302

B. N. A. BOUNDARY COMMISSION.

on as sources of wealth. It is improbable that metallic ores, other thanthose of iron, will bo found over the area of the plains, underlaid as theyare by the soft and little disturbed rocks of the Mesozoic and Tertiary.Gold, it is true, is known to exist in small quantities in the drift materialsof some localities,* and may here and there be found in remunerativeproportion, but its production will probably never assume much import-ance. The great area covered by the coal and lignite-bearing formations,as they are at present known, insures a supply of fuel for all time, to thesettlers of the western portion of the plains, but coal mining will onlybecome an important industry, when the country has been opened up, andthere are extensive agricultural communities depending on it. The greatpresent object of those interested in the North-west, should therefore beto further agriculture, and the interests of the agriculturist and stock-farmer, in every possible way.

Ill. Climatic conditions have already received some attention, andit is not here proposed to discuss them further. They have a verydirect bearing on the utilization of the country, but for the present theymust be taken as they are, and the special problems presented in eachdistrict will be solved by experience rapidly acquired. The severity ofthe winter season is certainly one of the greatest disadvantages of theNorth-west, as an area for settlement, but, agriculturally, the intensityof the cold is not so much a matter of importance as its duration; andwhere—as in this region—the length and heat of the summers areknown to be sufficient to mature all the ordinary crops, it may, to agreat extent, be disregarded. For stock raising, both the duration andintensity of the cold must be taken into account, though even here theformer is the more important. I am aware, that in this region, horsesand cattle are at present frequently allowed during the winter, to feedthemselves as best they may. They generally survive, and often do notlook much the worse for their hard treatment; but this haphazard planwill not find favour with careful farmers. In the Eed Kiver country,animals to which proper attention is shown, require additional food to besupplied to them, either in the form of hay or roots, for at least sixmonths in the year. For the cultivation of the latter variety of crops,the soil of the Eed Eivcr Valley appears to be excellently suited.

712. In northern Montana , the conditions are somewhat different,and stock is there systematically allowed to winter out independently,or with only very slight aid in the way of feed. Similar conditions of

Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Canada, 1873-74.