appear that it is again on the increase. By origins, the chief ele- ments of the pop. of British Columbia in 1911 were: English 133,186; Scotch 74,493; Irish 40,642; Welsh, etc., 4,362; German 11,880; Chinese 19,568; Indian 24,744; Japanese 8,587; Hindu 2,292; Scandinavian 15,968.
Vancouver, by far the largest city in the province, had in 1919 a pop. of 115,000. Victoria, 84 m. from Vancouver, is the capital of British Columbia, and rests on the most southerly point of the peninsula into which Vancouver I. tapers to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. While it possesses some important industries and is the head- quarters of others, it is essentially a residential and social centre, to which the fact that it is the capital city adds much. The Legis- lative buildings, which form the most striking feature of the city upon entering the harbour, contain fine collections of natural his- tory, mineral, agricultural and horticultural specimens. The pop. in 1919 was 39.500. Three m. from Victoria is the fine harbour of Esquimalt, with a naval dockyard. On Saanich mountain, near the city, is the Dominion Observatory. New Westminster, known also as the " Royal City," 12 m. from Vancouver and connected with it by an electric railway, had in 1919 a pop. of 19,000. It is the centre of the rich farming section of the Westminster district, and from its situation on the Eraser river is naturally associated with the salmon-canning industry. It is also largely interested in the lumber business. Nanaimo, popularly known as " The Black Diamond City," is the headquarters of the oldest colliery in the province. In the neighbouring country fruit-growing is carried on extensively, and diversified farming is increasing at a rapid rate. It has a fine harbour and very picturesque surroundings, and is the centre of the herring industry. The pop. in 1919 was 7,800. Prince Rupert is a western terminus of the Canadian National railways. Other towns are Ladysmith, Vernon, Nelson, Armstrong, Kelowna, Enderby, Kamloops, Fernie, Rossland, Revelstoke, Trail, Cran- brook, Kaslo, Salmon Arm, and the two Albernis.
Government. The Government of British Columbia consists of a lieutenant-governor appointed by the governor-general in Council, an Executive Council of n members chosen from the Legislative Assembly, and a Legislative Assembly of 47 members, elected every four years. Every adult British subject who has resided six months in the province is entitled to vote. The province is represented in the Dominion Parliament by 13 mem- bers of the House of Commons and 6 senators. Municipal government has been introduced, though a large area is still unorganized.
Education. The school system of British Columbia is free and non-sectarian. In each district where 20 children between the ages of 6 and 16 can be brought together the Government builds a school- house, makes a grant for incidental expenses, and pays a teacher. In cities having charge of their own schools liberal grants are made by the Government. Attendance at school is compulsory from 7 to 14 years of age. In 1919 933 schools were attended by 72,006 pupils. There were 45 high-schools in 1919 with 5,806 pupils, and the Government maintains two normal schools, one at Victoria and one at Vancouver, for the training of teachers. The univer- sity of British Columbia, founded in 1908, is supported by the province, and has magnificent grounds at Point Grey, near Van- couver. It had about 900 students in the session 1918-9.
Finance. The revenue and expenditure of the province were respectively $10,479,259 and $15,970,877 in 1913-4; $6,291,693 and $10,422,206 in 1915-6; (estimated) $9,868,325 and $10,800,805 in 1917-8; and $12,609,960 and $13,313,303 in 1919-20. The liabili- ties of the province were $52,288,067 and assets $59,642,124 in 1919.
Agriculture. The area of farming land in British Columbia prob- ably does not exceed 10,000,000 ac. and it is distributed in widely separated valleys. Hence agriculture cannot be regarded as a basic industry of the province, although it has made wonderful progress. Owing to the natural conditions small mixed farming is predom- inant, including fruit-growing, grain-growing, stock-raising, poultry- raising and the growing of roots and vegetables, to which may be added the raising of sugar beets, tobacco and hops. Many tracts rendered fertile by irrigation have been shown to be unusually well adapted to the cultivation of both fruits and cereals, though a large acreage is suitable merely for grazing.
Fruit-growing in the interior is largely restricted to apples which find an extensive market in the Middle West, eastern Canada, and Great Britain. Apples, grapes, apricots, peaches, tomatoes and melons grow to perfection in the southern interior of the province. Small fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, cherries, loganber- ries, prunes, etc., produce excellently in all parts of the province, but the cultivation of these is largely confined to Vancouver I. and the N. side of the Fraser river on the lower mainland. The prin- cipal fruit-growing districts are Vancouver I., portions of Westminster district, Okanagan valleys, and land along the Arrow and Kootenay lakes. Tobacco is grown successfully in the Kelowna district and in Okanagan, which also produces onions. Hops are grown in the lower Fraser valley. Wheat was formerly grown somewhat exten- sively in parts of the interior but most wheat lands have given place to fruit-growing and mixed farming, and wheat is now grown
for poultry food. Oats is the staple grain crop although barley and other grains are also grown. The rich pastures, the prolific forage crops .and pure water are natural conditions which have brought both dairying and live stock into prominence. The raising of hogs is profitable in certain parts and there is a large demand for all pork products. Draft horses are bred extensively and there are many herds of choice cattle especially in the lower mainland and on Van- couver Island. Poultry-raising has attained large proportions, the demand for all kinds of poultry being far in excess of the supply. The yields of the principal field crops in 1920 were: wheat 874,300 bus.; oats 1,663,000 bus.; barley 364,100 bus.; potatoes 2,933,700 bus.; roots 3,220,000 bus.; hay 254,000 tons.
Lumbering. The stand of timber in British Columbia is esti- mated to be 400,000,000,000 feet. The value of the manufactured timber is about $30,000,000 annually and it is estimated that the forests are growing faster than they are being cut, so that if prop- erly conserved and developed the timber supply of British Colum- bia should be inexhaustible. Throughout the coast region, and to a lesser degree in the wet belt of the interior, there are great stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, red and yellow cedar, spruce, large and com- mercial pines. The Douglas fir, however, is not found farther N. than the northern end of Vancouver Island. The amount of hard woods such as oak, maple and alder is inconsiderable and com- mercially negligible. Douglas firs, cedars and spruce 8 to 10 ft. in diameter are not unusual in the coast region, while there are indi- vidual specimens of Douglas fir 300 ft. high with a girth of 50 to 55 ft. A stand as high as 300,000 ft. to the acre exists in places on Van- couver I. and the coast. Douglas fir, also commercially known as " Oregon pine," is the largest commercial factor. The red or giant cedar is probably the most useful of the trees, nearly every portion of the tree being available for some use, principally shingles, fence posts, telegraph poles and interior finishing. The western white spruce is also very valuable and is employed for various purposes such as box-making, furniture and pulp wood. Saw-mills are located at all the important points of the settled province. There is a con- stant demand for British Columbia timber in the prairie provinces and quantities are exported abroad. The number of lumber firms reporting to the Dominion Bureau of Industries in 1918 was 201. The quantity of lumber cut was 1,157,636,000 ft. at a market value of $28,351,207; of this 714,018,000 ft. was of Douglas fir. The total capital invested in the industry was stated as $42,408,448 and the average number of employees 13,268 to whom $31,621,118 was paid in wages.
The manufacture of pulp and paper has developed on the coast of British Columbia and is one of the largest and most profitable industries. Pulp is largely produced from white spruce, although hemlock, Douglas fir and other coniferous trees can be used with success. The total production of pulp in 1918 was 173,161 tons valued at $4,062,724. The principal production was newsprint and wrapping papers. The value of the newsprint was over $7,500,- ooo and of the total production $9,264,705.
Sport. British Columbia is rich in big game, fur-bearing animals and game birds. The principal districts which are resorted to by sportsmen are Cassiar, where moose, caribou and mountain sheep are plentiful; the interior of Vancouver I. is famed for its wapiti, bear and cougar; the Bridge river and Chilcotin districts where the bighorn, mountain goat, grizzly and black bear, mule-deer and, in parts, caribou, are plentiful; the Similkameen district near the International Boundary; E. Kootenay, where E. of the Columbia river there are moose, wapiti, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, sev- eral varieties of deer and black and grizzly bears; and the Nelson district. Between Fort George and the Little Smoky river is a magnificent moose country.
The game birds are ducks and geese, both abundant, and grouse, pheasants, quail, pigeons, plover and snipe. The game fish, as dis- tinguished from commercial varieties, are principally trout, sprim* salmon and steelhead, and are everywhere abundant in their respec- tive habitat.
Fisheries. The chief fisheries are salmon, halibut, cod, oolachan, sturgeon, herring, smelts, sardines. The varieties of salmon are Quinnat, Chinook or Tyee salmon, silver salmon or cohoe, sock- eyes or blue-black salmon, dog salmon, humpback. Next in impor- tance, at least to the angler, are the cut-throat trout, steelhead and Dolly Varden trout (Malina) ; all of these are exceedingly abundant. The spring salmon is the first to appear and varies from 10 to 75 Ib. in weight. It is largely shipped fresh to the markets. The sock- eye and cohoe are almost exclusively used for canning, and the dog salmon and humpback, which run in immense numbers, are among the most important sources of supplies for the canneries. Next to the salmon the halibut is the most important commercial fish. It is found all along the coast from Bering Strait to San Francisco, but the chief source of supply in Canadian waters is in Hecate Strait and N. of it. It finds an extensive market in the United States and eastern Canada. Herring run in enormous numbers at certain periods; the headquarters of the herring fisheries are at Nanaimo. The cod, the Cultus cod, the Alaska black cod or " ski!," the red rock cod and other varieties of fish which pass under the name of cod abound all along the coast, and enter largely into the fishing industry. The oolachan, smelts, anchovy, and sardines run in enormous numbers and are caught principally for the local market.
