76 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



mentar>' limestone near Vansickle P.O. and near Oak lake, where the 

 topography is rolling. 



Rock and Soil. — Most of the rocks are granite and hornblende 

 schist and they are about equal in distribution. The granite lies be- 

 tween the schist in a band about four miles wide, extending from the 

 southwestern comer of the township. Much of this rock is so far de- 

 cayed that it can be crumbled in the hand and it gives rise to nearly 

 pure gravel. The soil on the hornblende schist is very sandy. A small 

 outcrop of crystalline limestone along the road in the northern portion, 

 and the two patches of sedimentary limestone in the southern portion of 

 the township, are the only places where a soil approaching a loam in 

 texture can be found. 



Forest Conditions. — The greater portion of Methuen was once a 

 pinery, and 43.3 per cent of the area of the township is now a man-made 

 barren, while 41 per cent is covered with poplar and birch arising from 

 fires. The hardwoods occupy 12.8 per cent of the area, and they are 

 found mostly in the northern portion, the largest patch being in the 

 northwestern comer around Jack lake. They are all severely culled. 

 Onl}' 2.7 per cent of the township is under cultivation. 



Burleigh Township 



Watersheds. — The waters from Burleigh flow into the Trent waters 

 by three routes : Jack creek, Eels brook into Stony lake, and Deer 

 Bay creek into Deer bay. The latter receives the waters of a dozen lakes 

 in the northwest quadrant of the township. The total lake surface is 

 3,500 acres. 



Topography. — The highest points are in the north central portion 

 of the township, where the highest ridges are about 150 feet above the 

 general level of the low ridged plain-lilce surface. East of Eels brook, 

 the plain-like character of the surface is still more apparent. The out- 

 crops of sedimentary limestone south of the Cedar lakes are flat. 



Rock and Soil. — A line drawn from the southwestern comer to the 

 northeastem comer of the township would divide about equally the 

 granite and crystalline limestone areas, the former being on the western 

 side and the latter on the eastern side of the line. The crystalline 

 limestone area contains a number of intrusions of granite which occur 

 as low rounded ridges. The soil is absent on the higher granite ridges, 

 a condition due to repeated fires. In fact, this is the condition on most 

 of the granite outcrops. In local pockets and along the bases of 

 the ridges, the soil is a light gravelly loam, and it is usually not over 

 8 inches deep. The soil on the crystalline limestone is of the same char- 

 acter, but, as a rule, it contains more sand and pebbles. On the sedi 



