Mr. Dickson’s party found that except for a varying percentage of rock outcrop usually in the form of low ridges covered by stunted jackpines, there is a great muskeg extending northeast along the whole course of Mitishto river, and appearing in fact to blanket the entire watershed in the region between Saskatchewan and Grass river systems. Mr. Dickson’s exploring party, in passing from Setting lake to Cross lake, by way of Paint, Wintering, Landing and Sipiwesk lakes, traversed part of the so-called “clay-belt” which, according to Mr. Dickson’s report “contains upon the whole from fifty per cent. to seventy-five per cent. of arable land and probably has A GOOD AGRICULTURAL FUTURE.” The report as to the rocks and soils of the area explored says:—“The bedrock for one hundred miles northeast of The Pas is limestone—probably largely dolomite—and it frequently obtrudes through the muskegs or shallow soils which blanket it. These outcrops form low, narrow, flattened ridges, rising just above the general level of the muskeg, and nearly always running northeast and southwest. The line of contact between this limestone area and the Laurentian granite (upon which it rests conformably) runs northwest and southeast from a point ten miles east of Limestone bay on Lake Winnipeg across the southwest end of Hill lake on Minago river to Cameron falls on the Mitishto, thence passing in a westerly direction along the south shores of Reed, Wekusko and Cranberry lakes. Along this line, especially in the vicinity of Hill lake, there is a zone of deep clays of very promising agricultural value. In the area of granite farther north, the whole future, so far as agriculture or forestry is concerned, depends upon the general depth of the boulder clay. From the mere fact that it is a drift deposit, this depth constantly varies, but only a detailed soil survey of each township could show where and how much. There are large areas of almost pure rock outcrop and muskeg of little or no value even for timber production. But in general, over the great clay belt, the soil, which is almost uniformly A VERY TENACIOUS BOULDER CLAY (nearly free of boulders, however), averages between four and twelve feet in depth, quite deep enough, therefore, for cultivation. It must be understood that no hard and fast boundary line can be laid down as showing the confines of this clay belt. The change is often so gradual, and so many as yet unknown factors enter—as, for instance, soil depth and possibilities of drainage—that any estimate of the bounds, area and average arable content of this belt can, with our present very limited knowledge, be given only in general terms. I estimate the area of that portion included from north to south between Wintering and Cross lakes, and from east to west between Setting and Sipiwesk lakes at two thousand square miles.