1909-10 DEPAETMENT OF LANDS, FORESTS AND MINES. 77 



being chiefly spruce from four to eight inches in diameter. These swamp areas 

 when cleared and properly drained could possibly be profitably cultivated but 

 outside of them the country offers nothing from an agricultural standpoint. 



Watee. 



The country in this region is well watered; small lakes and creeks are 

 numerous. The more important streams are the east and west branches of 

 the Montreal Eiver, the Siturgeon River and the Wapoose Creek. These streams 

 have no great volume of flow as the watersheds of each are not very extensive. 

 They, in combination with the numerous lakes, furnish excellent facilities for 

 travelling by canoe. 



There are no water powers of much importance in the country surveyed. 

 The only falls that occur are the Bridal Veil Falls on the east branch of the 

 Wapoose Creek in the Township of Leith. They are from thirty to thirty-five 

 feet in height, but the volume of water is so small that it ia questionable if 

 much power could be developed from them at all times of the year. As their 

 name might suggest they are quite interesting from a scenic point of view. 

 Splendid springs of pure cold water are often found. 



Timber. 



There is considerable timber of commercial value in this district. White 

 and red pine are not often found in any quantity but are scattered more or less 

 over the entire area. It is particularly noticeable along the shores of Smooth 

 Water Lake and for two or three miles below on the banks of the Montreal River. 

 It ranges in size from twelve to twenty-four inches in diameter. It is rough in 

 quality but fairly sound. Banksian pine are abundant and vary from eight to 

 twenty-four inches in diameter. Spruce, balsam, birch and cedar, also tamarac 

 and poplar, are distributed pretty generally and are found up to twenty or twenty- 

 four inches in diameter. There are considerable areas in the Townships of Ray- 

 mond, Knight and Tyrrell which seem to have been burned over some years ago. 

 They are now covered with a small thick growth of chiefly birch, poplar, spruce and 

 balsam. Fire only a few weeks previous to this survey burned over a consider- 

 able portion of the parts of the Townships of Knight and Tyrrell south-west of 

 Pigeon Lake and the Montreal River, destroying nearly all the timber and leaving 

 a black hrule. This fire originated north-west of Pigeon Lake, and was still 

 smouldering along the west branch of the Montreal River in the latter part 

 of August. 



Minerals. 



The entire territory included in this survey has been prospected for 

 silver within the last two years and prospectors' camps were numerous. Outcrops 

 of diabase were found in every township and were almost invariably staked. A 

 good many prospectors seemed to be occupying themselves more in looking for 

 areas not yet claimed than in actually searching for mineials. 



Geological surveys have been made of the whole country by experts from 

 the Bureau of Mines, so it would be superfluous for me to discuss the rock forma- 

 tion, etc., in this report. 



An effort was made to "tie on" all surveyed mining claims, and they are 

 shown on the plan and in the field notes. I found it impracticable to keep 

 record of claims staked but not surveyed. 



