“And now, Mr. Brock,” I said, “will you please tell me on what data you base your confident prophecy that Canada will become one of the richest mining countries in the world?” “Well,” replied the head of the Geological Survey, “you must know that North America consists of a series of natural zones running roughly north and south, and therefore the vast mineral wealth that has been already discovered in the developed and populated southern, or United States, part of those zones, supplies a sure clue to the vast mineral wealth awaiting discovery in the northern, or Canadian, part, which is only now beginning to be developed and populated. That is no mere theoretical deduction. It is supported by accumulating facts. Thus geological explorers report the occurrence of the same minerals and the same disposition of strata in the north as one finds in the south. Moreover, if you examine the results obtained to-day by our most outlying camps, you will find that they repeat the results obtained by the southern camps at a corresponding stage of their development. Again, geological discoveries follow the opening up of each new section, and those discoveries all point to the same conclusion, namely, that Nature has made the Republic and the Dominion joint participators in a vast mineral heritage.” “Will you please enumerate and define these geological provinces that are so indifferent to international boundaries?” [Illustration: ZONES OF MINERAL WEALTH] The map reproduced above, has been specially drawn for “Canada To-day and To-morrow,” by Mr. R. W. Brock (Director of the Geological Survey of the Dominion Government). It shows the great continuous geological zones which have yielded vast mineral wealth in settled southern areas, and of which—as high scientific authority confidently predicts—equally rich fields await exploitation in the as yet unsettled northern areas. The numbering of the five geological zones follows the order in which they are mentioned in the accompanying chapter, namely, I, Appalachian province: II, Lowland province: III, Laurentian plateau: IV, Interior plain: V, Cordilleran belt.