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in hand as early as possible. These should cover the
unsurveyed portions of the Peace River area in Alberta,
the Beatton River section in British Columbia, the valleys
of the Parsnip and lower Finlay Rivers, the Hay River
Valley, the Muskwa Valley, and the valley of the Liard
in the Alaska Highway section. The Dominion Depart-
ment of Agriculture has now established an experimental
substation in the Dezadeash Valley in southwestern
Yukon, and, as a result, much useful information concerning
this area will doubtless be gathered.

In the present stage of development of agricultural
practice, it is not thought likely that agriculture as an
industry will be carried on successfully in the Mackenzie
and Slave Valleys at any great distance north of the 60th
parallel, nor that this section holds much promise for
agricultural settlement. It has been demonstrated, how-
ever, that garden produce can be successfully grown as
far north as Aklavik. The production of fruits and
vegetables is greatly to be desired in the interest of the
local population, and to this end experimental farm work
should be intensified and broadened in the northern areas.

As far as can be at present foreseen, the economic
future of the North Pacific Region will probably depend
on mineral development and certain indigenous products,
notably fur and fish. In view of this probability and of
the fact that areas offering agricultural opportunity must
at best be regarded as marginal, any substantial agricultural
development in the Region can only be complementary to
the development of its prime resources. These considera’
tions, together with the wide publicity the Region has
received through the war projects constructed there, suggest
that strict control should be exercised over future settle
ment. This control should be governed by the following
principles:

(a) Release of agricultural lands for farm settlement
only in localities where a produce market exists or
is developing, for example, within economic range
of a mineral development.

(b) Acceptance for agricultural settlement of only
people who, from their personal background and
physical characteristics, may be regarded as suited
to frontier conditions.

(c) Direction of such settlement to areas where the
minimum disturbance to the pursuits of the native
and the established population is likely to occur.
This population is at present largely dependent
upon the trapping and fishing pursuits that for
many generations have been almost their sole
occupation, on which their economy is based, and
to which their instincts and training adapt them.

In the interests of the aboriginal population, projects
for the exploitation of the so-called “barren” sub-Arctic
lands, for the grazing of cattle, or for the commercial
development of reindeer herds should not be encouraged.

In considering areas which, from a View-point of accessi-
bility, are suited, or may be made suitable, for early agri-

cultural settlement, particular mention should be made of
the Queen Charlotte Islands—specifically, Graham Island,
the largest and most northerly of the group. The islands
are separated from the mainland by Hecate Strait. The
group is roughly in the shape of a triangle, the northern
coast of Graham Island forming the base 53 miles long, and
Cape St. James forming the apex, 156 miles to the south.
The north coast of Graham Island is cut by Masset Inlet
and Naden Harbour. Méasset Inlet forms a narrow channel
for about 17 miles, then opens out into an irregular-shaped
lake about 6 miles wide from north to south and 18 miles
long from east to west. Naden Harbour is approached
by a funnel-shaped bay which narrows to an opening less
than half a mile wide, beyond which the harbour expands to
about 23 miles wide, by 6 miles long. These inlets form
excellent natural harbours. Rose Point, the northeast
end of Graham Island, is about 50 miles from the mainland,
and Masset Harbour, at the entrance to the inlet, is about
73 miles from the port of Prince Rupert.

A mountainous axis extends along the entire western
side of the archipelago, some of the peaks rising to 4,500
feet. The northeastern and a large part of the eastern
portion of Graham Island are almost flat, seldom exceeding
300 feet above sea-level. In places, this low land is covered
with glacial till, but it is more generally overlain by marine
deposits of clays, sands, and gravels. A layer of moss and
decaying vegetable matter on top of the soil varies in
thickness from three inches to two feet, averaging perhaps
6 to 8 inches. This part of Graham Island is described
in the report of the Commission of Conservation (Forests
of British Columbia; Whitford and Craig) as follows:

What is perhaps the largest continuous area of agricultural
land on the coast of British Columbia is to be found on Graham
Island. There is approximately 1,290 square miles (825,000 acres)
of almost level land from 200 to 300 feet above sea level. A large
portion of this land is of a muskeg type....... A scrubby growth of
timber, composed of red cedar, yellow cypress, hemlock, lodgepole
pine and spruce covers the land leaving many open, meadow-like
areas between the groves. Where there is sufficient (natural)
drainage, such as along streams or close to the shoreline of lakes or
the salt water, heavy stands of timber are almost invariably found.
The cost of bringing the muskeg land under cultivation would be
small compared with the cost of clearing heavily-timbered lands.
On most of this land it would be necessary to provide drainage by
shallow surface drains and to remove the covering of moss by burning.
Settlements established in the vicinity of Masset and Skidegate
inlets have demonstrated that the soil and climate are conducive
to the successful growing of all kinds of garden produce and small
fruits and for the raising of live stock. The agricultural produce
from these islands has twice secured the first prize for district
exhibits in the annual agricultural fair at Prince Rupert.

This report goes on to say:

The settlement of this district has been greatly retarded due to
the fact that nearly all the accessible land was taken up under timber
licences, coal licences or applications to purchase before the attention
of prospective purchasers was attracted to the district. she

Referring to forest values—the subject under discussion
—the report says:

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