There is some uncertainty as to the origin of the term “Fertile Belt”, thus arbitrarily defined in the historical agreement with the Hudson’s Bay Company; but this much is certain:—the term came into general use after the publication of the reports of the official exploratory expeditions of Captain John Palliser of the British Army, of S. J. Dawson, C.E., and Professor Henry Y. Hind of Trinity College, Toronto. Captain Palliser was commissioned by the British government to explore “that portion of British North America which lies between the northern watershed and the frontier of the United States, and between Red river and Rocky mountains and to endeavour to find a practicable route through them.” The Dawson-Hind expeditions (there were two) were under the auspices of the government of United Canada (Upper and Lower Canada) and were for the purpose of inquiring into the resources of Red river colony and the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan countries. The British expedition extended over parts of four years—1857, 1858, 1859 and 1860, while the Canadian ones covered two years—1857 and 1858. In the preface to his report, published in 1860, Professor Hind wrote:—“The establishment of a new colony in the basin of Lake Winnipeg, and the discovery of a FERTILE BELT of country extending from the Lake of the Woods to Rocky mountains, give to this part of British America a more than passing interest.” In another place Professor Hind wrote:—“North of the great American desert there is a broad slip of FERTILE COUNTRY, rich in water, wood, and pasturage, drained by the North Saskatchewan, and a continuation of the fertile prairies of Red and Assiniboine rivers. It is a physical reality of the highest importance to the interests of British North America that this continuous BELT can be settled and cultivated from a few miles west of Lake of the Woods to the passes of Rocky mountains, and any line of communication, whether by waggon road or railroad, passing through it, will eventually enjoy the great advantage of being fed by an agricultural population from one extremity to the other.” [Illustration: Wheat field at Stanley, Churchill river.] The terms “Fertile Belt,” “Fertile Strip” and “Fertile Land” appear many times in Captain Palliser’s report, published in 1863, the first of these expressions being used no less than three times in one paragraph of the report. The influence of a “catchy expression” in attracting the world’s attention is wonderful. Whatever the origin of the term “Fertile Belt” in this connection, its emphatic application by these independent official reports to the particular strip of territory between the United States boundary line and Saskatchewan river had immediate and lasting effects.