GITIZI
22. No. 31.
�0~
Thursday, August 3, 1939.
Prince Georee. B. C.
levelop Placer Property Near Prince George
Twenty Men Employed in. Preliminary Work at Tabor Creek Twelve Miles from Mere
An important' placer /property on I -hirh preliminary work is now being Ed out is expected to be develop-P t Tabor Greek, only twelve miles Ifrnm Prince George, four miles south-l��t of the Cariboo highway. Twenty Imen are employed by Norman G. iThomas of Vancouver in construction I fa two-mile flume and dam to bring kater from Tabor Creek to placer {ground.
I \ir Thomas has leased five miles of Lound part of "which was originally Iheld by the Robertson/ brothers of I South Port George. Tabor Creek drains I into' toe Fraser River about twelve miles south of this city. I Construction Work Proceeds
Development of the ground is ex-Lcted to start this fall when the flume should be completed. Meanwhile a construction crew under Joe Col-burn of South Fort George is busy with the erection of a bunk house, cook house, other buildings and necessary roads and trails.
Foreman of the ground crew is Jack Robinson. Last year and in 1939 during the period of Mr. Thomas' option hrtiich expired on August 1, considerable 'testing work was carried, out. One hundred and fifty to 200 test pits were sunk, and it is reported that tests of the ground were very favorable and warranted immediate opera-Ition. -�'"" � '
One hundred thousand feet of lumber has been taken to tne property I lor construction of the flume and the dam. Mr. Thomas will vise a one and j one-half yard gas shovel and other mechanical equipment costing $25,000 when operations begin. It is the Inten-I tion to make an early start this fall. Mr. Thomas is the former owner of j the Angelus Hotel at Vancouver.
lYisits Hcr7
From Far East
Japanese Carry oh Architects' Dept. Same as Chinese
An interesting visitor to the city this week was A. MbL. Duncan F.SA. architect with, the Chinese Maritime Customs, and stationed at Shanghai. Mr. Duncan is on a year's vacation and left for Scotland on Tuesday.
He is an old friend of John Gaul. builder of Prince George and recalls being architect on a building in Rhu, Scotland in 1904 on which Mr. Gaul vas also working. He owns a quarter section in the Pineview district which had been the farm of his deceased brother, who died here a few years ago.
Mr. Duncan would make no comments for publication on the far eastern situation. The Japanese are in control of the department in which he .ls engaged. It carries on in practically *e same way as when the Chinese were in charge, he said. He was up the Yangtse River during the bombing of Shanghai. � �� / . �
His position in the service of the government in China precluded him from taking any part in political natters. . . ���" -.
He visited Prince George on two Previous, occasions, six and twelve years a.g0 and noticed a decided improvement in the town and particu-*"}' in the farming districts. Mr. ouncan keeps informed on B. C. af-Wrs through the Citizen which he wmplimented on its well informed til and news.
Rich Strike Is
Reported in North
Calgary Prospectors Home from Sk Creek, Good Reports
^est is being-taken in the report 'John Boyd of Calgary who passed rSi gh Prlnce George recently, of a J� gold strike in the northern por-BL he Pro'rtnce at Snake Creek. wno has been working with a 6/' Alex Cameron, is reported to 0Und sever*l large nuggets, one /sing as much as two ounces. bedr% are Senerally found on the s about twenty feet below the
��arse gold, is found through- ^ty feet of gravel on the ta rested as highly ground,
O! Oreek te a vir*in creek be" has huK uce *�* Otter'Creeks which Pto?�** been overlooked By pros-S estimates that with
out
tiavV.tr, r roachinery thirty ounces a fouS d ** **�& out of the ground, ho a^^,?'.1"*?* has tee* staked by
�Courtesy Vancouver Dally, Province NOTED SCHOLAR HERE � Moses Cotsworth, widely known scholar and author, who came to Prince George this week in the course of a tour of central B.C. He is concerning himself with some of the problems of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Mr. Cotsworth is inventor of the international fixed calendar which is already being widely used.
Joint Policy On Tourist Trade
Board of Trade Submits Resolution on Co-operative Program
Resolutions for submission to the annual convention of the Associated Boards of Trade at Prince George on August 18 and 19 were drafted by the local board at an executive meeting in the office of the secretary, A, R. V. Giles. Monday evening. Delegates elected to represent the board at the convention were Karl Anderson, president, W. L. Armstrong, I. B. Guest, W. L. Hughes and H. G. Perry M.L.A.'
Need for co-operation between the provincial government's bureau of industrial ^and tourist development and central British Columbia* communities* in the matter of tourist development in the interior is stressed in one resolution prepared by the Prince George board.
Completion of the Northern Trans-provincial Highway (Yeilowhead) is urged upon the provincial government. A resolution of appreciation to the Dominion government for its action in the establishment of experimental farms in British Columbia will go before the convention.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will be pressed for the erection of a radio station in central British Columbia. The central interior is regarded as a mysterious "silent zone" in radio reception, and people throughout this area feel justified in asking for improved service.
Construction of the proposed British Columbia-Yukon-Alaska highway is also supported. PresentrTtt^the meeting was Moses Cotsworth P.R.GS. who gave a short talk.
Noted Scholar, Author Probes P.<3.E. Railway
Moses Cotsworth Bays Visit to
. Prince George .on Tour of
Interior B. C.
Moses Cotsworth., PJR.G.S., internationally known statistician, and famous for his work on the" international 13-period fixed calendar, has been visiting several centres between Vancouver and Prince George observing the situation of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. He was a visitor to this city with the Vancouver Junior Board of Trade caravan, when his old interest in the railway became revived after an absence from the province of about twenty years. " . ��,
Mr. Cotsworth is familiarizing himself with the country and is keenly. interested in Prince George and dis- 1 trict. Though 80 years of age he is ac- j tive as ever. Through his travel in 62 i countries of the world, Mr. Cotsworth has seen many lands, but believes that B.C. is the best part of the world.
Armed with a suitcase full of old P. G. E. documents gathered from the dusty files of H. G. Perry M.LJV., Mr. Cotsworth is spending his holidays in serious study of a subject which is anathema to most .people in Prince George who saw the steel laid on the grade for miles and then saw it vanish into the depths. of the m-asfer River.
Six-year-Old Has
Ordeal in Bush
Lost Most of Day, Lad Struck with Fear Before Found
Experimental Farm
Pineview Options Taken For Experimental Farm
Firm Option Accepted on Thompson Farm and Others by Federal Agricultural Department
Options have been taken on a block of land in Pineview by the Dominion government for an experimental farm. George Thompson who has a fine quarter section at the junction of the main highway and Giscome highway which particularly impressed Dr. Archibald, director of experimental farms, during his recent visit, has now given an option to the department and confirmation has
A search in which provincial police and others joined Sunday afternoon was ended about 5 p.m. when searchers discovered six-year old Leslie Collins, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. S. Collins of South Fort George, who strayed from the point where his family and others were picking huckleberries at the Gravel Ridge, Salmon Valley.
The Collins family sta-rted out early in the morning for -#he ridge, and some time-before noaKrj* young Leslie was reported missing. A search was started immediately but no trace was found of the lad. About 3 p.m., Allan Collins, teller in the Bank of Montreal, came into Prince George and reported the incident to the police. Inspector J. H. Johnson detailed Const. Keith Alexander to the job and a search party under him and Billy Seymour was launched.
The area was thoroughly combed and about 5 p.m. Leslie was discovered by Louis Bontez about two and a quarter miles from the highway. The lad was reported almost paralyzed with fear, cold and hunger after his ordeal' in the bush. His parents had, been given quite a scare, too.
A good deal of confusion was. caused during the search when other parties in the vicinity picking berries, ignorant of Leslie's disappearance, answered the shouts of the searchers. "It was just'one long echo after another," said a witness.
Associated Boards To Meet Here
Prince George will be the convention centre for the annual gathering of the Associated Boards of Trade of Central British Columbia on August 18 and 19. A large delegation from interior points as far west as Prince Rupert is expected to attend, and plans for the meeting and entertainment are -being made by the local board.
Frank Dockrill of Telkwa will be presiding officer. Centres that form the Associated Boards of Trade are Stewart. Prince Rupert, Terrace, Smithers, / Burns Lake, Vanderhoof, Fort Fraser, Fraser Lake, Prince George, Mc-Bride, Quesnel, Williams Lake and Wells.
Two-Year Old Child Drowned
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Geo.
Hawker Fell in Slough At
Fort St. James
Sauntering only a short distance away from the home where her mother was holidaying at Fort St. James, the two-year daughter and only child of Mr. and- ,Mrs. George Hawker or Vanderhoof was ^drowned in a slough last Monday afternoon. Immediately Mrs.'Hawker missed the child Inspector Major Johnson and Frank Cooke. who were at the Fort were called and a search party instituted. The body was found in the shallow water of the slough not far from the home.
Dr. Stone of Vanderhoof made a hurried trip and continued efforts at resuscitation for three hours without success. Mr. and Mrs. Hawker are recent arrivals at Vanderhoof where Mr. Hawker is in business, having taKen over the Reid's Meat Market. -----------�o�:-----------
A man was drowned yesterday in trying to run the .Soda Creek canyon in a boat.
f been received from, officials of the department of acceptance waich is interpreted to mean, a purchase will be concluded.
The adjoining quarters owned by Messrs. Pinker, Heddiger and Didt comprise a complete section and these are also under option as are the next quarters south owned by Messrs. Fryumler and Bonnet. Prices have also been secured from bhe Blackburn estate on the remaining three-quarter sections in the block of land surrounded by main gravelled roads, and which is from- four to six miles from the city. Somewhere in this area it is reasonable to assume now the experimental farm will be constructed. The Thompson farm, previously operated by the late John Muhro and created by the late Ed. Thompson, brother of tne present owner, is recognized as an-exceptionally well located farm with about ninety acres in hay crop. The adjoining farms are also well lmprov-ea, and should an experimental farm be finally decided upon in this area it is recognized that no finer site could be selected.
Prices on the options range considerably, largely based on the amount of land under' cultivation and location.
Word is expected in the next few days of the final closing of the deals, and at least one of the owners considers his deal definitely closed by wire received during the last few days,
Lsfnd prices in the" Pineview area are expected to rise in view of the anticipated experimental' farm. Settlement has been going on in this area as far south as Woodpecker in a gradual way for several years, and should a score or more new settlers purchase latins it is felt that prices will soon revert back to what thev were a few
years ago prior to the depression. .
While it .would appear to the Citizen that definite purchases have not been concluded on the lands under option, sufficient has been done to show that the experimental farm is contemplated in the area under option.
------------o-------------
George Holder
Dies in North
District Capable Greater Production
unassisted nature. Timber, fur a.nd minerals are usual sources of income, for small settlements, but an increase in population or destruction of these primary resources may force the need for secondary development.
Forest fires, logging and the economic depression have upset the economy of this region, but fortunately a-secondary resource is available and attention has now turned to possibilities for agriculture. Farm development, however, requires the solution of many complex problems, which are related to the soil, the climate and to some of the residual effects of the pioneer economic regime.
Originally this area was formed by the accumulation of fine sediments in glacial lakes, during the decay of the ice age. In post-glacial time climatic conditions favored a dominant forest of white spruce, and the soils derived from the old laice sediments developea to serve the requirements of a spruce forest. That is to say. the soils of the region did not develop to serve farm crops, the needs of which are vastly different from those of coniferous tree Under these conditions a r.-.r.jor �soil"conversion problem presents itself Importance of Organic Matter '
Theoretically, there are two general approaches to this adjustment: (1 change the soil; or (2) choose plants S m the soil- Fortunately Jwtjwg
, <*> effected by the introduction of organic^ of ten seeded to lodge-pole pine and
the more recent burn were soon covered by aspen and willow. At the present time the spruce forest covers small areas near the main settlements.
BY C. C. KELLEY. B.S.A.
Soil Surveyor I matter, which may be termed the key
In a pioneer community ways are j fertility element for this district. In generally found to gain a living from
S
the so;
the soil.- Fortunately b co
S m the soil. Fortuy Jjg these approaches can be combined to S extent. A change favorable to crops and Ullage practice can be
these soils there is a large supply of
plant food not far from the condition in which growing plant could use \them. Organic matter in the soil Is necessary in 'order to convert these plant foods into forms of maximum utility for plant growth.
Another beneficial action of organic matter is to gather up the clay particles in little crumbs, giving the clay a good structural condition. Farmers who consistently add organic* matter to the clay by using legumes and sod crops are seldom bothered by run-together soil, unless they plow up too much of the dense subsoil. Those, on the other hand, who try consistent grain cropping will soon run into very difficult soil conditions. One crop of grain in four, or two crops in six Ls about all that the clay forest soils of this district will_stand at the present stage of conversion.
The choice of plants to fit the soil is a useful work undertaken in the past by illustration stations, and a few interested farmers, some of whom have made most valuable contributions to their localities/ These methods, however, h&ve been carried on for many years without building up a very large local experience, and possibly the job has been done on too small a scale. An experimental farm located in this district would undoubtedly speed up the work, and not only test out varieties of plants imported from elsewhere, but breed new ones to suit the conditions. Deciduous Growth Best
In areas where the white spruce forest was destroyed by fire the old burns I
and owing to the cost and difficulty of c�earing, this land oiould be reserved from settlement and retained as a source of timber and fuel for some time to come. Lodge-pole pine comes within the same . category, the pine trees apparently shedding certain resinous substance which add to the expense of successful cropping. The most favorable land for settlers is deciduous growth on heavy textured soils and the area covered by this type of forest is far in excess of present requirements. Under these conditions the remaining spruce and lodge-pole pine might well be reserved from settle-: ment and regarded as the last land to be developed in this district. Farm Water __^
A problem confronting every prospective settler is the farm water supply, and in some parts of the glacial clay area boring or digging for water has not always proved successful. In areas where a water supply from the ground is uncertain it will not pay the settler to spend too much of his capi-.tal and energy in a search for water before he is well acquainted with his land. As a temporary expedient more advantage may be gained by developing a cistern, and finally moving to a new location whon well water has been found. Cisterns are capable of a great variety of forms and a little ingenuity will adapt the principle to the conditions on an individual farm. One way (Continued on Pace Four*
See "GREATER PRODUCTION"
Had Lived at Fort McLeod For Forty-Nine Years
George Holder, 89, died suddenly at Fort McLeod on Tuesday. On July 20 the Citizen printed "an interesting interview with Mr. Holder which has been quoted in many papers. He had been" at Fort McLeod for 49 years am. his trip to town a few weeks ago was his third in a half century. George appeared in good health though was bothered with some trouble in his legs. He would not be prevailed upon to remain in Prince George for medical attention but insisted upon returning to "the Fort." He was the oldest white settler north of Prince George. George will be greatly missed >�y ills man? friends;
BBIEF SV�\VS
THREE-CENT CUT IN GAS PRICE
The fuel board has ordered a tnree-cent cut on bhe retail price, of gasoline in B. C. effective August 7. Retailers usual commission has been retained. Oil companies have applied for another injunction.
NITRO-GLYCERINE FOUND
Enough nitro-glycerine to blow up Moose_Jaw was found in the possession of two men arrested in that city yesterday. %
TOM REID> UNANIMOUS CHOICE
Tom Reid M.P., New Westminster's '�happy warrior," was nominated by acclamation as Liberal candidate for the forthcoming federal election. BANK HEAD PASSES
Sir Charles Gordon, president of the Bank of Montreal and Dominion Textiles, died on Sunday last.
NA1IONAL SERVICE REQUIRED
All Polish, men and women^have been ordered to register for national service.
ESTIMATE LOWER YIELD
Deterioration of wheat crops on the prairies owing to hot weather will considerably reduce previous estimates of high yields.
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