Quasimodo 3893

created or imposed independently of the as-
sent of the party bound.

Quasimodo, the first Sunday after Kaster,
so called from the introit Qtiasl modo gcnitl hi-
fantcs ('As new-born babes').

Quass, or Kvass, a thick, muddy rye and
oats I>eer made in Russia.

Quassia, a genus of tropical American trees
belonging to the order Simarubaccas. The
wood is exceedingly bitter, and was formerly
much employed in medicine. '

Quaternary, that epoch of the earth's
history which follows the Tertiary and em-
braces the Pleistocene, or Glacial, and the
Recent, or Postglacial, period.

Quaternions, a mathematical method in-
vented by Sir William Rowan Hamilton of
Dublin. It is essentially a method of vector
analysis, (See VKCTOU.) There arc two dis-
tinct ways of establishing its 'principles. It
may be considered as a system of complex
numbers, with one ordinary unit and three ex-
traordinaries or imaginaries. But the calculus
may be established geometrically and dy-
namically on quite a different basis; and it is
this aspect which gives it value as an instru-
ment of physical research. A systematic de-
velopment of quaternions along either of the
lines indicated leads to important geometrical
and dynamical meanings which may be at-
tached to the quaternion symbolism.

Quatrain, a term usually applied to a poem
of one stanza of four lines which rhyme alter-
nately,

Quatre-Bras, village, Brabant province,
Belgium; TO m. s.c. of Brussels. It was the
scene of the British victory over the French on
June 16, 1815, at which the Duke of Brunswick
was slain.

Quatrefoil, in architecture, an ornament
representing a four-leaved or cruciform Jlower,
a feature characteristic of the Gothic style.

Quay, a loading and unloading dock for
vessels, built of masonry, as distinguished from
a wharf built of wood. See DOCKS.

Quebec, a province of the Dominion of
Canada, lying between Ontario and Labrador.
It is bounded on the c. by Labrador and the
Gulf of St, Lawrence; on the s. by New Bruns-
wick, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and
New York; and on the n. and w. by Hudson
Strait and Hudson Bay. Quebec includes
Antieosti Island (2,500 sq. m.), the Bird, and
the Magdalen Islands, The extreme length of
the province from n. to s. is about 2,000 m.;
width, from c. to w., 1,350 m. Area, 594*534
*q. m.

The LuurcnlulisH on the n., ,}o to 60 m, n. of

Quebec

Montreal and Quebec, are part of a great an-
cient range that extends continuously from
Lake Superior to Labrador. This part of the
province is a high plateau, densely wooded,
except in the extreme n., and abounds in lakes
and rivers which form a system of waterways in
every direction. The valley of the St. Law-
rence extends from the city of Quebec, or a little
below it, to the western boundary of the
province. It is bounded on the n. by the Laur-
entian plateau, and on the s. by the Notre
Dame Mountains, a continuation of the Green
Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
A projection of this mountainous range forms
the Gaspe peninsula. The St. Lawrence River
Hows the length of the province. It is navig-
able 520 m. to Montreal for ocean vessels of
15,000 tons, making this city the great com-
mercial centre of Canada. The Ottawa River
from Lake Timiskaming is its largest tribu-
tary. The famous Falls of Montmorency,
near Quebec, are 250 ft. high. The Saguenay
River, flowing from Lake St. John (area, 360
sq. m.), is one of the most remarkable rivers
in the province.

The climate is bracing and very healthful.
The winters are rigorous; but the air is dry.
The soil is generally rich and well adapted to
the growth of ordinary field crops, fruit, etc.
This is particularly true of the Valley
of the St. Lawrence and the Eastern
Townships. In the latter is found some of the
best farming and grazing land in the Dominion.
It is unlikely that the Laurentian region will
ever maintain a numerous population, as it is
not adapted to successful agriculture.

The northern part of Quebec is underlain by
the Laurentian system, which is composed of
pre-Cambrian gneisses, schists, granites, crys-
talline dolomites, and various other meta-
morphic and igneous types. This northern re-
gion belongs to a very ancient continental
area, perhaps the oldest in the world. Kurt her
soutn the Laurentian region is succeeded by
sandstones. A large part of the country is
covered with Pleistocene deposits of the Gla-
cial age.

Among the more common trees of Quebec
indigenous in the province are the pine, spruce,
hemlock, maple, beech, birch, and basswood.
Moose, caribou, and deer are found in abun-
dance in the thinly settled districts and in the
backwoods. Along the St. Lawrence are lo-
calities well known as the resorts of wild
swans, geese and ducks, and sea fowl of many
varieties; while the forests everywhere con-
tain partridge. The large area of unsettled
country will provide abundant game for many