160 THROUGH CANADA 



Lardo-Trout Lake Railway in the interior. In 1909 

 blocks which were excavated and sawed into slabs, 

 amounted to £6000 value. The Marble and Granite 

 Co. used to ship the rough blocks for dressing. 

 Works have since been established which supply the 

 marble in the finished state. 



Large lime-kilns are in operation in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Victoria. This industry has been 

 extended to Saanich Inlet and Texada Island, 

 where the limestone used is of exceptional quality. 



Portland cement has demanded the formation of a 

 company at Vancouver. The works are about twelve 

 miles from Victoria, at Tod Inlet on the Saanich arm. 

 In 1909 the output was valued at ^72,000. 



Petroleum is still in the speculative state. The 

 oil has been found in East Kootenay and in 

 Vancouver Island, but it has not been sufficiently 

 worked to form a clear notion of its value. 



Concrete is so much in demand on the coast, that 

 quarries have been opened and companies formed 

 with extensive plant for crushing rocks and supplying 

 washed sand and gravel. 



This brief epitome of the natural resources of 

 British Columbia is sufficient to show its importance 

 as a province of the Dominion. Geographically it is 

 the largest, prospectively it is without doubt the 

 wealthiest. 



Fifty years ago it was unexplored territory, 

 unknown, except to its Indian inhabitants and a few 



