Comox includes the northern part of Van couver Island and contains one of the chief logging camps of the province. It is rich in timbers, fish, minerals and agricultural land, though as yet very sparsely populated. This latter description, outside of Victoria and its vicinity, will apply to the whole of Vancouver Island. The gross output of provincial collieries in 1916 was 2,500,000 tons.
There are vast areas of coal in the Ground Hog district in the northern part of the prov ince, at present not accessible for want of rail way communication. Large areas of low grade gold gravels are found in the Cariboo district awaiting some cheap method of hydraulic mining. There are large deposits of zinc in the Slocan district associated with lead and silver. This was formerly regarded as a nui sance by the silver lead smelters. European War prices, with better methods of separation and refining, have made these resources valu able. The operators are now working over the dumps where zinc blende was formerly thrown away. Every zinc prospect in the Kootenay is now worked to its full capacity. The value of zinc produced in 1915 was $6,000,000, in 1916 nearly $7,000,000. Iron ore is found distributed over the province with large deposits on Tex ada Island, from which small quantities of ore have been taken for export. In 1917 it was ex pected that active measures would be taken for the further exploration and development of these resources. The output of metalliferous mining in 1916 was over $32,000,000, an increase of 54 per cent over the previous year. While this increase is partly due to higher prices there was a gain in quantities of lead, copper and zinc. It is estimated that the value of the mineral product for 1917 will exceed $50,000,000.
The timber resources of British Columbia are enormous. With 50,000,000 acres, containing 400,000,0013,000 foot board measure ment, the province has more saw timber than any other in the Dominion. The chief commercial woods in the order of importance are Douglas fir, red cedar, spruce, yellow pine, western larch, western hemlock, but maple, oak, alder and other woods of less commercial value abound. The total value of forest products in 1916 was $35,528,000, an increase of $6,000,000 over the previous year. This included lumber to the value of $21,000,000; pulp $3,500,000; shingles $4,500,000 ; boxes $1,800,000. More than two-thirds of the lumber cut of 1,280,000,000 feet was Douglas fir which is not found elsewhere in Canada. This remarkable wood, produced
from the largest trees in the Dominion, makes the finest structural timber obtained in Amer ica. It is equal in quality for building pur poses to the Southern or Georgia pine, and can be obtained in much larger sizes. This makes it useful for building wharves and trestles. Squared sticks 70 to 100 feet long and 3 to 4 feet in section are shipped. The province has a considerable export trade in lumber under normal conditions, and efforts are now made to introduce this product to markets not yet reached. At present the chief market for boards outside of the province is in the Prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Mani toba, though there is a considerable trade in shingles with the United States. Most of the Douglas fir is grown in the Coast district and the islands. The logs are brought to the sea board or the rivers, and rafted to mills on the coast and inlets. Some of the principal saw mills are at the mouth of the Fraser River, and one of these claims• to be the largest in the world. There are saw-mills also in the interior, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, where lumber, chiefly spruce, is manufactured for the Prairie market. Pulp and paper mills have been established at Powell River and else where, and this industry is becoming one of the most important in the province.
British Columbia has for some years led all the other provinces of the Do minion in the value of its fishery products, and in the fiscal year ending March 1916 yielded 40 per cent of the Canadian total. The value of fish produced in the province in 1916 was $14, 538,000; of chief importance among these fish is the salmon. In 1916 the salmon catch was valued at $10,700,000. This included 350,000 hundredweight of fish sold fresh, valued at $2,422,000; and 1,133,381 cases of canned salmon of the value of $7,933,667. There are several kinds of salmon, of which the one known as the usockeyes is preferred for canning, while the ((spring salmon') is considered the best fresh table fish. Great Britain is the largest market for canned fish, but they are shipped to many countries. Second in importance is the halibut. It was valued in 1916 at $1,972,000; herring, cod, oulachons, clams, sturgeon are also pro duced in merchantable quantities. Whale fish eries are prosecuted with some success. The seal industry has been discouraged by inter national arrangements.