Mr. Dowling, writing in his report of the country north of Lake Winnipeg and south of Burntwood river, says:—“As the area is situated so far north of the boundary of Manitoba, it might be presumed that much of it is unfitted for settlement, but it is discovered that over a large part there is good soil, and THE EVIDENCE OF SEVERAL GARDENS at various posts shows that for all the ordinary vegetables and coarser grains the climate is not too rigorous. Splendid gardens were found as far north as Nelson House, which is in the northern part of the area here mapped. Proper drainage is needed, however, to bring much of the surface into a condition fit for agriculture. Along the river banks this is evident, for while the strip bordering the streams produces a great variety of grasses, shrubs and trees, a short distance back this is replaced by a swamp covered by moss and stunted spruce. This is more noticeable in the western part of Nelson valley, where the country is thickly covered by a coating of clay, and the surface is so uniformly level that its gradual slope to the east is not sufficient to drain it. The areas to which it would be possible to introduce a system of drainage, would at first be restricted to a narrow margin along the streams. The northwest corner of the district for present purposes may be classed as without a sufficient soil for agriculture. This may roughly be outlined as being composed of all the country lying to the west of a line from the outlet of Burntwood lake to that of Reed lake, and north of the escarpment which shows the northern limit of the Trenton limestone. In this the surface is rolling and hilly, the rocky ridges having a scanty coating of boulder clay and an occasional thicker deposit in the depressions. It will probably remain the home of the hunter and the trapper. “To the south the country, underlain by limestone, has many of the characters of the northern part of old Manitoba. In the valley of the Saskatchewan there are large areas of rich soil formed principally by the river itself, which has brought down an enormous amount of silt from the upper part of its valley. The western part of the valley of Nelson river is covered by a thick lacustral deposit which reaches west to Burntwood lake and east to the channel of Nelson river. In this area good soil is found in almost every part and where drained would no doubt make fair farming land.”