east and west about 60 miles, and with its tributary areas comprises,
roughly, 300,000 acres, 85 per cent. of which is available for the various
purposes of farming. In considering the possible waste areas, the same
conditions prevail here as elsewhere, that when three or four adjoining
quarter-sections may carry a high percentage of waste land, other and
surrounding quarters will be entirely free. The width of the valley
varies considerably, and is narrowest along the lakes, where the land at
points is more or less rough, and even rugged where the hills approach
the lakes. Speaking of the lands as a whole, and particularly where there
are considerable areas, the surface of the ground is of an even character
and is broken here and there by the cuts of the larger creeks. Indications
tend to show that the whole district has been, until a comparatively short
time ago, heavily timbered. Large areas have been deforested, leaving
strips of the orginal coniferous growth, principally along lake-shores and
on surrounding mountains and hills. The most valuable and predomi-
nating tree is spruce, 8 to 30 inches in diameter. A generous proportion
of pine, with more or less balsam, is also included. An appreciable
percentage of this timber has matured and now shows signs of decay.
Ample supplies of good timber, however, exist to more than supply the
requirements of ordinary purposes.

“The major portions of the valley have been swept at different times
by fire. Wiaindfalls are only encountered in portions that have escaped
the main sweep of the flames, and do not prevail, as a rule, to any extent.
The areas lying west and south of the second lake and south of and along
the Nation River carry a very open growth of small pine, poplar, and
willow thickets, which renders clearing possible at minimum cost, and
almost any particular piece of land readily accessible.

“The fact that excellent and evenly distributed water-supplies are
to be found practically anywhere is in itself a very attractive feature of
the country. Almost every quarter-section in the surveyed area is amply
supplied by one or more of the numerous creeks, or borders on the shores
of a lake. On the larger plateaus, where dry areas may be expected to
exist, the network of smaller lakes with their connecting creeks provide
an ample supply within easy reach.

“Tn summing up the merits of a new country, the question of soil
is necessarily one of importance. The soil may be characterized generally
as a sandy loam; only along the lower levels of the lakes and river is
clay noticed to any extent. Along the undulating areas immediately
surrounding the lakes, where, as stated before, most of the timber is
found, the soil is a loose, light brown loam. ‘This gives way in places to
soil of a gravelly nature, containing varying quantities of loose rock, or
‘free stone,’ on the higher ground. On the bench lands or plateaus,
where the main blocks lie, the prevailing soil is a finely divided, dark-
brown or reddish-sandy loam. This is of considerable depth in certain
areas, as is evidenced by the cuts along the creeks and main river. Large
deposits of a whitish silt, probably glacial in origin, are encountered
mainly along the Nation River, where cut-banks of 50 to 100 feet in

Sixteen.