370
THE WEST SHORE.
tract of land, nnJor the name of " timber limiU" These
are in m ml cases remote from the settlements, and much
ability and foresight are required to make adequate pro
vLwn for tLo Lrjo Ijdits of men, horses nnd oxen, n b
employed in cutting down and preparing the timber for
the market, and transporting it to suitable points for
rafting. Much capiUI in accordingly embarked in the
trade. Mnny thouiwndii of men are buHy through the
whole winter fulling the tree, cutting them into log or
hewing them ink) squared timber, and traimorting them
over the anow to auilablo pointa for flouting them down
the riven to the mills, or directly to the plooe of export
Aa the riven are in many place interrupted by fulls of
a character unfitted to the sofo passago of timber over
them. Urge sums are expanded in coiiHtruuting timbor
alidee, and on aomo of the main channels, as on the
Ottawa, the construction and maintenance of the chief
timber-slide are undertaken by the Government
It is erroneously supposed by many, who are unfamil
iar with the character of the Canadian foroHt, that the
w irk of Uie lumberer result in the clearing of the laud.
Duly the fluent full-grown trees are selected for the lum
Iwrer's axe, ami it is calculated that tho same district
may be gone over by the lumWor every twelvo or fifteen
years. Hence if the destructive fires which from time to
time do such immense injury cau be guarded against, and
the operations of the luinWmen are carried on with due
care, under proor oversight, there is no reason why the
forest of Canada should not remain a pemmiieut source
of national wealth. In the new clearing, in tho vicinity
of lumlwing districts, the farmer finds a ready demnnd
for all bis produce, and employment for himself, his
horse and his oxen during tho leisure of winter. In
this way the lumbering business helps to promote the
settlement of new districts, and attracts a imputation to
localities which otherwise might long remain a wilder
nee. Looking to the native fauna of Canada in an economio
point of view, it is abundantly evident that the animal
life of it soss and riven is one of its great and inex
haustible ource of wealth. Alike on the sea coasts, in
the estuaries, and throughout its great inland lakes and
river, the moot valuable fish almund, and on tho Labra
dor coast and those of Newfoundland tho seal fisheries
ars another annual source of wealth. Tho sturgeon is
caught in Caualian waters, frequently reaching mam
moth prvxrtiou. the finest salmon abound Uth in the
eastern river emptying into the (lulf of St Lawrence'
and in thoaeot British Columbia; lake trout are caught in
Urg quantities, weighing from 10 to 40 pounds, and the
smaller riven and lakes Uvtu with beautiful iookled
trout, frequently weighing from 4 to (1 pounds. The
whit fish and makiuonge are esteemed for their deli,
cacy and riohn of flavor; cod, haddock, mackerel, her
ring, salmon, halibut and white fish abound in Canadian
water. Valuable oyster bed exist on the Pacific coast
of the Dominion. The salmon fishery promise, if
rightly protected and regulated, to prove a valuable
brauob. of industry. Id Ui ret lake and riven of
Manitoba the white fish are no less abundant, and they
constitute an important source of supply of food in cer
tain seasons of the year throughout the whole Northwest
The Mai value of the yield of the fisheries of the Do
minion are estimated at not less than $15,000,000 anna
ally. Connda has boon esteemed from its earliest discovery
for it valuable fur-bearing animals, and has been the
trapping and hunting gronnd for two centuries for the
groat Hudson's Bay Company and rival organizations.
There still remains not only a vast extent of unoccupied
territory in which for many years to come the hunter and
the trapper will find undisturbed sway, but the regions
around tho Hudson's Bay, and stretching westward to
Alaska and northward to the pole, must ever remain a
shelter for fur-bearing animals and a resort of the hun
ter. All the furs collected for the great fur company
are shipped to London; in part from their factories of
York Fort and Moose Kiver, on the Hudson's Bay, which
are visited by a ship from England every year, and in
part from Montreal and Victoria.
Canada is pre-eminently a country 'of yeoman farm
ers. The laud is hold in possession and tilled by the
settlor on his own account; and with every addition to
the numbers of its industrious population, fresh acres
are recovered from the wilderness and added to the pro
ductive resources and the wealth of the Dominion. By
patient industry and frugality it is in the power of every
Canadian to become owner of a house and proprietor of
whatever amount of land he can turn to profitable Ac
count, while the character of the population resulting
from this condition of things checks the accumulation of
extensive landed estates in the hands of single proprie
tors. The majority of the farms are small, tilled by the
proprietor with his own hands, with the help of his sons
and occasional hired labor in the busy season of harvest
ing. But capital is also successfully applied to farming,
and beautiful large stock farms are now entering into
rivalry with those of the United States and even of Eng
land. Besides the grand staple of the cereal grains, the
Canadian farmer derives large returns from his crops of
hay, clover, and gross seeds, carrots, mangel-wurzel,
beans, hops, flux, hemp and tobacco. The total value of
the grain and othor agricultural produce of Canada ex
Krted annually is about $40,000,000, having doubled in
tho lost decode. But a false estimate of the actual agri
cultural resources of Canada is apt to be produced by
testing them by it exports. Canada is country of yeo
man farmers tilling their own lands and living in abun
dance on tho produce. The requirements for the table of
the farm laborer are on a scale consistent with the re
sources of the country. The home consumption is ac
cordingly groat as compared with the number of the
population, and it is therefore impossible to estimate,
even approximately, the total annual value of all kinds of
produce resulting from agriculture within the Dominion.
In the matter of education Canada holds an advanced
position. There are normal schools for the training of