BRITISH COLUMBIA 23

is rich in minerals and timber. A great deal of it is rocky and unsuited
for agriculture, but the island section embraces some of the finest agri-
cultural lands in the province, which are rapidly beceming settled now
that the railway is under construction.

VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Not the least important portion of British Columbia is Vancouver
Island, which, from its great wealth of natural resources and its command-
ing position on the Pacific Coast, is fast becoming one of the richest and
most prosperous districts of the province. Coal mining and lumbering
are the chief industries, and fishing, quartz mining, copper smelting,

S. S. Princess Victoria, Canadian Pacific Railway Company’s
Steamship Service.