Canadian Forestry Journal, February, ipi6. 



377 



mostly filled with a stony clay. A 

 few rock-basins remain and are oc- 

 cupied by clear lakes, such as 

 Trout Lake, but most of the lakes 

 occupy shallow basins in the loose 



belts along the banks of the streams. 

 Between the hills are more or less 

 extensive mossy swamps, from the 

 surface of which rise a few small 

 scattered spruce and tamarack. 



J. B. T. Photo. 



Rocky Country at the Head of Cat River. 



surface deposits, with low sandy or 

 stony, rather than rocky, shores. 



When the country is opened for 

 settlement much of the loose sur- 

 face clay will form excellent soil for 



the growth of farm crops, for where 

 Indian hunters can grow potatoes, 

 white farmers can grow very many 

 other things. 



Here and there, sand hills rise 

 above the general level and form 

 conspicuous objects in the lands- 

 cape. On the tops of the stony 

 knolls or of the sandy hills Banksian 

 pine up to 10 inches in diameter is 

 often growing, while on the sides of 

 the hills, where the slopes are not 

 too gentle, are groves of white 

 spruce up to 12 inches in diameter, 

 while similar spruce trees also form 



Signs of Burning. 

 Along the course which I travel- 

 led in 1912 from Trout Lake up 

 tributaries of Severn River to the 

 headwaters of Cat River about half 

 of the timber had been burnt a few 

 years before, and was still standing 

 as blackened or bleached tree trunks. 

 On this route the timber, counting 

 both burnt and unburnt trees, 

 would probably average, over hills 

 and swamps, about ten cords to the 

 acre. I cannot say definitely wheth- 

 er this estimate would hold true for 

 the country on the Wenisk and other 

 rivers east of the route which I fol- 

 lowed, but judging from a careful 

 examination of the reports of 

 Alessrs. Bell, Mclnnes, Dowling and 

 other explorers, I should think that 

 it would. 



