278 B. N. A. BOUNDARY COMMISSION. 

the soil appears as a light friable mould, easily worked, and most favor- 
able for agriculture. The marly alluvium underlying the vegetable 
mould, would in most countries be considered a soil of the best quality, 
and the fertility of the ground may therefore be considered as practically 
inexhaustible. 
643. The area of this lowest prairie has already been approximately — 
stated as 6,900 square miles, but of this the whole is not at present suited 
to agriculture. Small swamps are scattered pretty uniformly over its 
surface, and in some places very large areas of swampy land occur, as 
will be seen on reference to the large map of Manitoba lately published hy 
the Government. The greater part of these swamps, are, however, so 
situated, as to be easily drained, either into the Red River or some of its 
tributaries, which are usually depressed thirty to forty feet below tl.c 
level of the surface. At present the swamps in the vicinity of the se*tle- 
ments are made to yield supplies of natural hay ; and until hay-grass is 
sown and regularly cultivated, the ‘hay-swamps’ will continue to be a 
necessary part of the economy of the settler. The wide overflow of these 
swamps in the spring, when the season is wet, or when the dissolution of 
the winter’s snow takes place very rapidiy, is shown by the large area 
often found to be strewn with the dead shells of fresh-water molluses, 
chiefly of the genus Limnea, « 
644, As a measure of the possible agricultural capacity of this great 
valley, take one half of the entire area, or 3,400 square miles equalling 
2,176,000 acres, and, for simplicity of calculation, let it be supposed to be 
sown entirely in wheat. Then, at the rate of 17 bushels per acre—which, 
according to Prof. Thomas, is the average yield for Minnesota—the crop 
of the Red River valley would amount to 40,992,000 bushels. 
645. The wooded area of this lowest prairie steppe is quite small. 
The Red River and its tributaries are fringed with trees, of which oak, 
(Quercus macrocurpa, var.) elm, (Ulmus Americana) poplar, (Populus 
tremuloides, &e.) and ash-leaved maple, (Vegundo aceroides) are the most 
abundant. In some places the trees attain a large size, and the oak 
woods bordering many of the streams are especially beautiful. Much of 
the best timber has, however, already been culled out, and it is yearly 
decreasing, without any systematic attempt for its preservation. The 
steamers running on the Red River are among the largest consumers. 
Away from the immediate borders of the streams, the prairie, though 
covered with a luxuriant sod, is absolutely treeless. It is fortunately the 
case, however, that the Red River Valley is bordered on the east by the 
