\5h. 7 /^ /*- • ■ i « • • • , « * • • ^' • « • * • - •* • • • • • • t •" • * ** # t * '••♦•*•.«••• ' ••« • .*• 4 » • • • / • • • • • « .' . « • > • • « • « • • « ' • » * o m • '• « • > • • • « «« *«>•< • THE LAKE ST. JOHN RAILWAY. To His Worship The Mayor, the Aldermen and Councillors of the City of Quebec. The Citizens of Quebec Teel a sense or relief in the seltlement lately reached with the Government in the matter of the million, voted years ago in aid to the North Shore Railway. The City has discharged her debt with a payment in money of $350,000 — less the sum of $75,000 to be received from the Government — and bearing live ins- tead of seven per cent. The gfeat saving in capital and in interest will be seen at a glance. In Capital f 725,000 In Interest 52,500 per annum. The ground is thus cleared for the consideration of an other impor- tant question — the balance of the subscription to the Lake St. John Railway — which can no longer be deferred without imperiling the interests of the City. The position with reference to this subscription may be stated as oUows. In 1874, the City Council voted the sum of $450,000 in aid towards the Railway. This subscription was subsequently sanctioned by the 38 Vict., chap. 46, subject to by-laws to be ratified by property holders. The sum of $90,000 has been voted and paid on account, leaving a balance of $360,000 still to be voted. The Railway was undertaken on the faith ot this subscription. The works of construction have been commenced upon a section b«yond Sl.-Haymond, the Company on the one band being desirous I of avoiding the loss of the present working soason, and on Iho oUpt relying implicitly iipon the City to complete llie aid promi-sed when applied to. The r|ue8tions involved in this railway, with its rialur.il branch linos.— Grand Piles to Lake Kdwanl, Lake Kdwartl to La 'ru(|iif',.Luke St. John lo Chicoutimi, and others which will ho b\iilt to meet lh»' re(|uireuionts of colonization, — are not new. The a • • I)e unreasf iia'-lti lo expect foreign cajiitul to II )W m for such I urrosi s .f l:ij peopl's, 'o \hs iiuriiedaltly beuelillnd, will not const" nt to put llieir Iiunda irlo llu'lr p ickets to give some tangible pi'Ouf of Ih^'ir lonlldence in the reej^o; rces of Uie country they aie seek- ing to de\"lop. And in no fiirer wav lo all classes of the commi nity can tliif he elfjcled than ihrougi: u municipal subscr'plion. Tiio back <".runlry of Ihi Dominion is J5'r .iliuilly coming into more jiroiuinent iioiic-, an 1 the ijrt'judi .es uf crniufios ar'' disajipiMriug undor the li{.:ht of more HXlniided and impMrliil researches. We are now well in!. II mud as to the char.jcli r of the country from the Pa^'ific coast lo Not way House. I'orih'.Tmoro w^> know, ilial from iNorway House — ai lht> Northern end of Luke Wir.ipeg — to Like .Mistassiiii — N' rlh oi'Luk" -^i. Jclin — the conn'ry is g'^niTilly le\el with a gentle slope from ih'' litight of land do va to Hudson and James Bays— an immense t'smiory traversed by laru'e rivers covered with valuable forests, abounding ;n minerals, and enjoying a climate far milder than ha 1 l)ePii universally believed heretofore — in a word susceptible of a higl) de'/ref> of development It wjiiid not b'i unreasonable ;o belicvti, that in time a railway will be bum thr ugh ihe interior ol the D.imini n from the Pacilio coast, tli-ougl) tin V.il <'v of the Peac" Hiv.r. lo Norway House — an! Main NorWiiy llou^e. t)i!(i Hudson and James Bays and liuke St. John, to Q.jebt'c. With a bhot-leaing up of existing Hues between Quebec and Halifax, via Houl on. ihi'- railway will form the shortest route across Ihe cont'nent, and w.ll jiass throuch the greatest extent of the arable lauds of Canada The lake Si. John Railway is but one of th^ link? of this vast railway system . f 'he futurf, which will work out fmperial and lAderal ends. The I xl'-nsioii rf the Com' iny'« road to Jam^'s Bny has been fore shadow* d in I'ailiainent by the Ministor of I'ailways as may be seen by a icfenMC to ihe dt bti ■ duriiig' the last Session on tho Uosoiu- tioris in favor of certain Railways #, * MUasge — Quebec to J«m«ji Bay — about 550 miles. — 4 — Any hesitation on the part of tho City to co-operato h»iarlily with Iho (.'ompany will necessarily re-acl most uiiforlunateiy upon tho Farliament of Canada and the Legislature or Quebec — which, in the Subsidies already granted to tho Company, have given proof of the deip interest taken in their onter[ rise. Vhe following extracts from arlichs token from the (ilobe, with re- ference to the development of the City of Toronto and the Jamt-s Bay Teriitory, will be read, we doubl not, with deep interest by all classes of this community. RAILWAY BOARD. CONTRACTING BOARD. Th^^ophile LeDroit, President. William Wilhall, President. Simon Peters, Vice-Pres. Elizfi^) Beaudet, Vice-President IJonorable D. A. Ross, Honorable A. P. Caron, J. D. Brousseau, " P. Garneau, R. P. Vallee, '* 1. Thibaudeau, Frank Ross, J. G. Ross, T A. Pidiiington. J. B. Renaud. —000 (Toronto Globe, 8th September 1881.) TORONTO. POPULATIOW. (Wilhia city limits.) 1861. 1871. ISSf, 44,821 56,092 86,044 increase in ten years, 30,353. ASSESSABLE PROPERTY OF TORONTO. 1871. 18»L $29,277,200 f53,379,60(> Increase in ten years, $24,102,400. — 5 — PBOPEHTT OWNED HY CORPORATION. 1871. 1881. f -J, 200, 000 f 5, 000,000 Increase, $2,800,000. ESTIMATEU REVErUE OTUKIl THAN TAXATION. 1871. 1881. 180,000 $278,240 Increase, $192,240. To the Toronio of 1871 a city has heen ad400 000 of (iraml Trunk slock originally siibscribcil, nor thf H'paymtMit of lliH 8ub«cr pli( n nf 1801 to lht> Nortlmni, Toronto Jiasi assis-ted railw^iys to tlit; exlont shown by Ihj following inbU^ : — Grand Trunk (iSJo) ^': 29.707 Toronto, Grey, and BrncJ (I«fi8-74| 3".0."00 Toronto and Niplssin? (I8fi8| l:>'i,0()0 Norlhmi and Miiskoka .lunctjon (1870) !( 0,000 Credit Vallt'y (1873-1877) 330,000 Construction of esplanudo, etc., for general use of railways.. O'l 1 ,307 $i8i)i.(;u-». It will be observed that the greater [>art of thi' sum was subscribed since 1868, the benelll res-ulting from tho expenditure net tireruiiig in large part till nearly the end of the lust decade, during which the am schemes of theClrand Trunk and Pacilic Railway Com- panies for obtaining control of the local roads should be stoutly resisteil by the whole jiopulation of the tVovince. INFLUENCE OF EXTENSIONS AND l.MPHOVEMENTS ON LOCAL TRADE. By local trade we mean the traffic between jjiaces siluateil in the same Province or district. What country or village merchants purchai^c in Toronto for the supjdy of their customers, what is sold by Ontaricns to Toronto dealers for the J-ui)ply of Iheir direct customers throughout the Dominion, goes to make the local trade of this city. It is obviiius that this must be greatly inciieased by the extension of the Credit Vallty and the Northern and North-Western ; by the construc- tion of the Ontario and Quebec Hy. and the Ontario Sault Ste. Marie line ; by the improvements already taken in hand on the Toronto, Grey, and Bruce, and Toronto and Ninissing. The development of the agricultural lands of the Muskoka district ; of the lumber trade along Georgian Bay and northward to Lake Mipissing ; the opening of the rich mints of the Hustings, Frontenac, and Northumberland districts, will give Toronto meroliants thousands — nay, hundreds of thousands — of new customers within the next ten years. And the emporium whence the farm>''rs, lumbermen, and miners get their supplies will naturally and inevitably gft a prolit by receiving and disposing of their raw ])rod':icts. It would probably be safe to predict that the population of Ontario will increase as ra|)idly during the next as the last decade, and as every Ontarian is more or less a customer of Toronto, it would follow that this city and suburbs, growing at the normal rate, should have a population of 175,000 in 1891. With growth the ATTRACTIONS OF THE CITY. as a place of residence for wealthy families increase greatly. The churches, the press, the schools, theatres, exhibitions, entertainments of all kinds, will im|)rove ; better streets are being rapidly laid, and better w.iter will soon be laid on. Not the lea^t of Toronto's advan- tages is that greuit i>1aygrounds are near at hand. On two sides of the city there are large parks, and within a few hours' journey by rail lie the (Georgian Hay, tb^ Muskoka lakes, Lake Simcoe, and the hundred other healthful resorts described recently in these columns. -000- — 9 — (Toronto Glo^Jfa, 13th September 1881.) Thr rcTtiHE OF Toronto; As the Centre of f'opur.ATiON Moves NonTiiWAHD IN Ontario Tohonto's Growth is Accelehatko : IIai'II) Skttlemk.nt ok thk NoimitRN Countiks. Between 1861 and 1871 the population of Toronto rose from 4i.''21 to 56, 09'2, a gain of only 11,971 or ^5.15 per cent. During that decade the populatii n of Ontario rose from 1,395,081 to 1.020,851. a ^am of 16.24 per cent. Between 1871 and !881 the population of tiio Pro- vince roso to 1,9I3,4^jO, an increase of 18.05 per cent. Had the rela- tive increases of the City and Province be>^n the same during the last as during the former decade, Toronto would have had in 1881 a po- pulation of 71,797 ; the gain in ten y^^ars wouUl have been nearly 15,- 700. or almo>l 28 per cent. But Toronto (proper) actually gained 30,- 352, or over 54 per cent, between 1871 and 1881. But the enhanced rapidity of th'i city's growth, as comj ared with that of tho Province is really much greater than that. The populous suburban villages Parkdale and itoaedale did not exist ten years ago; Yorkville was nothing like iis present size, nor were Lesiioville, Seaton, Brockton, and Riverside. These places are esseitially part of Toronto, and, counting them in, the city has gained at least 70 per cent, during the last tt!n years. Now a town, the normal decimal percentage of whose growth is to that of the Province nearly as 25 is to 10, does not gain 70 per cent in a decade during which the Province gains 18 percent, without some obvious and easily defined cause. What was it ? Not more than the normal increase in manufactures occurred ; no more than the usual influx of wealthy retired persons seeking ihe enjoy- ments of a city residence took piece. Of course, the enhanced rapidi- ty of ToronUi's growtli is due to enhanced rapidity in tlic growiii of Toronto's trade. Ihe city gnined so many new ( i stonn rs Lelwoen 1871 and 1^81 that an abnormal increase in the number of persons living direct y or indirectly by mercantile operations occurred. This is obvious, cf course, and is ?1atod here merely as pieliminary tu the question. Where did Toronto gel the unusual increase of customers ? Not in the di>lrict lying south of a line drawn from Godericli to To- ronto, nor in ili*' country adjacent to the Grand Trunk Railway bet- ween Toronto and Kingston. Commerciiil reports indeed show that Toronto mer.haits have gained in thi- competition against Montreal merchant!^ lhr('Ughout both these districts, liut their gnwlli in )»opu- lation has been so little that their trade with this city can not have grown flbiiormally. Reference to the census reports shows that an increase of population from 805, 7S8 tj 892,235 or 10.73 per cent, has occurred in the districts mentioned. — 10 - TIn^ piilway racilitiesoflhc counties south of a line belweon Toronto and Godencli huve been sonewiiat extended, but not greatly on such lines as necessarily I'urther the interests of Toronto. And Jietween Tcoiilo and Kingston the country immediately adjacent to the Grand Trunk has li' lie better coinmuni'-at ion with Toronto than it had l»e- fore 1871. From which it is clear that had Toronto for the last ten years depended as mut h as during llie former ten years for trade on the counties in question, no abnormal increase in the business and population of the city would have occurred. The city would merely not have r^-trograded in wealth and jiojiulation as compared with the Province. Tliit the city gained 70 jier cent, while the Province gaini>d 18 is due to the fact that Ontario's centre of population moved norihward. The district north of a lin<^ from Goderich to Toronto, ami norih of the country adjacent to the Grand Trunk betW'.'pn To- ronto and Kingston, rose in popul.ilion during the last decade from 373,757 to 471,651, a gain of 25.19 per cent. This astonishii g growth was cai.sed by the construction or extension northward of railways centering at Toronto — The Credit Valley, Toronto, Grey and Bruce, Northern, Toronto and Nijiissing and Victoria lines. These roads act as lingers grasping trade for a hand of which this city is the palm. Fi.r all their extensions and feeders Toro.ito must continue to be the centre. Now, as the city has gained abnormally in the last decade because the centre of population has moved northward, the more it goos in that direction th-^ greater Toronto's gain. Not only arf the counties in the quadrilateral, of which Whitby, Ilaliburlon, Wharton, and Godt'rich areas the angles, growing more rapidly than any other, but between them and Lake Nipissing there is a country mu h richer than was formerly sujtposeil. An examination of many surveyors' reports has shown us that probably one-third of the land wiihin the qued Northern and Pacilic .lunction Hallway. The Canadian Pa- cific wili develop the country to the imme James' B.vy Cocntky ; Its GniiAT Mineral, Forkst a.nd Aghicultural VVealth ; Will it he ANOTUiin 1'knnsylvania ; Recknt Revela- tions IJespectixg its Cllmate a.nd :?oil ; Longer without fhost THAN Ml'Skoka ; W^intlrs Milder than Manitoiia, and Wxrmeh Si .Mjn:ns than Edinhuiujii ; lis Grain, Hoots, and Trees ; Tub Lenc.tii a.nd Mildness of Autu.mn. Not many yenrs since the great Nirth- Western prairies, now the marvel of the world fur their wopderful ferLility and pxlraordmary jiroiluctien of grain, were a Icrra inccgnila to the general public, and were ^iven up in the po|iu;ar imagination to howling desolation and perpetual frost. The opinion entertained of them is very generally held tc-(lay regarding the large and more southern region, comprising 60,000 square mile?, siiualed between .lames' Bay and thi^ Height of Land nor h of Lake.s Sujn lior and Huron. Yet the const iiilly accu- mulating tacts are likely to prove that this northern heritage of On- tario IS exceedingly valuable in lumbering and mining resources, and cai able of sr,staiiiing a very c 'nsider.ible agricultural po|)ulalion. 'f he recent geulogical surveys demonstrate that a most valuable mi- neral region lies williin and beyond it, that the dense forest which co\er- it contains a very large amount of valuable timber, which can easily l)» floated d'jvvu t ho inagnilicent rivers — several of them each over 300 miles in length — which traverse the region ; that the sur- face, unlike that ol the Ottawa, Mu.-koka, and Algoma districts, is nlinusl unbroken by lakes, and only occasionally by rocks ; and that 3 uih and south-west oi Janus' Ba>,at seme distance inland, a fertile bell we.l adapted for agriculiure exists, which, when the mineral and fore-l Wealth ul the country is being turned to account, will bo an invting li.ld lor the farmer. — 12 — COAL AND IRON MINES. 1\ IS exceedingly gratifying to learn from Prof. Bell's recently pu- ijlishel rnporl that around James' Bay and up the eastern side oj Hudson Bay lie gnat deposits of iron and coal so close logelhpr that with llio cheap water freights which tlie region may atford, the dis- trict along James' Bay may yet become another Pennsylvania. Prof. Bell, after referring to the soil, c'imate, and f jresls of llie district, sayp : — " Minerals may, however, become in the future the greatest of the resources of the shores of Hudson Bay. Little direct search has yet bien made for the valuable minerals of these regions. In 1875 I iound a large deposit of rich ironstone on the Maltagami River. In 1877 ine.xhauslible suppli-s of good manganiferous iron ore were dis- covered on the islands near the East Main coast (that is ihe coast along the eastern shore of James' and Hudson Bays), and promiMog quantities of galena arouni' ftichvvood Gulf and also neir Whale River. Tiaces of gold, silver, molybdenum, and copper were like- wiio noltd on the East .Main coast. Lignite was met with on the Missiuaibi (a branch of the Mouse), gypsum on the Moose, and pe- trolfuiu-bearing limpstone on the Abiiiibi River (another large tribu- tiryofllie Moose)." Another explorer, referring to the great iron, cojil, and other minerals of the neighbourhood of James' Bay, says : — '• 1 have no hesitation in pronouncing this district the richest mi- neral region in the Dominion; pe^aps on the continent." Antlirac'.te and iron are found along the rivers snulh of James' Bay, a gigantic outcropping, containing over 52 per cent of pure iron ore, displaying itself along the Moose, and a magnetic island on the Abillibi render- ing the surveyor's compass useless. To Ontario this immense mineral wealth is likely to yet prove an important factor in h-r prosperity, parucu arly as Moose Fort is only 500 miles from Toronto, and on the comjleliin of the connecting link to Calendar, near Lake Nipissing. a Moose Factory branch over 300 mdes long from near Nipissing, or a branch only 500 miles long from near Mepigon, will, with the Pacilic Railway, furnish a short route to the shores of James' Bay. THE GRE.VT NORTHERN FOREST. The great forest which bounds Hudson Bay on the east and extends up the interior of East Main and Labrador to Ungava Bay and Hud- son Straits, six hundred miles north ( ♦" Moose factory, attains its greatest chiracterislic development just soui'^ of James' Bay, which lies nearly midway between the northern and so Uhern limits ol the peculiar trees which compose the great northern woods. Sonir- trees, fiuch as the Banksiau pine and the spruce, which along thi'ir southern — 13 — iimita in Central Ontario are almost valueless 'commercially, here- become giants of the forest, and are valuable for timbpf. The list of trees which flourish at James' Bay or in its drainage basin ificludes, aciKinliiig to Prof. Bell, the. spruce (two fet^t or more in diamett-r), the tamarac. balsam poplar (luxuriant), Banfesian pine, silver lir, arbor vita), elm, whit>i pine, and red pine, and of lesser importance the poplar, mountain ash, and mountain maple. As James' Bay is as near to Liverpool as is Quebec, the future of the district as a lumber- ing country looks hopeful. WAR.WEI\ THAN NOnXH-WEST WHEAT LANDS. Such being the great wealth of mine and forest which is likely to be developed some day, the quHStion arises : Are the climatic condi- tions suflicienlly favourable for the agriculture vhich will be neces- sary to siislain the large population which may flock to the James' Bay territorv ? Prof. Bell, who his spent thirteen summers arouad Hudson Bay. thinks they are. Testimony comes from other reliable- sources to s milar effect ; casual experiments in wheat-growing have suo'ieeded at some localities. Moose- Factory, at the extreme north of the Moose drainage basin, is in latitude 51°. IG, the same osthe Qu'.Appelle valley, and further south than Battleford. Its winters are not colder than those of Manitoba generally, and are warmer than the Athabasca and Peace River countries. The average tempe- rature for the year (30°. 8) is higher than that of many parts of the best "wheat-growing lands of the North-We^t, and less than four degrees colder than that of Winnipeg — a difTerence chiefly perceptible in early spring. Ihe southern part of the James' Bay district is further south than Manitoba, and on the same latitude as districts in Quebec, where wheat and even Indian corn are grown every year. The " fertile belt " of the district is a gently undulating plain, with a sandy loam soil, and lies in ihe same latitude as Winnipeg. If whe U in Manitoba is an as.eured success every year, it is reasonable to suj'pose that James' Bay district, with its large area of fertile soil caniot be without agricultural value. The scantiness of the population has prevented agriculture bei-nSf tried. Fortunately at one point — -'Moose Fort" — but on a " low, ■wet, clayey soil, exposed to icy winds," a careful record has been kept for several years, and it furnishes a test of climate mruch supe- rior to tlmt which casual experiments in agriculture would afford. The figures and comparisons given hereafter are chiefly compiled from the three latest meteorological reports, and embrace the years, 187b-79-80, a sufTiciently long period to exclude the possibility of much mistake regarding the general characteristics of the cliDoale. -14 - •\\'INTKR AT JAMES' HAY. Tho winter usually begins in the early part of November, but ^omelimf'S not until the tliirJ wi-ek. November and December are Tinowy months, but aft^r New Year, excepting in on«^ year when January was snosvy, the snowfall has not exceeded a few inches. The total snowfall is much the same as in Toronto, allhongli a greater depth is on the ground at one time. Rain is rare in midwinter, alihougli not unknown. The mean temperature of D^'cember, Ja« nuary, and February is 0."l, while that of Winnipeg is l.°3, or hltle »nore limn one degree warmer. The mean of Dunvogan, in the cele- brated Peace Hiver country, is 7. "5 below zero, or nearly eight d>> grees colder than Moose Factory. In extreme temjjeratures Mooio Factory is not so cold as Winnipt'g, the lowest being 4J° below zero, while Winnipeg shows 470 below. Dunvegan registered 63" below sero in 1860. As excessive temperatures as Moose Fort knows, are recorded in the colder settled parts of Ontario. THE NORTH WINDS OF SPRING. In March occasional temperatures of 45° to 50" above zero indicate the approach of spring. In the early part of April the ground be- comes bare, but the weather is exceedingly disagreeable and variable until near the middle of May, cold winds and warm winds rapidly alternating. This is due to the fact that James' Bay being excee- dingly shallow, except ia the deep central portion, freeees almost over its whole width— -150 miles— and noithward to its junction with the deep open waters ot Hud'^on Bay, presenting in this respect an analogy to the northern end of the Caspian Sea. The ice in spring remains and melts in the bay, and the cold air arising from it is drawn southward by the greater heat of the Moose River basin. North winds are thus the prevalent winds during April, May, and June. In this respect the immediate neighbourhood of the Bay resembles Cape Breton, and several other parts of the Maritime Provinces where spring is retarded to an almost similar degree by the cold winds from the icy current flowing down the coasts. In May Moose Factory is 4 degrees cooler than Prince Arthur's Landing, but inland, where the cold north winds have lost their force, this month, like the rest of Itie spring, is warmer. Gardening at the Fort begins about the middle of May, and the last severe night frost occur before the month is over, and temperatures of nearly 80° in the shade are sometimes ■wached. — 15 — WARMKU SUMMER THAN EDINnilRGH. Simm}r may be said to l)egin with June, although thi? fr^'ozing point is touched about the beginning of this month in most yars, as it IS in tiie Norlh-West, and in se\eral parts of Ontario not far from Toronto. The summers at th*; Fort are not so warm as fifty and u Inindred miles inland, and are cooler in June, July, and Au^usi (han at Winnipeg, and in many parts of the Noiih-Wt'st, but warnivr than at other North- Weftern districts, or at Edinburgh, Scotland. The following table shows the mean temperature at various i)iaces, and will prove interesting for comparisons. The foreign stations are from Blodgelt ; all the Canadian stations, excepting Edmonton and Fort Saskalcliowan show the mean, not in one year, but in iliree — 1878-79-80 — and may be taken to represent the usual summer climate. Moose Fort San Francisco Edinburgh London, England Wick, Scotland Truro, N. S Prince Arthur's Ldg., Beatrice, Muskoka Winnipeg Edmonton Fort Saskatchewan... Toronto » Windsor , June. 54.0 58.8 56.0 58.7 57.1 56.9 59.5 63.9 63.3 67.5 July. 62.0 57.0 58.7 62.4 Aug. 58.6 62.'2 50.8 62.1 62.8 04.8 65.7 67.5 69.4 73.7 62.5 63.1 61.8 63.9 54.4 568 66.9 71.0 Mean. 58.2 59.6 57.2 61.1 54.0 60.8 61.6 62.3 65.1 67.5 70.7 THE LIMIT OF PKOFITAL'LE WHEAT FARMING. Wheat requires for its ripening in Scotland a mean temperature for tliree months of at least 55 degrees, and in the interior of continents a temperature a few degrees higher, so as to counterbalance the elfects of the chillier nights occasionally experienced inland. It would, there- fore, appear that although wheat would easily ripen and produce a — 16 — good crop some years at Moose Fort, Uie mean temperature of the place might render it a rather precarious and not very nrolltable crop- Moose Factory, however, is surrounded by low, wet, cold, clayey soil, and I'xpof-ed as well to the cold winds from the bay. Beyond doubt the inlanil valleys, with iheir warmer s-oil, have a temperature in many localities as favourable for wheat growing as some parts of England and Scotland, wh^re it is a simple crop. OATS AND DARLEY CERTAIN CROPS. The average temperature required for wheat is at least five degrees gre>iler than is required for barley and oats. These crops succeed far up the Mackenzie river beyond the arctic circle in Norway, and in the northprn counties of Scotland, where the summer mean is only 52" to 54», and the month of June is sometimes as low as 48», or 6* lower than at Moose Factory. Oats appear to be as sensitive to frost as wheat, and if it can be shown that the climate of Moose Factory compares well in exemption from frosts with localities wliere oats succeed well, the general high temperature of the summer months will guarantee the full success of the oat and barley crops in the James Bay region wherever a proper style of farming is pursued. CONTI.NOOUS EXEMPTION FROM FROST. Taking the average dates of the occurrence of the last temperature of 32" in spring and the first fall to the freezing point in the close o'^ summer, we find the following to be the average periods of continuous exemption from black frost for the three years 1878-79-80 : — Moose Fort Winnipeg Prince Arthur's Landing Beatrice, Ont , Pembroke, Ont Hamilton, Ont CO m at June 6 May 14 June 2 June 6 May 15 Apr. 17 CO £ PC4 Sept. 26 Sept. 15 Sept. 13 Sept. 7 Sept. 28 Oct. 20 5.2 a -^ ■^ a a o> o « It 2 days 120 " 101 " 93 •' 136 " 186 '« — 17 — From this it will i>o seen llial Ildiniilon and Pt^tmbroke Tar excrtt Winnipeg in ('xt>m|ilion from dainaKing I'rosls, yet Ilia «xem|ilit;n ul Ihe Praii it) Capital allows o!' llie growth of not only oats, barley, ami wheat, but even of Indian Corn. Bt alrice, Muskoka, grows with profit all the prains excepting corn, yet it has a continuous perioil of exemption Ircni frost nineteen days shorter than Moose Factory. Even Winnipeg exceeds the Fort only eiflil days. It is interesting to nolo that the ceiebrattd grain district around Woodstock, Ontario, experienced a lemperaluro lower than 3'2" on .lune (Ith, ISTSand .lune 7th, 1879 or(iuito as late as the average date at Mooso Kaciory. li will be notici;!l, too, that while owing to the neij,'hbourhood of melting ice and cold water at liames Hay, the last frost of spring is ktsr than in Winnipeg or the Ottawa ngion, it is no later than in Muskoka, while the llrst black frost of autumn occurs on the cold, wet, clayey ?ioil of Mooso Factory, not till the end of September, nineteen days later than in Muskoka and eleven days later than at Winnipeg. The long frostless period at Pembroke comjjire.l with the shorter season farther south suggests that on warm soil inland from James Bay the fTOSlless season may be even longer than at Moose Factory. When the lowest temperatures during the summer months are compared, the result is equally favourable to James Bay. Thus while the average lowest reached between the 1st of June, and 1st of Oc- tober, at Moose Factory is only 21)". 2, or less than thre« degrees below the freezing point, Beatrice, Muskoka, shows 28" in June and 27* in September. In July and August the average coolest is about 40», or quite as high as in many parts of Ontario, and higher than in . most parts of Ihe Norlh-Wcst. The absolutely lowest reached in tlie same months in three years was 27" at Moose Factory, while Truro, N. 8., Muskoka, Prince Arthurs Landing, Fort Calgary, Dunvegan, and Edmonton, all were decidedly lower. In Muskoka, and at Ed- monton black frost occurred iif August, and at Fort Calgary every month during the season of 18rt0. Moosi! Fort had no f:ost any year before the middle of September. In the central counties of England last August 32" 4 was reached in districts where wheat is a staple crop, while in the north of Scotland hard frosts are somolimes knowa in midsummer, tliough oats and barley are grown extensively. Thtj facts stated prove that for at least oats and barley the climate of even the northern part of the vast Moose Hiver basin is admirably suitable. and they indicate that even wheat cultivation may be found praclica- ble on warmer soi's inland. Hot waves are as frequent and almost as intense al Moose Fort as at Toronto. The average highest in May is 75", in July 88", in Oc- tober 74». The average highest in Toronto in July is only t)l», and In October is 68', or live degrees less than at James Bay. Evidently — 18 — our supposed liyp^rboreans have occasion lo know llie value nf ice cream. II llio cold waters of .lames' Hay retard llie Moose Factory spring, they mokn compensalioii in autumn by protecting Iho coast from the cold iiorthfrii blasts and by prolonging llitj geniiil fall wealhor. In fact ihe shores of I he liay enjoy, A MII.DEH AUTIJM.V THAN MAXITOIl.V or any part of the North West e.xcepting Fort McLood. The llrst light hour (rest at Moose l<'aclory occurs not till about the 5lh of September and the lirsl genuine frost not lill iho end of the month, or quite as late as in most parts of Ontario. In October the days are gonial, and occasionally decidedly warm, and the night frosts at the end of the luonili not so severe as at Winnipeg. The beginning of November is usually mild, but as the month wears on towards the middle, winter sets in with snows, someliines heavy, and the thermometer dips towards zero, Before the month is over the river is generally frozen, and the winter, which is murh l»rigliier than in Toronto, fully sets in. High temperatures in the fall months are not uncommon. The average ma.ximum lor October is higher than at Toronto, and in 1879 was aclually uji to 81-. 8, or higher than has been known in a Toronto October in forty years. The Ibilowiiig table shows the mean temperature of autumn : — — '^'■pi. Oci. Nov. Moojc Fort— 3 years Winnipeg — .'5 years, ." Haltlt'lbrd — 2 vears 5(1.0 :.o.8 40.9 54.6 47.2 48.4 46.6 59.1 02.0 41.3 38.9 33.2 40.9 36.: 41.2 39.3 49.7 53.6 21.8 21.3 19 8 Fort Macleod — 3 years Fori Ca'gary— 1880 Fort Eilmonton— 18:0 27.2 20 5 l)un\egan— 1880 Toronto — .'J vears 19.0 34 I Windsor — 3 years 36.0 - I!) — The ligiires prosontcd ruriiit'li iiiieiiuivooul icsliiuony to lli'* Huit- ability of the cliraali! of mii'jii of the James Huy iliatrict fjr barley, oats, and various other stuple crops. ir casual exfX'rimt'nls al some points have faili'tl, tlit; cuiiso may be found in ignorance or carcK'sness in conducting lli-.-m. (Jfptjveral hundred farmers at Edmonton, only a few took the precaution to sow llieir wln'at early in the spring of 1881 : thes'j reaped good crops jn good condition and comparatively ('arly although I hi summer was fold, wot, and backward ; tlio others (not practical f.irmors) who allowed their opportunities to slip by unimproved had a lato h.irvwsl and poor crops. Similar ignorance or negl )'jt will produce similar results in all norilu'm climat-'s, when; the season, whilo ami»ly r**" paying proper farmiriy, leaves iiltlo s|»an; time in 'ho wanner moiitb!< lo those who pusl|ioni) ploughing or sowing,' a furlniglit or sn later than it can first he done. OnAl.V AND AM. TIIK VK(;KTAItl.F.S CIIOWN. The evidence on the agricultural capacity of tlio .lames Bay coun- try, derived from actual cultivation, is n^'^co-ssarily very meagre, but is on the whole encouraging. Wheat succ-eils at Lake Temisca- mingue, near the soulli-i'aslern b( nlers. I'lof. Boll, v\ ln'ii lliro! hun- dred miles north of Lake Nipissing, was surprisod by llnding a Scotch ^r 'mer settled there for seven year:5, inslalled confortably in thtj midst of a forty-acri3 clearing, and cultivating oats, barley, turnips, pota- toes, anil other vegetables to sell to liuiisui Buy traders and Indians. The farmer had sowed wlval one year fi;r an expi'riir.;-nl, and it lipened well. As there was no mill, he iiad not allempl'd wio)al at a regular crop. This farm is al)o:it 100 iiiiios frum James Bay. Air. George Gladman, who reyi.Jed ut Moose Fort for lifleen years, says the cliroalu ainl .'^oil tliere .nre good . ji'italoes and vegetables were raised in abundance, barley ripene.! well ; curiants, gooseber- ries, strawberries and raspberries are plentiful ; wheal had not been tried ; horned cattle, horse, {)i;.r«, and sheo]) l!irov(!. Last century Mr. Frost, who resi(b'il al tho Fort for many yefrs, stated in a book ))ublished by him, that barley, peas, and beans succeeded well ; [•' al- though exposed to the chilling wiu'ls which cime from the ioo on the bay. " In another book ho says : — " Sown wheal has stood the winter frosts and grown very well the summer following, and l)lack cherries also havi) grown and borne fruit. " Mr. Edward Thompson, for three years surgeon at Moose Fort, says he has seen far HETTEU IIARLEV A.M) OATS AT MOOSK RI E« llian he ever saw in the Orkneys, but the ([uanlily sown was small. " There was ground enough broke for this corn (grain), but never ■ • ■ • • ' ' . * • • • ■ I ■, •. •• »•• •».♦ •• *'.* ».••• • .•■•••.- ••• — 2i) — aoy eiicouriigemonl givoii for sowing il. hul the roverse, the Governor rorhiddiii^' it For no otli«>r retisoii than thut if corn (grain) had bueii sown ;i colony would soon havH beon tMccttvl thore. " I'rof. Bell in Iht* latt'it of his mporls which Ims coin<5 to hand, speaks very highly or the •■onnlry for grazing and dairying. Bos.dos its culti« vated gru'scs il produceH in some parts, |)arlicnlarly on tho south- west and wt.'slt'rii shore's of the boy. nt'ur Fort Albany, 00 miles further nurtli llian Mooso Kaclory, ininuwiso ([uunlitics of wihl hay. At Moosn Factory, oats, barley, bf.'ans, peas, turnips, beets, carrots, cabb.ige.s and onions are cullivalod with perfocl ease, wliile even ihn lr()j)i(Ml tomato succoeds. As the soil and jidculiar exposure of Moost' l''aclory are um'avourable, the fact of this success augurs well for the future /igricullural devolopnioiil of llie more southern country inland. Tiiat all thi^ Mora is the sime as that around (Quebec is cited l>y Prol. Ilell as a proof of the mildness of tho climate. I