British Columbia

(Revised to 1911)
Area.—395,000 square miles. 700 miles from north
to south, 400 miles wide. Became a Province in 1871.
Large as the combined areas of two Englands, three
Irelands and lour Scotland^.
The Switzerland of Canada, traversed by four
ranges of mountains, with intervening valleys and
plateaus. The climate is varied and healthful, being
tempered by favorable ocean currents.
Minerals —The mines during the last ten years
have produced over 218,000,000. The present annual
or'put is nearl> $25,000,000, from cement, coal,
(? <00,000tons), coke, copper (about $6.000.000), gold
( . u o u t $5,000,000), lead, marble, petroleum, silver,
zinc. etc.
Forests.—Estimated area of Canada, including
small trees fit only for fuel and domestic purposes,
1,657,600,000 square acres, and of this British Colum-
bia has IS'3,750,000 acres.
Fisheries.—British Columbia has one of the finest
and most extensive fishing grounds in the world, with
nearly 7,000 miles of shore line and a protected terri-
tory of 30,000 square miles abounding with commercial
fish. Value of the fisheries for the year 1909-10,
$10,314,755, or over one-third of the total catch for
the Dominion. This included 058,500 cases of sal-
mon, 3,742 fur seal skins, and #314,870 worth of
whale products. The fish industries furnish employ-
ment for 20,000 people.
The total for the year 1909-'10 constitutes a new
record, and is $404,539 greater than that of the previous
record year (1905); besides being the largest total value
ever reached by any individual province. The in-
creased values over the previous year were as follows:
In salmon, $3,470.134; halibut, $209,073; herring,
$80,000; cod, #27,162, and sturgeon, $16,000.
Agriculture.—The rich agricultural vallevs which
intersect the mountain ranges are capable of supplying
a population of many millions with all the products of
farm, ranch, orchard and dairy.
234 homesteads taken in 1910, 274 in 1909.
Fruit.—British Columbia fruit is preferred above
all other in the markets of the Middle West. In 1901
the total orchard areas were 6,500 acres; in 1905,
29,000 acres, 20,000 more acres were added inlOUfi, and
it is estimated at the close of 1907 there were 100,000
acres planted in fruit, with yet 900,000 acres south of
the 52nd degree that will produce all fruits of the
temperate zone.
Trade.—The leading exports are fish, coal, gold,
silver, copper, lead, timber, masts and spars, furs and
skins, fish oil, hops and fruit The ocean going trade
is large, with regular lines to China, Japan, Hawaii,
Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.