682 



Canadian Forestry Journal, August, i<^j6 



Climate Agreeable. 



The claimate of these islands is 

 mild and equable owing to the in- 

 fluence of the Japan Current, and 

 though there is considerable cloudy- 

 weather the precipitation in both 

 snow and rain is only about half 

 what it is on the adjacent mainland, 

 being only slightly more than that 

 of Vancouver. 



The Queen Charlotte Islands are 

 rich in natural resources, chief 

 among which are fish, timber, agri- 

 cultural land, coal, oil, copper, sil- 

 ver, gold and other minerals. Agri- 

 culture will be confined largely to 

 the flat lands on Graham Island, of 

 which, it is estimated, there are 400,- 

 000 acres which can be brought un- 

 der cultivation. This land lies at 

 from 200 to 500 feet above sea level 

 and for the most part is of a muskeg 

 type, the mineral soil being overlaid 

 with moss and decaying vegetable 

 matter for a depth of from three 

 inches to two feet, probably not 

 averaging over eight inches. There 

 is a scattering of scrubby timber on 

 these lands which entails some clear- 

 ing, but the chief necessity for cul- 

 tivation is drainage. Settlements 

 have been started at several points 

 on Masset Inlet and Skidegate Inlet, 

 and these have demonstrated that 

 the soil and climate is conducive to 

 the successful growing of all kinds 

 of garden produce, small fruits and 

 live stock. The farm produce from 

 these islands has twice secured the 

 first prize for district exhibits at the 

 Prince Rupert agricultural show. 

 Spruce of Large Sises. 



The timber on Graham Island is 

 composed of hemlock, spruce, red 

 cedar, yelloAV cedar and jack pine. 

 On fiat lands the merchantable 

 stands are confined to the shore 

 lines and watercourses where drain- 

 age is afiforded. The spruce grows 



to immense sizes, often eight feet in 

 diameter and 250 to 300 feet high, 

 but that growing along the shore is 

 inclined to be hmby and in places 

 conky, so that it does not cut out a 

 high percentage of clear timber. 

 Farther back from the water, where 

 it is less exposed, it is of a better 

 quality. The hemlock is, as a rule, 

 superior in quality to that found in 

 the southern part of the province 

 and will be perhaps the most im- 

 portant forest species. The red 

 cedar, though it grows to large sizes, 

 is not, as a rule, very sound, and 

 will be more suitable for the manu- 

 facture of shingles than lumber. The 

 yellow cedar, which grows in the 

 more swampy or the higher sites in 

 places reaches merchantable size, 

 but on the flat lands it is generally 

 scrubby and tapers very rapidly 

 from the butt. The jack pine will 

 be useful for mining props, fuel, 

 etc., but cannot be considered as saw 

 material. These observations refer- 

 to the timber on Graham Island 

 generally, though along the rivers 

 and shore line of the inlets and lakes 

 there are excellent stands of timber 

 which will run from 25 M. to 100 M. 

 per acre over considerable areas! 

 This heavy stand does not, however' 

 extend back far from the drainao-e 

 lines. * 



On Moresby and the adjacent is- 

 lands the more mountainous nature 

 of the land permits of better drain- 

 age and there is very little muskeg, 

 the hillsides being roypred with a 

 good stand of timber of the sar^- 

 species as above. The quality of the 

 timber is generally better than that 

 found on the wetter lands of Graham 

 Island. 



The timber on these islands, of 

 which there is estimated to be from 

 twelve to fifteen biflion feet, has not 

 been exploited to any extent as yet 

 though there -are three small saw- 

 mills on Masset Inlet and two on 

 Skidegate Inlet, but their operations 

 have been very limited. The present 

 demand for spruce has resulted in 

 some activity in this region, but the 

 cut is not large. 



