$0 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



The same region, Indian tradition says, was burnt over about one 

 hundred and thirty years ago. Indeed it is very probable that suc- 

 cessive forests have grown up and have perished in the flames in 

 past milleniums, since the land became fitted for the sustaining of 

 tree life upon it. Hitherto little use has been made of timber other 

 than pine, of which there are immense areas in the New Ontario ; 

 but it is certain to find a market, and the Province will yet derive a 

 large revenue from it. Even now there is an active demand for pop- 

 lar and spruce for the manufacture of pulp, and this is fast becoming 

 an industry of great magnitude. As for the future, one hardly dares 

 trust himself to forecast what our needs may be a century or a quar- 

 ter of a century hence, for the wit of man is seeking out many 

 inventions. But in all human probability we shall never be able to 

 find a complete substitute for wood in the arts ; and it is not too 

 early now for adopting schemes to conserve our forests. There are 

 many parts of the north so rough and rocky as not to possess any 

 prospective value for agriculture, but suitable enough for forest 

 growth. What better policy can be chosen as regards such tracts 

 than to set them apart in perpetuity as Crown forests ? This is a 

 simple plan, and it possesses the merit of being well started already, 

 in the sense that Nature has planted the trees and prospered their 

 growth under its own conditions. 



As an agricultural country, there is much to be said for the 

 north. It is true, as just stated, that many parts are too rough and 

 rocky for tillage ; but other parts are as full of promise as any of our 

 older counties. This is especially true of the river valleys north of 

 lake Huron, where the soil is wonderfully productive. And there 

 are many other areas of equal excellence, such for example as the 

 regions around lake Tamiscaming (where twenty-five townships 

 embracing 575,000 acres are surveyed), to the north and west of 

 lake Nipissing, and in the valley of the Vermillion river. For the 

 growth of peas and oats, timothy and clover, and root crops of all 

 kinds, there is no more suitable land anywhere than in those districts; 

 and they are equally well adapted for the dairy industry and the 

 production of beef and mutton, as the pastures are nourishing and 

 water abounds everywhere. Beyond Port Arthur and Fort William 

 there are many good farms, and on the Wabigoon river, 200 miles 

 from Fort William, there is a tract of land now being opened for 



