uting its fertile properties to wind-blown volcanic dust mingled with original lake deposit. The soil of this vicinity is certainly of excellent texture and carries more vegetable matter than Nechako silts and a certain amount of clay. Soil throughout the region varies from light sandy loam on benches, slopes, and hillsides to heavy dark loam in bottoms, and heavy growth of peavine in opens and in open timber indicates great fertility. In addition to those surveyed, other areas are known where arable tracts occur. The first farming done in British Columbia was at Fort St. James, where Daniel Harmon cultivated the soil in 1812. For many decades cultivation near the trading- post, on the farm of the R.C. Mission a mile away, and in Indian gardens procured good crops. A. C. Murray, who has a farm near the fort, was factor forty years. He says timothy, red and white clover do well, hay yields 2 tons per acre, barley, oats, vegetables, and small bush-fruits do very well. R. P. Bishop, reporting on surveys near Stuart Lake, said: ‘‘ Potatoes do very well in silt around the lake; | heard astonishing accounts of size and weight. Excellent vegetables are procurable from Indians of Tachie, Trembleur, and Grand Rapids villages.’”” W. Fleet Robert- son, reporting in 1909, said vegetables and root-crops and small fruits have grown successfully for years at H.B. post and R.C. Mission, where barley, rye, and oats were well cultivated. Dr. G. M. Dawson, 1876, told of fine cab- bages, cauliflowers, turnips, beets, carrots, and onions being grown from seed in open air without forcing, and barley and potatoes grown on large scale for use at the fort. He said that in Stuart and Babine Valleys the sum- mer season seems sufficiently long and the absolute amount of heat enough to bring all ordinary crops, in- cluding wheat, to maturity. NORTH OF NECHAKO VALLEY. To north of Nechako Valley undulating plateau, broken by hills and ridges, slopes to the slight divide between Nechako and Stuart; average elevation 2,900 feet, lightly timbered with jack-pine and some poplar, with numerous meadows to 100 acres. Slope is easterly from southerly part of a hill-range east of Sutherland Valley, with Grizzly Mountain, 3,000 feet, highest point. Majority of hills in this part reach about 1,000 feet above general surface, some 2,000 feet. Similar country slopes from hills rising 600 to 800 feet above Fraser Lake to the north, with roll- ing slopes merging into rolling plateau northward, covered with jack-pine and poplar and broken by hills and stony ridges rising to a low summit between Sutherland River and Ormonde Creek and Lake. A short distance west of a trail from Fraser Lake Road via Ormonde and Peto Lakes and Sutherland Valley to Babine Lake, the country be- comes broken by ridges and hills, increasing in height 8