line first crosses 

 the northerly bay of Lake St. Joseph, which runs up to the easterly outlet of 



