igoo VOL. XIV. igoi THE OTTAWA NATURALIST, Being VOL. XVI. of the TRANSACTIONS OF THE OTTAWA FlEI/D-NATURAIvISTS^ CI/UB. Organized March, 1879. Incorporated March, 1884. OTTAWA, CANADA. Ottawa Printing Company (Ltd.) I goo. THE OTTAW/\ FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. patron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. ipreeiOent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. IDicesipresiDents Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Walter S. Odell. !lLibrarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A. ("Colleg-iate Institute J Secretary: tTreasurer : VV. J. Wilson, Ph. B. Dr. James Fletcher. CGcological Survey Dept. j CCentral Experimental FarmJ Committee : Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanDliiQ Committees of Council: Publishhif; : J. Fletcher, \\\ T. Macoim, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirdes : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. ILeaOers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Etitoviology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Ha' ring-ton, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ojyiithohgy : W. T. Macoun, A. G. King-ston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology: John Maconn, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archceology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. JE&itor ; E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. associate Bfiitocs : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. — V>e^a.rimeni oi PalcEontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. oi Petrography. Dr. J.\s. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department of ^o^'awy. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department.— Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries for Canada. — De^i. oiZoology. Membership Fee to O.F.N.C., with " Ottawa :KatnralLst, " $1,00 per annnm, LaIST of MEIMBRHS OF THE Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, April, 1900. Adams, ProJ. F. D., M.A. Sc, Ph. D. Alexander, L. H., M.^i. A\\iin,Uon.Geo.\\.,D.C.L.,F.P.G.S. F.L.S., P.C. (Toronto). Ami, H. M., M.A., D.Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. Ami, Mrs. H. M. Ami, S. T. Anderson, Lieut-Co/. \V. P., C.£., M.I.C.E. Attwood, A. E., M.A. Attwood, Mrs. A. E. Ballantyne, James. Barlow, A. E., M.A., F.G.S.A. Bate, H. Gerald. Bate, H. N. Bell, Robert, B.App.Sc.,M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., F.R.S.C, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. Belliveau, A. H. Bethune, Pev. C. J. S., M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S.C. (London, Out.). Bigger, Howell. Billings, C. Billings, W. R. Binmore, Miss E., Westmount, Q. Bishop, Miss A. M. Boardman, Wm. F. Bolton, Miss Eliza. Borden, Hon. F. W., M.D., M.P. Bostock, Mrs. H. (Monte Creek, B.C.) Bowen, Miss Alice (Quebec). Bowerman, J. T., B.A. Boyd, Miss M. Brainerd, E, Dwight, Montreal. Brewster, W. (Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) Bronson, F. G. Bronson, Mrs. F. G. Brock, R. W. Brown, Mrs. R. D. Breckenridge, R. Stuart. Burgess, T. J. W., M.D., F.R.S.C. (Montreal). Burland, Li. -Col. J. H. (Montreal). Burland, Mrs. G. B. (Montreal). Burland, G. L. Burman, Rev. W. A. (Winnipeg). Campbell, D. A., B.A. Campbell, A. M. Campbell, R. H. Campbell, Miss B. Charlton, H. W., B.A.Sc. Charron, A. T., B.A. Chubbuck, C. E. Church, Clarence, R., M.D., CM. Clarke, T. E. Cobbold, Paul A. (Haileybury.) Conklin, J. D. Connor, M. F., B.Sc. Cornu, Felix, M.D. (Angers, Que.) Cot^, J. L. Cousens, W. C, M.D. Cowan, Miss E. Cowley, K.H,B.A. Craig, Prof. John. (Ames, Iowa.) Dawson, G. M., C.M.G.,LL.D., F.R.S., D.S., Assoc. R.S.M.,F.G.S., F.R.S.C. Dawson, S. E., Z//. D, Denis, Theo., B.A.Sc. Dimock, W. D., B.A. (Truro, N.S.) Dingman, E. C. Dixon, F. A. Doherty, T. Keville. Dowling, D. B., B.A.Sc. Dresser, J. A., M.A. (Richmond, Que.) Dulau & Co. (London, Eng.) Dunne, J. P. Dwight, Jonathan, Jr., M.D. (N.York) Edwards, A. M., M.D. Ells, R. W., LL.D., F.G.S.A., F.R.S.C. Evans, Jno. D. C,£., (Trenton, -Ont.) Ewart, D. Ferr\cr,W.F., B.A.Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. Ferrier, Mrs. W. F. (Rossland, B.C.) Fisher, Hon. S. A. Fleck, A. W. Fleming, Sir Sandford, A'. C3/. C, C.E., F.R.C.I., F.R.S.C. Fletcher, James, LL.D., F.L.S., F.R.S.C. Fleury, Prof. J. M. Found, W. A. Forward, A. J. G^rin, L^on, B.A., F.R.S.C. Gibson, Arthur. igooj List of Members. Gilmour, T. Glashan, Dr. J. C. Gorman, M, J., LL.B. Grant, Sir J. A., K.C.M.G., M.D. F.R.C.S. Edin., F.R.S.C, F.G.S. Grisdale, J. H., B.Agr. Grist, Henry. Grist, Miss Mary L. Guillet, Miss Alice. Guillet, Cephas. Hardie, Miss Jessie. Halkett, Andrew. Harmer, Miss G. (Hintonburg-li, Ont. Harmon, Miss A. Maria. Harrington, W. Hague, F.R,S.C. Harrison, Edward. Hay, George, Sr. Hay, G. U., F.R.S.C. (St. John, N.B.) Hayter, F. Holland, Miss Ira. Honeyman, H. O., B.A. (Granby, Que.) Hope, J. House of Commons Reading Room. Hughes, Chas. (Montreal.) Ide, Wm. Ingall, Oswald. Irwin, Lt.-Col. James, C. C, M.A. Toronto.) Jenkins, S. J., B.A, Johnston, J. F. E., C.E. Johnston, Robt. A. A. Joly de Lotbiniere, Hon. Sir Henry. Jones, C. J. Kearns, J. C. Keefer, Thos. C, C E., F.R.S.C. Keefer, T. Jr. Keel, Joseph. Keeley, D. H. Kennedy, R. A., B.A., M.D. Kenny, Thos. Kemp, E. Kingston, A. G. Klotz, Oskar. Lambart, Hon. O, H. Lambe, L. M., F.G.S., F.G.S.A. Latchford, Hon. F. R., B.A. Lee, Miss Katharine, Lees, Miss V. Lees, W. A. D. Lees, Mrs. W. A. D. Legg, A. B. Rowan. Lemieux, E. E. LeSueur, W. n., B.A. Library, Leg. Assembly (Quebec.) Library of Parliament. Lindsay, A. Living, Miss A. Marion. Low, A. P. , B. App. Sc. MacCabe, J. A., LL.D., F.R.S.C. ,McCalIa, W. C. (St. Catharines.) McConnell, R. G., B,A., F.G.S.A. MacCraken, John L, B.xA. McDougall, A. H., B.A, McElhinney, M. P. McEvoy, Jas., B.A.Sc. Macfarlane, Rev. J. A. McGiU, A., B.A., B.Sc. Mclnnes, Wm., B.A., F.G.S.A. )MacKay, A. H., B.A., B.Sc, F.R. S.C. (Halifax.) McLaughlin, S. (Los Angeles, Cal.) MacLaughlin, T. J. MacLeod, H. A. F., C.E. McNab. Rev. E. (Mattawa.) MacNicholl, Miss C. xMacoun, Prof. John, M.A. , F.L.S., F.R.S.C. Macoun, J. M. Macoun, W. T. Marshall, John. Matheson, D. Mathews, Miss Annie L. May, Dr. S. P. (Toronto.) :\[earns. Dr. E. A. (U.S.A.) Morris, Miss F. Meneilly, W. J. (Toronto.) Miller, Pro/. W. G. (Kingston.) Nelson, H. M. Norris, L T. Northrop, B. M. O'Brien, S. E. Odell, W. S. Ogilvie, Wm., D.L.S. (Yukon Ter.) Orde, J. F. Poirier, Zfo«, P. S., M.A. (Sh^diac, N.B.) Pollock, T. J. (Aylmer, Oue.) Porter, j. A.,B A., M.D, Pratt, H. O. E., B.A. Provost, L. C, M.D. Prince, Prof. E. E., B.A., F.L.S. Prudhomme, G. E. Robertson, Prof. J. W. Robins, Miss L. B. Ross, Hon G. W. (Toronto.) Rothwell, Miss Lina. Roughsedge, Dr. W. H. (Edmonlon.) Sanson, N. B. (Banff, Alta.) Saunders, Fredk. A., B.A. Saunders, Wm., LL.D., F.L.S. , F.R.S.C, F.C.S. Saunders, W. E. (London, Ont.) Scott, Fred., Pk. £>. (Toronto.) The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May Scott. Miss Mary McKay. Scott, P. J., M.D. (Southampton, Ont Scott, W. Scott, W., B.A. (Toronto.) Scott, W. L., LL.B. Senate of Canada, The. Shutt, F. T., M.A., F.I.C., F.C.S. Sifton, W. Simpson, Willibert. Sinclair, S. B., B.A. Small, H. Beaumont, M.D. Smith, Capt. W. H. (Halifax, N.S.) Sowter, T. V^. E. Sparks, Miss A. Spence, J. C. St. Germain, Theodor. Stewart, Archibald. Strachan, Miss V. St. Jean, Dr. P. Summerby, Wm. J., M.A. (Russell, Ont.) Sutherland, J. C. (Richmond, Que.) Sykes, W. \., B.A. Thompson, T. W. Thompson, E. Seton. (New York.) Thorburn, John, M.A., LL.D. Topley, Mrs. W. J. Tucker, Miss Annie. Tucker, Walter. Tyndall, Miss A. (Cummings Bridge. Tyrrell, J. B., B.A., B. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. (Dawson, B.C.) Waghorne, Rev. A. C. (St. John's, Nfld.) Wait, F. G., B.A. .)Walker, B. ^.,F.G.S. (Toronto.) W^alker, Bryant. (Detroit.) Walsh, A. R. Warwick, F. W., B. Sc. (Bucking- ham, Que.) Watson, J. F. Walters, Henry. Werry, F. W. O. Weston, T. C, F.G.S.A. Wheleii, Peter. Whelen, Miss A. White, George R. White, James. (Snelgrove, Ont.) White, Lt.-Col. W. Whii eaves, ]. ¥., F.G S., F.R.S.C., F.G.S.A. Whitley. Thos. Wickham, Prof. H. F. (Iowa City. Iowa.) Whyte, Miss Ethel. Whyte, Miss Ida. Whyte, Miss Isabella. Whyte, Miss Marion. Whvte, R. B. Willing, T. N. (Regina, N.W.T.) Wilson, Miss M. E. Wilson, W. J., Ph. B. W^ilson, Mrs. R. ) Wintle, Ernest D. Wood, Hon. Josiah. (Sackville, N.B.) Young, Rev. C. J., M.A. (Lansdowne, Ont.) Young, C. H. i CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. Hill, Albert J. M.A., C.E., New Westminster, B.C. Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, Department of Agriculture, Washington, U.S. Ormerod, Miss E. A., LL.D., F.R., Met. Soc, Torrington House, St. Albans, England. Smith, Prof. John B., Sc. D., Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J. Taylor, Rev. G. W., M.A., F.R.S.C., F.Z.S. (Nanaimo, B.C.) ^WM/ THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, APRIL and MAY, 1900. No. 12 ANNUAL REPORT OF THP: OTTAWA FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB, 1899-1900. The Council of the O. F. N. Club beg leave to submit the following report for the year now ending. Forty members have been elected during the year, and thirty have resigned, or had their names struck from the list on account of non-payment of dues. The total number now enrolled is about 235. Fourteen council meetings have been held. The President, Dr. Ami, represented the club at the meetmg of the Royal Society of Canada, held in this cit} in May last. The following elemental y lectures were arranged tor at the first meeting of Council, and were held on the respective dates : April loth, Geology, by Dr. H. M. Ami. " 17th, Ornithology, by Mr. A. G. Kingston. " 24tli, Entomology, by Dr. James Fletcher. May 1st, Conchology, by Hon. F. R. Latcliford. " 8th, Botany, by Mr. R. B. Whyte. " 15th, Zoology, by Mr. W. S. Odell and Prof. J. Macoun. " 22nd, Planting and Care of Forest Trees, by Sir Henry Joli de Lotbini^re. Dr. MacCabe kindly placed the Assembly Hall of the Normal School at the disposal of the Club for these lectures, and the attendance was most encouraging to all concerned, a large number of the ladies and gentlemen attending the Normal and other city schools being present at every lecture, of which they took copious notes. As usual the sub-excursions were an important feature of the year's work, though in the first held the lateness of the spring made it necessary to confine the observations largely to a study of the rocks, and to the collection of fossils. All of these excur- S The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May sions were well attended, in some cases over 150 members and friends of the Club being present. The first general excursion was to Chelsea, and was attended by nearly 300. Two prizes were offered for the best collections o^ plants, and evoked much interest among the botanists. The second general excursion was to Aylmer Park, where seventy-nine species of plants were noted. The geology and archaeology of this district and of Lighthouse Island proved of much interest to those studying these subjects. The third general excursion was to Cumberland and, though not largely attended, was of much interest. The elementary lectures, the sub-excursions and the general excursions have been described at length in The Ottawa Naturalist. During the winter the usual evening meetings were held, and many valuable lectures were given and papers read, of which the full programme was given in The Ottawa Naturalist for December, 1899, the only change in the original programme being that on March 6th, instead of Mr. T. W. E. Sowter's paper, Mr. D. B. Dowling gave an illustrated address on -Lake Winni- peg, and Mr. W. S. Odell read a paper " On a Salamander." At the kind invitation of the Rector of the University of Ottawa, one of our evening meetings, that of February 20th, was held in the Academic Hall of that institution and was very largely attended. The two Conversaziones held in the Normal School were also well attended ; at these many interesting specimens were exhibited. The Ottawa Naturalist has been published every month, and the eleven numbers already out contain 276 pages. Six pages of plates and many interesting articles have appeared, among which the following may be mentioned : The Mineral Resources of the Ottawa District. Dr. R. \V. Ells. Progress of Geological Work in Canada. Dr. H. M. Ami. Ottawa Coleoptera. Extra — limital Insects F"ound at Ottawa, by W. H. Harrington. On Reptilian Remains from ihe Cretaceous of North-western Canada. Lawrence M. Lambe. The Bermuda or Easter Lily. H. B. Small. I goo] Annual Report. 9 Some Recent Additions to the Labrador Flora. M. L. Fernald and J. D. Sornborger. Notes on Fresh-water Polyzoa. Walter S. Odell. The Birds of a Garden, and My Feathered Jester. A. C. Tyndall. List of Fresh-water Fishes of the Gasp^ Peninsula and a Preliminary List of Batrachia of Gaspe Peninsula and the Maritime Provinces. Dr. Philip Cox. Winter Birds of the Okanagan District. Allan Brooks. Some Plants from the North-west Shore of Hudson Bay. M. L. Fernald. Paddle-nosed Sturg^eon in Ontario. Prof E. E. Prince. Notes on a Geological Trip over a Portion ot the North-west Territories. T. C. Weston. Notes on some Botanic Gardens. VY. T. Macoun. Belinurus grandaevus, a new species of Palaeozoic Limuloid Crustacean. Dr. H. M. Ami. List of Plants Collected by J. B. Tyrrell in the Klondike Region, 1899. Prof. John Macoun. Archaeology of Lake Deschenes. T. W. E. Sowter. Rangifer Dawsoni ; preliminary description of a new species of Caribou from Queen Charlotte Island. E. Seton-Thompson. Annual Address of the President. Dr. H. M. Ami. The different branches report a successful year's work. In Geolog-y the work done has been in tracing- out the boundaries of formations and collecting fossils. Some of the fossils were found to be new to this locality. The Botanical Branch reports that four species of mosses new to science, and five to the Ottawa flora have been discovered. A sedge new to the Ottawa flora was found at Chelsea by Prof. J. Macoun. They also report that Mr. Cowley, besides locating many rare specimens, discovered in Osgoode Township two forms oi Botrychtum ternatum not before collected here, viz., 5. ternatum dissectum and B. ternatum ob. iquum. Entomology. — A full report of this branch has been published in The Ottawa Naturalist. In this report the leaders draw special attention to original work in the critical study of insects. Archeology. — One of the leaders in this branch, Mr. bowter, discovered a beach workshop on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River just below the little Chaudi^re Rapids. The workshop extends along the whole west shore of Squaw Bay from the southerly end of Mountain street in T^treauville, a distance of lo The Ottawa Naturalist. April — May about 800 feet. The shore at frequent intervals is strewn with the usual flint chipping"s. Full reports of all the branches will be published in The Ottawa Naturalist at an early day. The Treasurer reports that the finances of the Club are in a satisfactory condition. After paying- all indebtedness we have on hand for the new year a balance of $146.30. The Treasurer's report, as usual, will appear in the first number of the new volume. The Club acknowledges with thanks the kindness of Dr. J. A. MacCabe in providing rooms in the Normal School for council meetings, for the library, and for public meetings. Our thanks are also due to the Youngs Men's Christian Association for the use of their Assembly Hall: to the Rector of the University of Ottawa for placing at our disposal the Academic Hall of that institution for one of our meetings ; to the Ottawa Electric Light Company for putting in wires and lamps for the microscopes free of charge ; and to the daily newspapers for inserting notices of our meetings. W. J. WILSON, HENRY AMI, Secretary. President. igoo] Treasurer's Report. ii TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1899-1900. To the President and Members of the Ottawa Field Naturalists Club. The Treasurer beg-s to ag-ain report that although the finances of the Club are in a satisfactory condition, so far as the balance is concerned, they are in a very unsatisfactory state with regard to the payment of subscriptions by members at the time they are due. By an expenditure of much time and labour, a large amount has been collected for arrears ; but the payments on account of the current year's subscriptions are not at all what they ought to be. The Treasurer makes an earnest appeal to the members to pay in their subscriptions at the beginning of the Club year instead of waiting until (he end. The printers must be paid month by month, and, were all fees paid when due, the Council could carry out much good work which has to be left undone, owing to un- certainty as to when funds will be available. Further, owing to neglect on the part of members to pay their fees unsolicited, the Club is put to much extra expense for postage, and the work is much more than doubled. Another matter which the Treasurer considers it his duty to again bring prominently before the members of the Club, is the patronage of those firms who help the Club by advertising in The Ottawa Naturallst. These are all first class houses who will supply goods at least equal in quality to those to be obtained any- where else, and it is only reasonable that they should expect to receive an increase of business from the members of the Club, whose interests they serve by advertising in the Club organ. Your obedient servant, JAMES FLETCHER, Treasurer. Subscriptions are payable in advance, and are due on the day of the annual meeting each vear. — J. F. 12 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April— May OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' CLUB. Trcdsiirer's Stalemoit for the Year ending March 20th, igoo. RECEIPTS. 1899. March 14. Balance $67 ;i2 Sub.scri]3tions received — 1899-1900 $128 97 Arrears 83 00 211 67 Government grant 200 00 Advertisements 69 40 Authors' extras sold 3° 40 Ottawa Naturalists sold. . n 30 $590 10 EXPENDITURE. 1900. March 20. Printing Ottawa Na- turalist, including wrapping and post- age, April, 1899, '^^ March, 1900, (12 numbers) $312 78 Less discount 18 41 294 37 Authors' extras $37 33 lUustratioas . . 23 25 60 58 ^$354 95 Miscellaneous p- inting — Cir- culars, Spring Announce- ments, etc., and postage . . 45 10 Stationery 5 25 Binding sets of The Ottawa Naturalist for the Gover- nor General and the Paris Exposition 7 75 Conversazione expenses .... 24 50 Postage 4 75 Prize for Excursion No. i . . . . 15° Balance 146 30 $590 10 JAMES FLETCHER, Treasurer. Audited and found correct J. Ballantyne, R. B. Whyte March, 1900. 4E, \ Auditors. SUB-EXCURSION No. i, 1900. The first sub-excursion of the season was held on the 28th April to Rockliffe, and thence to Beechwood. About twenty were in attendance, the majority of whom were Normal School students. Two of the Club's Leaders were present, viz.. Messrs. Wilson and Gibson. The afternoon was pleasantly spent but the backward- ness of the season, owing- to the cold, late spring made it very difficult to find specimens of interest. Hepaticas, a few Trilliums, and Dogtooth Violets, with Aspens, Willows, Red and Silver Maples, together with a few other common spring flowers were all that rewarded the naturalists. Mr. Gibson secured some spe- cimens oiGrapta /aMw?#.y, Edw.,an uncommon species in this district. [igoo Gibson — Some Interesting Moths. 13 SOME INTERESTING MOTHS TAKEN AT OTTAWA. By Arthur Gibson, Central ExperIxMental Farm. (Read at meeting held 12th Dec, 1899.) The Order Lepidoptera is divided into two sub-orders, viz. : Rhopalocera and Heterocera, or in other vi^ords, Butterflies and Moths. In America, north of Mexico, there are over 5,400 diff'erent distinct species of moths, all of which have their interest, some on account of their size, some on account of their beautiful marking's, and others on account of their rarity. In other words, each has its own peculiar interest to the student or to the collector. To a person not interested in entomology, specimens mounted and arranged neatly in a cabinet, generally attract attention ; but to the student this interest is aroused not only on account of this charm, but chiefly centres around those species about which little is known, either with regard to the earlier stages in their life histories, or in connection with the mature forms of these insects. Of course, the systematist is especially interested in classifying as complete a collection of specimens as he can possibly gather together, studying them and making known the result of his observations as to their points of diff"erence and the character- istics peculiar to each genus and species. In later years more work has been done by the student studying the earlier stages of our moths, telling us the appearance of the eggs laid by the females, what the larvae in their diff'erent moults look like, what is the shape, colou'-, et:., of the pupa^ and cocoons, in fact every- thing bearing upon a complete knowledge of the earlier stages of these insects. Very few new moths are found nowadays, except in localities where collectors are few. There are, however, in Canada many places which have never been worked up, and, if these points were visited and collections made, undoubtedly new species would be discovered. But it must be remembered that this branch of natural science is sadly neglected by naturalists, only a very small ni mber being really interested in entomology from a scientific standpoint, notwithstanding its enormous importance economically. 14 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May In view of this it is altogether likely that some time will elapse before information as to the local forms frequenting such districts will be made known. In the United States a vast amount of work has been done in studying- the fauna of the dif- ferent States, but little is known about the habits of the greater number of moths native to Canada. Collectors of moths use various methods in order to secure specimens. Some entomologists record good success in securing the imagoes by certain means, which others find un profitable. For instance, traps made of sheets of glass so arranged in a wooden box, that when a moth once enters it cannot return, have given excellent results in the hands of some. The attrac- tion to such a trap is due to the rays of a bright light, which is placed behind the sheets of glass, and, when the moth gets as far into the box as the trap allows it, the fumes of some poisonous substance, such as chloroform, either kills the insect at once, or else keeps it quiet until the collector comes to examine the cap- tures of the night. In cities and large towns the attraction which the electric light has for night-flying insects, probably furnishes the best o-eneral results for a collection of moths. Where the electric light is placed on the outskirts of a settlement, particularly close to the woods, a visit on dark, close nights, in the month ot June especially, will generally be very productive. Some moths, how- ever, which mature in early spring or in August, and even as late as October and November, are, of course, to be looked for in these months, but those which hibernate in the mature form may be tound both in the autumn and in the spring. Another way in which these insects are collected is that of "sugaring" trees, that is, painting a daub of molasses mixed with sour beer over a small portion of one side of a tree. Moths are very fond of such mixtures, and if the application is made in localities where insects are at all plentiful good results will be certain. June and July I have found to be the best months for " sugaring," and if warm, close evenings are selected many moths undoubtedly will be secured. Another plan is to visit flowers in the early part of the even- ing, as many species are exceedingly fond of nectar and will be igoo] Gibson — Some Interesting Moths. 15 found frequenting- certain flowers. Caraganas, or the so-called Siberian pea-trees, hcney-suckles, lilacs, petunias, etc., have a great attraction for many moths, and, if these plants are visited in the early evening before dark, many specimens can easily be captured. The Ottawa locality undoubtedly v ffers a good field for inves- tigation, and much useful work can be accomplished in studying the moths occurring in this district. During the past summer in my official duties it was my privilege to do considerable work in the collection of these insects, and, when asked by Dr. Fletcher to contribute a paper to read before the Ottawa Field- Naturalists' Club, it occurred to me that a brief mention of some of the moths which I had taken this year at Ottawa might be ot interest. As the motr.s have always been special favourites of mine, I may be privileged in time to contribute some further notes for The Naturalist in reference to Ottawa Heterocera, which may not be without interest to those who study these forms ot insect life. In the Heterocera, the Sphingidce, or Hawk-moths, are classified first, according to Prof. J. B. Smith's standard list of the Lepidoptera of Boreal America. In the genus Hemaris, or Bee moths, of the family Sphingidce, only two species were met with. viz. : H. diffinis, Bdv., and H. ihysbe, Fabr. These are both day-flyers frequenting flowers, particularly lilacs, and, unless the eye is experienced, are easily taken for the ordinary bumble bees. Although many of the hawk-moths are found around the flowers in early twilight, the electric lights furnish a much better attraction. Some of these moths taken the past season are as follows : Deilephita chamcenerii, Harr., and D. lineata, Fabr., which when flying resemble very much humming birds ; Proto- parce celeus, Hbn., which, although rare here in the imago state, commonly occurs destructively to tomato plants as a larva ; Sphinx drupiferarum, S. & A., also injurious in the cater- pillar state, particularly to plum trees ; Sphinx gordius, Cram., a rare moth, two specimens being taken ; Sphinx chersis Hbn., one of the largest of the genus, and which occurs injuriously at times to ash and lilac ; Triptogon modesta, Harr., a large moth, one of the handsomest among the sphingids ; and Smerinthiis i6 Thk Ottawa Naturalist. | April — May cerisyi, Kirby, which is ;in exceedingly rare insect in eastern parts ot Canada, being only occasionally met with. The Seszdte, or Clearwings, follow the Spht^igidce, and are all small moths with slender bodies. They have much the appearance of wasps, and like these insects fly by day. Their larvae are known as Borers, and often cause much damage to maple, peach, and other trees, besides injuring seriously certairl plants, such as the squash, etc. The species are very interesting; they are also hard to get, especially so in the adult stage. Sesia tipuliformis, Linn., occurs here, and often causes injury to currant bushes. Besides this species. Dr. Fletcher tells me that he has taken in the past at Ottawa, Podosesia syringce^ Harr., and Sesia acerni, Clem., with the statement that they both occur rarely. Of the Arcttidoe, often called the Tiger Moths, nearly twenty representatives have been found in this locality. Callimorpha contigua Walk, and C. co?ifusa, Lyman, are both interesting, and being day-flyers, frequent open places in woods. Eiiprepia caja, L. a americana, Harr. , the large tiger moth, expands about 2^ inches, and is a beautiful species. I was fortunate enough to secure two specimens of this moth on the 31st July last, and, from one, got some eggs, and had the pleasure of breeding the species through all its diff'erent stages during the past season. The full grown larva is about an inch and three-quarters in length, and in general appearance is a black caterpillar with rusty red sides, and covered with long sweeping silvery hairs. Of the Notodontidce, the most interesting species taken the past summer, are Notodonta simplaria, Graef. , Lophodonta ferruginea, Pack., L. georgica, H.-S., Fheosia rimosa. Pack., and Nerice bidentata, Walk. These moths average about an inch and a half in expanse ot wings, and are brownish or reddish in appearance. The large moths belonging to the family Saturntidce always attract attention. Acttas luna, Linn., the large delicate green species with long tail like appendages, is one of the most hand- some moths in Canada. Attacus promethcu, Dru., A. cecropia, Linn., and Telea polyphemus, Cram., also among our largest igoo] Gibson — Some Interesting Moths. 17 moths, while common from the collector's standpoint, are likewise worthy of much admiration. In \.\\Q: Hepialidce, two specimens oi Hepiahis argenteomacida- tus, Harr., were taken at the electric light by Mr. C. H. Young, who very kindly presented one to the Division of Entomology at the Central Experimental Farm. This is a beautiful moth of a brownish and ashy-gray colour, the wings bearing silvery white spots. When the wings are expanded, it measures about four inches across. The Nociuidce make up the largest family we have, and comprise in North America no less than 2,900 different species. They vary greatly as to size, markings and colour, and many are exceedingly difficult to classify. These moths are those which are mostly attracted to " sugar," and in this way many can be captured. A great many of the noctuids are extremely scarce. A rare species reared during the past summer is Barathra occi- dental Grt., the larvse of which were collected by Mr. J. A. Guig- nard feeding on a perennial Delphinium. No detailed description of the larvae was taken further than that they were " black cater- pillars with a yellow irregular line on each side of the back. They fed on both the leaves and the flowers." Previous to this there was no knowledge of the preparatory stages ot this species. About fifteen different species of the genus Mamestra were met with during the past season : Mamestra atlantica^ Grt.; M. sub- jmicta, G. & R. ; M. rosea, Harv.; M. legitima, Grt.; M. adjuncta^ Bdv. ; M. meditata, Grt.. and M. assimilis Morr. are the most in- teresting secured. In addition to these, Mr. C. H. Young took a specimen of Mamestra olivacea, Morr. One example of Arsania diffusa, Grt., was taken on the Experimental Farm by Dr. Fletcher, and although not a very handsome species is interesting owing to its rarity. Orthosia eiiroa, G. & R., also an unassuming species with regard to beauty, was likewise met with but once, at the electric light. While collecting at the Mar Bleue on the 30th Aug., in company with Mr. Young, Dr. Fletcher captured a specimen of Epiglcea apiata, Grt. This is a beautiful species and is the first record of its occurrence in this locality; when taken it was in excellent condition. A single specimen of Scopelosoma sidtis, Gn., was taken at the electric light, as was also one of 1 8 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May Scopelosoma morrisoni, Grt. The moths of this i^enus are always welcome captures and are among-st those which mature in autumn, hibernatir.g- in the perfect state. The genus Plusia contains some very attractive insects. Eight different species were met with last season, those which occurred rarely being P. balluca, Geyer ; P. contexta, Grt.; and P. stnatella, Grt., all ot great beauty. The moths of this genus are beautiful glossy insects, usually spotted or striped on the front wings with silvery markings. In the Nochiidce probably the genus which attracts the most general attention, especially to a beginner, is the genus Caloca/a, which comprises over 80 species m North America. These moths are handsome creatures and ot large size, often expanding three inches, or more. The forewings are usually of a brownish or greyish colour, marked with wavy or zigzag lines. The ground colour of the hind wings varies with the species, but in many in- stances these wings are conspicuously banded with red, yellow or white ; owing to this peculiarity they are often termed Under- wings. In the daytime the moths have the habit of resting on the trunks of trees, but it needs experienced eyes to detect them, as the colours of the forewings of these insects are usually protective. During the past season very few species were observed, and, as I was constantly on the look out for them during the months they fly, I judge that they were scarce. On the 31st May Dr. Fletcher and I found eleven full grown larvse of C. cerogama, Gn., feeding on basswood, the general colour of four being greenish, while the remainder were greyish. These caterpillars spun a light cocoon between the leaves in about a week's time, and gave us the perfect moths on the 13th July. Other CaiocalcE taken the past season were C. briseis, Edw. ; C. concumbeiis. Walk.; C. relicta^ Walk.; C. ultronia, Hbn., and C. grynea. Cram. In the early days of spring, towards the end of April and beginning of May, a beautiful little moth of red and blackish colour is sometimes seen flying around birch trees. This is Brephos tnfans, Moeschl., a day-flyer, and being uncommon in Canada is always an interesting capture. Some of the moths mentioned in this paper have been brought to the meeting to-night and no doubt will prove of interest to those who may care to look at them. 1900] Botany. 19 BOTANY. Manitoba's Wild Flowers. There are few countries which can vie with Manitoba in the number of beautiful flowering- plants which from early Spring to late Autumn make her glorious prairies one blaze of magnificent colour. At the Conversazione held in the Normal School, Ottawa, on Monday evening, February 6th, was exhibited a beautiful collec- tion of 100 water colour drawings of Manitoban plants, all collected and painted by Mr. Norman Criddle, at Aweme, Mani- toba. This collec:ion w.is very much admired by everyone. The drawings were particularly characterised by their botanical accuracy and the artistic taste with which each species was delineated. The facies of each plant was well shown and the colouring of the flowers was admirable. Aweme is situated about twenty miles south-east of Brandon, thirteen miles south of Sewell, and six miles north of Treesbank, among the sand hills, and in the vicinity of a large swamp. Among the paintings were several rare plants, and many others were of interest for their beauty or for their occurrence at the locality where they were found. Perhaps the most admired of all these paintings was a white-flowered form of the truly magnificent Drummond's Thistle [Cmcus Druniniondii), a g-iant species calcu- lated to charm the heart of every Scotchman with its enormous flowers between three and fcmr inches across. There are two forms of this Thistle, one with many heads arranged up a stout stem over two feet high, and an entirely acaulescent form with one large flower lying close to the ground, in the centre of a mat- like rosette of acanthus-like leaves, every prickle of which is tipped with purple. The very rare yellow-flowered variety lutescens of Aster ptarmi- coides was well represented. I have had this variety growing vigorously for four years ; the root was collected at Virden, Man., and since the first year after transplanting has borne each year three or four strong stems, the flowers retaining their yellow tinge as well in the East as on its native prairies. A specimen of 20 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May this rare plant was also collected at Griswold, Man., some years ago. Mr. Griddle's painting represents the variety admirably. Another rare plant of interest to botanists, of which the drawing was much noticed, was Toimishendia sericea. Boltoma asterotdes, which has been seldom collected in Canada, was found by Mr. Criddle at Aweme. Some of the interesting varietal forms represented in this collection were albinos of Liatris punctata, Monarda fistulosa, var. mollis, Silene antirrhina, and Anemone patens, var. Nuttalliuna. There was also a yellow-fruited form of wild raspberry ( Ruhus strigosus ) and a pale-yellow-flowered form of Liliuni Phila- delphtcum. Polygala paucifolia was of interest as the first record of this pretty flower in Manitoba. Corallohiza striata, a widely distributed but always rare plant, attracted much notice on account of its rarity in the Ottawa district. Oxytropis Lambertii was shown with both colour varieties, the ordinary yellowish white and the rose purple. This plant is the " Loco weed" of the South- western States, but no ill eff"ects to horses on our plains have ever been recorded. A variety ot Lepachys columyiaris with the golden- yellow flowers blotched with seal-brown, which is not very un- common on the plains, would be a valuable acquisition in the flower garden. These paintings of Mr. Griddle's are only a part of his collec- tion, as he has previously sent down two equally large packets similar to the present one, every plant in which was drawn with the same accuracy and taste as those above referred to. Mr. Criddle is also making a collection of drawings of the insects of Manitoba, trom which some new records for the Province have been made. It is just such careful individual work as Mr. Griddle is doing which is of most value to specialists when working up the scientific geographical distribution of plants and animals. — J. Fletcher. I goo] Macoun — Ornithology. 21 ORNITHOLOGY. Bird Notes. By W. T. Macoun. Spring is the best time to begin a study of our birds. Almost every day for several weeks there are new arrivals to help main- tain one's enthusiasm once it has been aroused. There are few species of birds in Canada, compared with the number of insects and plants, and they are so readily recognized after a little study that it is surprising more people do not know a greater number of them. Will not some of the younger members of the society begin a study of our birds this spring ? They will find themselves well repaid. Few birds were noted last winter, and the Pine Grosbeaks which often come in great numbers were seen but rarely. Birds were again late in criming this spring, though net quite so late as last year. The following list has been compiled from notes made by various observers this spring. As a rule, when a bird is ob- served several days after the first record, the date is not published as it would make the list too cumbersome. 1899. Nov. 2 — White-winged Crossbill, Loxia lencopt'era. Flock of a dozen. Miss Harmer. On Nov. i6th, Mr. C. Guillet saw seven feeding on alder seeds near Patterson's creek, three of which were males. He saw two more on Dec. 4th. Jan. 9 — Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter velox. One seen by Mr. Geo. R. White. 18- -Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enncleator. F'lock of a dozen eating tamafac buds. Dr. James Fletcher. A flock of six was seen by Mr. Geo. R. White on March 9th. There are no other records of this bird. Peb. 4 -Saw-whet Owl, Nyctala acadica. One seen by Mr. W'hite, and one found dead in ashed in Jannary by Mr. J. A. Guignard. II — Prairie-horned I. ark, Otocoris alpestris praticola. Two seen by A. B. Rowan-Legg near Hurdman's Bridgs. Seen by Dr, Fletcher at the Experimental Farm on Feb. 14th. Numerous after that date. 12 — American Crow, Conms americanus. Mr. Geo. R. White. Crows could be seen from time to time at the Experimental Farm all winter, but this is the first definite record. Mr, While j-ays the migration occurred on March 17th. 22 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May 18 — Rp:d Poll, Acanthis Ihmrin' Flock of thirty. Mr. White. 23 — Cedar Waxwing, Ampclis cedromm. Five seen by Dr. Fletcher March i — Pine Siskin, Spin us pinus. Flock seen by Dr. P^letcher. Flocks seen by Mr. Wliite on March lytli, and April loth and 15th. 18 — American Goshawk, Accipiter ntricapillus. A male seen by Mr. White. 29— American Rough-legged Hawk, Archihuteo lagopus snncti- JoJionnis. Mr. C. H. Young-. 31 — Song Sparrow, Melospiza fascinta Mr. C. H, Young ; April 1st, Dr. P'lelcher. Belated specimens were seen by Mr. Young on Jan. nth, and by Dr. Fletcher on Jan. 1 8th. Recorded first on March i itli in 1898 and on April 6th in 1899. April 1 — Robin, yI/r/-/^/(7 juigratoria. Dr. Fletcher and A. B. Rovvan-Legg ; April 2nd, Miss Harmer and Mr. White. Recorded first on March 15th in 1S98 and on April 6th in 1899. I — Bluebird, Sialia sialis. Dr. C. E. Saunders and A. B. Rowan- Legg; April 2nd, Mr. Young and Mr. W. T. Macoun. 2 — Bronzed Grackle, Ouiscalus quiscula. Mr. White ; April 3rd, Miss Harmer. 2 — Meadowlark, SfurtieUa niagtia. Mr. Macoun. 5 — Canada Goose, Branta Cayiadensis. Mr. White. 5 —Hoary Redpoll, Acanthis Homemannii exilipes. Mr. White. Seen also by him on April 8th. 9 — Red-winged Blackbird, Agclaiiisp/i(eniceus. Dr. Fletcher; April 10, C. H. Young. 9 — Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonijis. Mr. Young. 10 — Cow-BiRD, Molothrus ater. Mr. Young. 12 — Slate-COLOURED ]viiCO, Jtuico hyemalis. Miss Harmer. 12 — Black \)vck, Anas ubsaira. Flock of thirty. Mr. White. 15 — Vesper Sparrow, Poocates gramineus. Miss Harmer ; April 17th, Mr. Macoun. 15 — Phcebe, Sayornis phoebe. Miss Harmer. 15 — Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyefnalis. Mr. White. 15 — Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor. Mr. White. 16 — Wood Duck, Aix sponsa. Mr. White. 17— Tree Sparrow, Spizella monticola. Miss Harmer; April i8th, Mr. White. Numerous at the Experimental Farm on April 21st. 17 — Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicns varius. Mr. White. 17 — Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regidus satrapa. Mr. White. 17 - Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias. Mr. White I goo] Macoun — Ornithology. 23 18 — Chipping Sparrow, Spizella socialis. Mr. White. 18 — Rusty Blackbird, Scolecophagus carolinus. Mr. White. 23 — Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon. Mr. White. 23 — Great Northern Shrike, Lanis borealis. Dr. Fletcher. The followinof notes taken near London, Ont., and sent by Mr. William Saunders of that city for publication in The Naturalist are interesting for comparison. Robin, Junco, March nth; Meadowlark, March 12th; Bluebird, March 13th; Tree Sparrow, Brown Creeper and Golden Eye, March 17th ; Song Sparrow, March 18th ; Red-shouldered Hawk, March 20th ; Red-winged Blackbird, Bronzed Grackle, Kildeer, Golden-crested Kinglet, Sparrow Hawk, March 23rd , Red-tailed Hawk, Bufflehead. March 25th ; Cowbird, March 27th; Hooded Merganser, March 29th; Phoebe, Yellow-billed Sapsucker, April 3rd ; Marsh Hawk, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Sharp- shinned Hawk, Canada Goose, Cooper's Hawk, Mallard, April 5th; White-rumped Shrike, April 7th ; Vesper Sparrow, April 8th; Towhee, April 9th ; Belted Kingfisher, Mourning Dove, April 13th ; Chipping Sparrow, April i6th ; Flicker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, F'ield Sparrow, April 19th. Departure for the north from London, Ont. : Snowflake, March 21st ; Red Poll, April 5th.— W. E. S. Early Nesting of Prairie Horned Lark. Prairie Horned Lark ( Otocoris alpestris ptaticola). A nest with four eggs, already slightly incubated, was found by Mr. C. H. Young at Hurdman's Bridge on April i ith. The earliness of this date this season is remarkable, the ground being still in many places covered with snow, and up to the present we have had very few days which even by the greatest stretch of politeness might be called "springlike." The location of the nest for this species was no less remarkable than the early date of its construc- tion. It was on the ground between the ends of two ties on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was passed over by several trains every day and night. — J. F. 24 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. By EuG. CouBEAUX, Prince Albert, Sask. I. The Birds of Southern Saskatchewan. The following annotated list is the result of a few researches during the last five years in the southern part of the Saskatchewan Territory, mainly in the region between 105^ and loG'' west longi- tude, and 50'' 30' and 530 20' north latitude. This small portion of the "rolling" prairie belongs chiefly to the partly wooded prairie, its south-west corner however showing the vicinity of the open prairie country. In the middle of it runs the Birch Hill range, with its three summits, the " Matinasse," the Birch Hill and the Red Deer Hill, that cut the south branches of the Sas- katchewan. Throughout the country are found a number of drainage basins, marshes, ponds, and lakes of considerable size, of these only one, the head waters of the Carrot River, is teeming with fish. These waters are more or less alkaline and contain a species of Amhlysto7na. West of these hills are found a great number ot erratic boulders of the glacial period and a great num- ber of dried up rivers, showing there was at one time an epoch of greater humidity. The commonest tree is the Aspen, Populus trefnuloides, of which with Salix rostrata, the "bluffs" or " iles " throughout the country chiefly consist. With the exception of a few small areas in the south, the coniferous forest begins north of Prince Albert. NATATORES— Swimming Birds. Order Pygopodes. 1. Colymbus aiiritus. This bird is here a common summer resident, breeding in great numbers in all the marshes and ponds of the prairie. It arrives about the middle of May and remains rather late in the autumn. 2. Colvmhus nigricollis californiais. Sometimes met with, but much rarer than the preceding. 3. Urhiator imber. This splendid bird breeds on every large lake or pond, preferring those where fish are plentiful. It arrives in May and remains till late in the fall, like the above mentioned species. igoo] CouBEAUx — Contributions to Natural History. 25 Order Longipennes. 4. Lams argentatus smithsonianus. Summer resident, most plentiful during the spring and fall migrations about the larger bodies of water ; proba- bly breeding in the country. 5. Lams delaivarensis. \ These three species are pretty common, and breed 6. Lams franklinii. r on nearly every large body of water in the 7. Larus Philadelphia, j country. They arrive about the middle of May and remain together in large flocks till the end of September, except during the breeding season when they disappear suddenly. 8. Sterna hijundo. Summer resident, but not \ ery common. Only on large bodies o( water, and undoubtedly breeding, as I mot with a few speci- mens once on Crooked Lake, the Jiead waters of the Carrot River, gn July 7th, 1897. 9. Hydrochelidon nigra siirinamensis. A very common summer resident from about the end of May to the middle of September, and breeding in great numbers in all the marshes and on ponds of any size. Seems to prefer however the wettest and most inaccessible marshes, where it breeds in large colonies. Order Steganopodes. 10. Phalacrocorax dilophus. A tolerably common summer resident about the large lakes and bodies of water; breeding in all suitable but retired places. 11. Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. Not very common, seen chiefly during its migrations; probably breeding on the larger and retired lakes. First observed in the country in large numbers on the 27th of July, 1896, but subsequently more commonly in large flocks, transient. Order Lamellirostres. 12. Lophodytes cucullatus. A common summer resident found in all the smaller ponds and lakes. 13. Anas hoschas. An abundant summer resident breeding in nearly all the small marshes, chiefly those in the woods. Sparingly and early during the migratory season, and in flocks or associated with flocks of other Anatinse in the fall. 14. Anas strepera. This species seems to be rare here. I have shot a few in the autumn, 1896, and since then one or two occasionally during the same season. 15. Anas Americana. Not very common, but frequently met with and breed- ing in the region. 16. Anas carolinensis . \ Both tolerably common ai.d breeding abundantly 17. Anas discors. J throughout the prairie. 18. Spatula clypeata. Quite common and breeding abundantly throughout the country. 19. Dafila acuta. Common, but less common than the Mallard, with which it arrives early. Breeding in nearly all the ponds and marshes of the country. 26 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May 20. Avtiiyti (inwricana. Common summer resident and breeder. 21. Aythya vallisneria. Uncommon, mig'rant ; shot oiil)' during the migra- tion seasons. 22. Aythva tnarila nearrlica. As uncommon as the preceding, and only seen during its migrations. 23. Avfhvn nffiuis. Exceedingly abundant; one of the most abundant species, breeding throughout the prairie on every marsh and pond. Remaining quite late in the fall. 24. Glaiicioiu'lfa clangula ainericana \ These two species may be said to 25. Charitoneita albeiJa. ) be not uncommon, but si ill not quite common ; breeding in the region but more frequently seen during their migrations. 26. Oidcmia dcglandi. The most abundant of the Anatida; with Aythya affinis, and breeding in nearly all the marshes and ponds of the coun- try. Remaining rather late in the fall. 27. Chen hyperborea. Occasional and only transient. 28. Anser olbifrons gambeli. Several times heard and noted, but only during the migratory season. 29. Branta canadensis. \ Both early in spring, as soonas the ice 30. Branta canadensis hutchinsii. ) begins to break up; going northward, and passing down to the south in vast flocks in the fall. Formerly breeding here but rarely now, and only in the most retired places ; the region begins to be tjo much settled for them. 31. Olor columbiamis ? I noted, but only during the season of migration, a few flocks of Swans and I suppose them 10 be of the Olor colum- bianus. CURSORES— Terrestrial Birds. Order Herodiones. 32. Botannis lentiginosus. Occasionally heard and seen, but not very com- mon ; probably breeding, for they can be shot and heard during the whole summer. 33- Nycticorax nycticorax nceviiis. A regular but not common summer resi- dent ; individually seen during the whole summer, and breeding here and there on the most retired marshes and ponds, Order Paludicol^. 34. Griis aniericana, \ Both tolerably common but only seen in large flocks 35. Grus mcxicana. J during the seasons of migration. 36. Porjsana Carolina. Common summer resident, breeding in all suitable marshes, 37. Fulica atnerica7ia. A tolerabl}' common summer resident and breeder. Order LiMicoL.B. 38. Phalaropus tricolor. Common, but an irregular visitor ; breeding in the regionas I have killed it during summer. igoo] CouBEAux— Contributions to Natural History. 27 39. Recurvirostra americana. A rather rare straggler. Chiefly around sal- ine ponds and lakes. 40. Macrorhaviphus scolopaceus. Common, but chiefly as a migrant, in com- pany with the Yellow-legs and the following. 41. Tringa mlnutiUa. As common as the precedinar, chiefly too, as a migrant; must breed as it has been killed in summer.- 42. Limosa fedoa. A regular summer straggler that may breed in the region. 43. Totamis melanoleucus. Rather common, summer residi-nt and breeder, but not so abundant as the common Yellow-legs. 44. Totanus flavipes. Exceedingly abundant throughout the region, — breed ing in great numbers and forming large flocks in fall. 45. Bartramia longicaiida. Extremely abundant throughout the prairie and breeding pretty early. 46. Charadrhis sqiiatarola. \ Both common in spring and fall as migrants, in 47. Charadrius dominicus. I small flocks and in company with the Yel- low-legs and the Long-billed Dowitcher. 48. Aegtalitis vocifera. Abundant throughout the prairie, and breeding in all suitable places. Rather early in spring in very small flocks of four or five and very soon paired. Living then a very long while in family. Order Gallin.^. 49. Bonasa umbellus. \ Both common residents wherever there 50. Bonasa umbelhis iimbelloides. ) are woods. 51. Lagopus lagopus. Rare, and probably in severe winters only. Only one shot in winter of 1897, and anotherin 1898. Very. few heard of. 52. Pediocoetes phasianellus. 53. Pediocoetes phasianellus campestris. Both abundant and permanent resi- dents throughout the prairies. The former, however, seeming to mi- grate a little from the north in winter. INSESSORES— Aerial Birds. Order COLUMB.E. 54. Ectopistes migralorius. Common ; a straggler during the migrating season, and oftenest seen in fall. Order Raptores. 55. Cathartes aura. Not rare but not very frequently seen. I have not ob- served it myself, but have heard about it very often. Probably breeding in the region, but in the most retired places. 56. Circus hudsonius. Abundant summer resident, breeding throughout the prairie and frequently seen in both plumages. From middle of April till November. 57. Accipiter velox. ~\ Both common but not so abundant as the preced 58. Accipiter cooperi. / ing. 28 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May ^ I 59. Accipiter atricapilliis. Frequently seen as a migrant, chiefly in the fall. 60. Bideo horeahs.\ ^^^^ rather common residents from the end of April. 61. Buteo lineatus. ) 62. Buteo swainsoni. Very abundant throughout the prairie in summer. 63. Haliaetus leucocephalus. In summer only and somewhat rare. I shot a m-ile and female of this bird breeding near a lake where fish were abundant in June, 1895, and last year in May (26th) I noted another pair of this powerful bird nesting at the same place. 64. Falco colli lubariiis. \ Both frequently seen and breeding throughout 65. Falco sparveriiis. ) the country; the former rarer than the second. 66. Asio accipitrinus. Common resident, undoubtedly breeding; more often seen in the fall, especially about the marshes surrounded by bushes. 67. Ulida cincrea. A very rare winter visitor. Only two seen and shot in five years. ^ 68. Bubo virginianus suharcticus. Common resident, breeding throughout the prairie in all suitable places. 69. Nyctea 7ivctea. A regular and tolerably common winter visitor. 70. Surnia ulula caparoch. A somewhat rare straggler, only noted in the fall and at the beginning of the winter. Order Cocyges. 71. Ceryle alcyon. Rare; first seen and shot on September 19th, 1896, near a lake without fish but with plenty of amblystomse. Probably more fre- quently seen in the vicinity of bodies of water frequented by fishes, but nevertheless rare. Order Pici. 72. Dryobates villosus leucomelas. Abundant permanent resident, breeding throughout the prairie. 73- Sphyrapicus variiis. Nearly as common as the preceding, in summer only, and breeding in the region. 74. Colaptes auratus. Vety abundant throughout the prairie, breeding where- ever there is timber, and arriving somewhat early in the spring. Order Macrochires. 75. Chordeiles virgintaiius Sennetti. A very abundant summer visitor, breeding in numbers throughout the region. 76. Trochihis colubris. Rare, occasional in summer. Not yet noted but heard about very much as specially visiting the sunflowers of gardens. 77. Tyrannus tyranuus. One of the commonest summer visitors, breeding wherever there are any trees or bushes. 78. Empidonax minimus. Very abundant, nearly as common as the Kingbird and breeding in numbers in thickets. igoo] CouBEAUx — Contributions to Natural History. 29 Order Passeres, 79. Otocoris alpestris praticola. Abundant spring- and fall visitant, in com- pany with the Lapland longspiirs. Probably breeding. 80. Pica pica hudsonica. Rare ; only two noted and one male shot in five j'ears, on November i6th, 1897. 81. Cyanocitta cristata. Not uncommon, resident and more frequently seen in winter along the wooded river banks of the Saskatchewan and in the well wooded parts of the prairie. 82. Perisoreus canadensis. VVisky-John, comes as soon as winter is here, and is then seen in numbers everywhere. When the cold is severe or when the weather is windy and bad, like many birds, if not aU, it disappears suddenly for a little while; it retires into the woods, to come back again merrily as soon as the temperature is milder. It departs very early in spring, nearly as soon as the snow begins to melt. 83. Corvus corax principalis. Permanent resident but very scarce, and only seen in winter in the great woods or about them. 84. Corvus americanus. This is our first messenger in spring. As soon as the snow begins to melt and show the ground, they arrive, by twos, by threes, b}^ fours, then more and more numerously, from every point, barking, croaking, like packs of small hounds, hunting for something to eat, for some carcase. They mate very early and begin to build their nests long before the leaves begin to appear. 85. Dolichonyx oryzivorus albinucha. Uncommon and seen only just now about Duck Lake and Carleton. 86. Molothrus ater. Abundant summer resident, and breeds throughout the region. In company with the blackbirds. 87. Xanthocephahts xanthocephalus. Scarce, though frequently seen in com- pany with the red-winged blackbird. Breeding in the region, 88. Agelaius phoejiiceiis. Common summer resident, frequenting the willows and poplar edged sloughs and marshes where it breeds in numbers. 89. StumeUa magna neglecta. The Prairie lark is here a common summer re- sident, breeding throughout the country. Early in spring one hears his merry notes and ceaseless song from early in the morning till late at sunset. 90. Icterus galbula. The handsome Baltimore Oriole is a regularand not un- common summer visitor ; frequently seen and heard chattering in the thickets, where he hangs his pretty nest. 91. Scolecophagus Carolinus. \ 92. Scolecophaguscy anocephlaiis. J 93. Quiscalus quiscula tsneus. All three very abundant and wandering along in company. They arrive early in spring, for the ploughing and seed- ing time, in smaVl flocks. They bree'd in great numbers in colonies. 30 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May among the thickets and the willow and poplar-edgfed marshes, where (hey gather into large flocks, which are much feared on account of the depredations they commit in the oat and wheat fields. 94. Coccothraustes vespertina. I have not yet seen this bird myself, but some- one showed me two mounted specimens as having been killed in the vicinity of Prince Albert. However, it is scarce. 95. Pinicola enucleator. Tolerably common in small flocks and more fre- quently seen along the banks of both branches of the Saskatchewan. This bird is one of our regular winter visitors, arriving about the end of October and departing about the end of March. 96. Carpodaciis purpureus. I saw this beautiful finch for the first time last year in tbe end of April and at the beginning of May, as the snow and the bad weather lasted a long while that year. In company with the Spizelea monticola, the Junco hiemalis and some other sparrows. I think it is not so rare as it is irregular in its migrations. 97. Acanthis linaria. Common and a regular winter visitor. Arriving in smal flocks nearly at the same time as the Pine Grosbeak, and remaining sometimes late in spring. I noted it feeding like Spinus tristis on the seeds of the Solidagos and the cottony heads of the Cnicus, and in the woods, on the fruit of the birch. 98. Spimts tristis. Tolerably common, summer resident, breeding throughout the region, but never seen in large flocks as during the seasons of mi- grations. 99. Ph'ctrophenax nivalis. The Snowflake is very abundant every winter. It arrives as soon as the cold and the snow appear, usually about the mid- dle of October, and remains as long as the weather is cold and bad. FoF the first time last year, early in spring, as the bad weather lasted a long while, I noted a large flock of them in summer plumage. 100. Calcarius Lapponicus. \ Both numerous every spring and fall, in loi. Calcarius ornatus. J company with the Prairie Horned-Lark. 102. Podccetes gramineus confiiiis. Quite a common summer resident through- out the country, and to be seen running ahead on every trail. Breed- ing too in great numbers in the region. 103. Ammodramus sandivichensis alaudinus. Not uncommon, but in summer only, and breeding here in the prairie. 104. Zonotrichia leucophrys. First noticed in numbers last spring. Probably common, but irregular, transient. 105. Spisella monticola. Abundant summer resident every year and breeding in great numbers throughout the country. 106. Spisella socialis. Not uncommon, but much less abundant than the pre- ceding ; breeding in the region. 107. Spizella pallida. Commonly seen in company with the Sp. monticola, and probably breeding too here. igoo] CouBEAUx — Contributions to Natural History. 31 108. Junco hyemalis. Very abundant migrant in spring and fall, in company with Spizella monticola and s. pallida, but never seen in summer. 109. Melospiza fasciata. First noticed in numbers last spring, in company with Spizella monticola, Junco hyemalis, Zonotrichia leucophrys, and a few Carpodacus purpureus and Passerella iliaca. Probably not un- common, but an irregular transient, no. Passerella iliaca. Migrant, not very common, 111. Habia ludoviciatia. Rare, only a few during summer; probably breeds in the country. 112. Prague subis. Not uncommon but local. Noted breeding every year in great numbers in the dead trees of a willow and poplar thicket among marshes. 113. Tachycivetabicolor. Abundant every year and breeding in groat num- bers throughout the region. 1 14. Ampelis garrulus. Uncommon straggler, shot once only, but twice noted in spring of 1895. 115. Ampelis cedrorum. More frequently seen than the last, but not common. 116. Lanitis borealis. Very common and regular summer visitor, breeding throughout the country. 117. Dendroica cEstiva. \ Very abundant summer residents in thickets, 118. Dendroica coronata. J arriving in May and breeding in company. 119. Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Uncommon ; several times heard in the thickets, but only Once seen ; and, from the time of year in which it was seen, I have no doubt of its breeding in the region. 120. Troglodytes aedon aztems. | g^^^ frequently seen, but in summer only. 121. Troglodytes hyemalis. J 122. Pants atricapillus septentrionalis. Common permanent resident, but, although it disappears during the summer months, I believe it breeds in the countrj', as I noted once a family late in summer, wandering among the low bushes and thickets. 123. Turdus fuscescens. Not uncommon and probably more common than I believe ; breeding in the region, as I once found one nest with four blue unspotted eggs, and killed the hen near by. 124. Turdus ustulafus s'lvaitisoni. As frequently seen as the preceding and aljO breeding in the region. 125. Merula migratoria. Very abundant summer visitor, and breeding in great numbers throughout the country. 126. Sialia sialis. Local and not uncommon, and breeding in suitable places. 22 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April— May BOOK NOTICES. A Revision ov the Genera and Species of Canadian Paleozoic Corals, by Lawrence M. Lambe, Assistant Palaeontolog-ist to the Geological Survey of Canada. Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology, Vol. IV., Part i. Students ot Palasontolog-y owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Lawrence M. Lambe for undertaking such a task as the revision of the Canadian Palaeozoic Corals. The literature on the subject is very difficult to obtain. The work of Billings, although pub- lished in Canada, is out of the reach of ordinary students; that of Nicholson was only partly published in Canada, his recent and most valuable work appearing only in expensive monographs and journals in Great Britain. Professors Hall and Rominger, the most prominent investigators in the United States, of Canadian fossil corals, have naturally published the results in that country, so that the plight of the Canadian who desires to study these organisms, but who has not a large palaeontological library at his command, has been well nigh hopeless. But to those who have access to the extensive and scattered literature of palaeozoic corals the condition of the nomenclature combined with the lack of pre cision in description and the inadequate illustration of the details of structure, has deterred from the study of corals many who have been steady workers in other branches of palaeontology. In the the nature of palffiontological investigation this condition must be present more or less in each of the main divisions of the animal and vegetable kingdoms as represented by fossils, until, after the collection ot ample material, someone undertakes a revision similar to that of Mr. Lambe. The recent work of Wachsmuth and Springer in the camerate Crinoids, and of Hall and Clarke in the Brachiopods affords ample evidence of the necessity for patience in the accumulation of information before revision is justifiable. The material in the possession of our Survey, gathered during the last half century from widely separated areas, and the accumu- lation of observations on fossil corals by the scientific world dur- ing that time, make it clear that the time for revision has come. The labour involved in this revision must have been very great, and at first sight it might seem out of proportion to the result if iqoo] Book Notices. 33 we judge merely by pages and plates. In the ninety-six pages forming Part I, the Madreporaria Perforata d^nd the A /cyonaria are dealt with, the remaining sections of the Zoa?ttkaria be'in^ reserved for the second part. The first part contains five plates and the second will contain thirteen. This seems a small compass in which to cover so much ground, but Mr. Lambe has succeeded admir- ably, and if his monograph closes with a sufficiently full index it will be invaluable as a point from which both to commence the investigation of a species and to conclude it after the various references have been examined. Mr. Lambe's revision, as usual, has resulted in the discovering of many synonyms, and thus a number of specific names become -obsolete, but many species hitherto imperfectly recorded, both as to description and illustra- tion, have been firmly established, and there has been a rectifica- tion of the generic and specific nomenclature throughout. His descriptions are precise and ample, and yet as briefly expressed as one could wish, dealing especially with points of structure hitherto overlooked, misunderstood, or, inadequately described. Mr. Lambe's ability as a palceontological draughtsman is well known, and the illustrations are artistically what we would expect from him, but they also give important evidence of his ability in the selection of points to illustrate. Five octavo plates provide a very small field for illustrating such a large subject, and yet we think we may safely say that more satisfactory illustrations of fossil corals are not often seen. Mr. Lambe has not, of course, space in which to provide figures of the various species referred to in his revision and is limited to the details of species which have been imperfectly illustrated hitherto. In studying corals we find that illustrations of the general appearance of specimens found in a particulaj locality are frequently quite accurate but are neverthe- less of little real service, but illustrations of details which may be vital in studying genera and species are generally unsatisfactory, and in this respect Mr. Lambe's work is admirable. Mr. Lambe has now made a special study of living spono-es and of fossil corals. The writer ventures to suggest that he should ^ake up the Stromatoporoids. His previous studies will all be most valuable in this connection, and as Canada is so rich jn these interesting and difficult forms, a monograph bringing be- 34 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April May fore Canadian students the good work done by Nicholson, brought up to date and revised by Mr. Lambe, would be acceptable to students and creditable to the Palaeontological Department of our Survey. — B. E. Walker. Stories of Insect Life, Series I and II. By Clarence M. Weed and Mary E. Murtfeldt. (Ginn & Co., Boston.) Two charming little booklets, of 54 and 72 pages respectively, have been issued by the above named well-known entomologists. These little books are well printed and freely illustrated. The articles treat of many common and well-known insecis, and the most interesting features in the life histories or structures of insects are well presented. The main object of the authors has been well adhered to, viz., to lead the pupil to fuller observation of the insects about him and develop his perceptive faculties in such a way as to create a desire to discover the significance of their structure, colour and habits of life. Series I consists of twenty short chapters written in just the simple, earnest language calculated to catch the attention and gain the confidence of children. There is hardly a long word, and not a Latin name in either of the books. Series I is intended to be used in the spring months, and consequently such insects as then occur are treated ot, e.g., the Tent Caterpillars, Cabbage Worms. Red and Black Tiger Caterpillar, Spring Butterflies, May Beetles, Ant lion, Potato Beetle, Lace-winged Fly, etc. Series II is to be used during the latter part of the summer and autumn ; so we have chapters on insect musicians, including Cicadas, Crickets, Katydids ; the Pear Slug, Fireflies, Fall Web- worms, Ladybird Beetles. Tomato worms. Praying Mantis, etc. These little books will help, we believe, to open the eyes of many boys and girls to the delights to be found in the study of the com- mon insects around them and perhaps, later, may prove to have been a means of first turning to the useful study of Economic Entomology, one who may develop into a shining light of that brands of science. 03 I goo] Book Notice. 35 Gleanings from Nature. By W. S. Blatchley. 8vo. Indian- apolis, 1899. Elementary books of g"eneral natural history dealing in a scientifically accurate but popular way with common objects of the country are by far too few. The general statement may be made that everone is largely interested in natural history, although many do not know it until an accidental occurrence turns their attention to something which forms a stepping-stone into the wondrous fairyland in which the naturalist lives. Professor Blatchley has recently published some of his '•Gleanings from nature" in a well printed, particularly well illus- trated, neat volume of 350 pages. This book is based upon extensive observations made directly from nature in the woods and fields of Indiana, and is an effort, and a most successful one, to present, in language that all can understand, primarily, to the 800,000 boys and girls on the farms of Indiana to whom it is dedicated, facts concerning some of the commoner plants and animals which are our friends, our helpers and our neighbors in the country. The first chapter is appropriately entitled Harbingers of Spring. The chapters are, for the most part, short and are crisply written, showing that the matter presented has been gathered by the writer from his own observations and gives the idea that he knew more about the sub- jects treated of than it was convenient to write about in the pres- ent volume. Prof. Blatchley has made a special study of several branches of natural history. These, as might be expected, are treated of at rather greater length than other.*-. It may be thought by some who do not live in the Hoosier State that an undue space is given to the Indiana caves, but it must be remembered that these are of special interest to those for whom the book was writ- ten, and others will be well repaid a perusal of Gleanings from Nature by several other chapters on subjects seldom written about: The chapters on Snakes, Birds, and Katydids and their Kin, are specially attractive. Twelve Winter Birds and Plants and Ani- mals in Winter, will be read with pleasure by all whether natural- ists or not. Two or three of the illustrations are particularly beautiful. ^6 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April — May Special attention may be drawn to the'-e of the Skunk Cabbage, the Banded Rattlesnake, Washinf,non's Monument in the Marengo Cave and Winter Birds. — J. F. ANNOUNCEMENTS. The first of the General Excursions of the Club will be held on Saturday afternoon, May 26th. when Chelsea, that favorite and most picturesque hunting ground of our local naturalists, will be again visited. This locality presents such a variety of attrac- tions that it is never exhausted. The convenience of reaching it too by the Gatineau Valley Railway makes it possible to enjoy an excursion into this beautiful part of the country and return again to Ottawa thoroughly tired out and satisfied, at the expense of only half a day's time. As usual, leaders in all the different branches will be in attendance, willing and anxious to give assistance to all desiring information concerning their favorite studies. Addresses will be delivered at the end of the day, and the excursion will start at the ordinary time advertised by the railway, leaving Ottawa somewhere about i o'clock, and returning about 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening. The summer time-table is not yet published, but this will be about the time. Tickets will be obtainable from members of the Council, who will be in attendance at the railway station a quarter of an hour before the train starts. It is hoped that some Fellows of the Royal Society will be present. xj>;*^< v> LIBRARY THE OTTAWA r^ATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, JUNE, 1900. No. 3 SOILS AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THEIR FERTILITY THROUGH THE GROWTH OF LEGUMES. By Frank T. Shutt, M.A., F.I.C, F.C.S., F.R.S.C, Chemist, Dominion Experimental Farms. Four years ago I had the honour to bring before the members of the Montreal Natural History Society an account of the work accomplished by the Chemical Division of the Experimental Farms during the eight years that had passed since these valuable insti- tutions, designed to promote the agricultural interests of Canada, had been established by our Government.* In that brief review it was shown that our chemical work praotically covered the whole field of agriculture, and included the analysis of soils, naturally- occurring fertilizers fodders, dairy products, insecticides and fungicides, in addition to the carrying on of such investigations in connection with economic plant and animal production as re- quired the aid ot chemistry for their successful prosecution. On the present occasion, instead of making a general fesumd of our researches and results, I purpose considering a single branch of investigation, one that has been carried on in the fields and laboratories of the Experimental Farm with signal success and that has yielded results of the highest value to those who wish to maintain or recover the productiveness of their land. I refer to to the improvement of soils through the growth of legumes. * A lecture delivered in the Summerville Course (Montreal), April 1896, and entitled " Chemical Work in Canadian Agriculture.'' 38 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June Plant Food and its Sources. To understand and appreciate the full sij^nificance of my sub- ject, the improvement and recuperation of soils by the j^rowth of lep^umes, it will be necessary for us to first consider the sources of plant food, the nature of soils, and the manner in which soils are affected by cultivation. The analysis of plants shows that they are composed of some thirteen chemical elements, present, as might be expected, in vary- ing proportions, according to the nature of the plant and the part of it examined. Though these are built up by the plant into numerous combinations, we can readily recognize in all vegetable structure three distinct classes of compounds, viz.: water, mineral or ash compounds, and organic compounds. The elements com- prising these are drawn from two sources, the atmosphere and the soil, both of which, as we shall see, furnish this food in forms or compounds suitable to plant life, for it is well to remember that the uncombined elements are practically valueless, considered as plant foods for farm crops. The following scheme permits one to see at a glance the con- stituents of plant food, their sources and products ; Plant Constituents. 2 Soils r Carbon ^ THE V Oxygen j ) ORGANIC ^Hydrogen} ELEMENTS Nitrogen I f Calcium Magnesium Potassium Carbonic Acid Water THE INORGANIC ^ ELEMENTS Sodium Iron Manganese ] St; arch gar Hbre Oil ■J) T3 '5 c Xi ) Phosphorus Silicon Sulphur Chlorine AIR DERIVED < ELEMENTS 1 SOIL DERIVED ELEMENTS I goo] Shutt — Soils. 39 The carbonic acid g-as of the air, though present only to the extent of 4 parts in 10,000, furnishes all the carbon required for the organic compounds of plants, of which starch, sugar and albumen are the chief. These compounds constitute fully 80 per cent, of their water-free substance, and are those which give to all vege- table tissues their chief value as food for man and beast. Some idea of the extent to which plants appropriate their nourishment from this source may be gained from the statement that an acre of wheat, by virtue of the green colouring matter of its foliage in the presence of the sunlight, will remove during its season of growth nearly one ton of carbon, or as much as would be contained in a column of air over that area three miles in height. Though this is a very large amount, the practical agriculturist needs not to concern himself with this class of food; for nature always furnishes an abundant, a practically unlimited, supply. Water is mvariably found in all the tissues of plants, from 75 to 95 per cent., as in green stem and foliage, to 8 or 10 per cent, as in the seed. From one point of view, water is to be regarded as the most important of all forms of plant food, since without it all other nourishment is unavailable. Though not of the soil looked at geologically, it is only water present in the soil which is of use to plants. Their whole supply is drawn by the rootlets from this source. Apart from irrigation, we can only indirectly control this supply. Indirect methods for the conservation of soil moisture, chief of which are under-drainage and surface cultiva- tion (which by the formation of a dry earth mulch arrests or checks surface evaporation), are now considered matters of the greatest importance and worthy of equal consideration with problems for supplying plant food. For indeed water not only forms a large proportion of all plant tissues, but it is the vehicle whereby all soil food is appropriated and assimilated. That nourishment which plants take from the air is certainly in the form of a gas, but that which they absorb from the soil must be in the form of a dilute solution. Solids, as such, cannot be utilized ; they must first be dissolved. If they cannot be attacked either by the soil water or the slightly acid fluid that exudes from the root- lets, then no matter how rich such solid materials may be in food constituents, they are of no value to crops. The knowledge ofthi§ 40 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June fact has within the last few years led to many important changes in the use and application of the so-called chemical fertilizers. The amount of water used by crops in their feeding, that is, absorbed by their roots and lost by transpiration through their leaves, is enormous, equalling several hundred of tons per acre. Taking the mean of a number of determinations, Hellriegel found that for every ton of dry matter produced in plants, in the neigh- bourhood of 325 tons of water were required. An acre of Indian corn probably uses in this way during its growth i,qoo tons of water. Notwithstanding these considerations, it is, from the practical standpoint, those elements, or rather compounds, other than water, withdrawn from the soil that, as agriculturists, we must regard as most important. It is their removal by successive cropping without any concomitant return, that results in soil exhaustion and reduces the yield below the mark of economical production. What are these elements? First, there are the mineral or ash constituents. These comprise calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, sodium, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus and chlorine, and occasionally traces of several ot the rarer elements. As already explained, these are found in the plant variously com- bined, and not in the elemental condition. They form, say, from .1 per cent, to 3.0 per cent, of the weight of fresh plant tissue, the proportion depending largely on the part examined. Though crops differ m their demands for ash constituents, the amount withdrawn per acre by average yields of farm crops usually lies between 200 lbs. and 300 lbs. Now with regard to the above-mentioned elements, the majority of them are present in soils in quantities so abundant, and the amounts required by plants by comparison so extremely small, that their return to the soil by the farmer may be neglected. Indeed, as the result of scientific research as well as of practical experience, it is known that to maintain fertility — as far as these inorganic constituents are concerned— it is only necessary generally to replace two or, at most, three of them. They are commonly spoken of in agriculture as potash and phos- phoric acid, with lime as third in importance. 9oo] Shutt — Soils. 41 The following table presents the approximate amounts of these elements abstracted, per acre, by some of the more common farm crops : Plant Food Removed by Crops.* Crop. 1 Pounds PER Acre. Gross Weig^ht. Nitro- gen. Phos. Acid. Pot- ash. Lime. Silica. I '•5 Total Ash. Wheat, 20 bush. Straw .... 1,200 2,000 25 10 12.5 7-5 7 28 I 7 25 185 Total 3ri ' 28 12 20 '5 5 35 8 30 8 I 8 116 12 . 60 210 Barley, 40 bush. Straw 1,920 3,000 40 176 Total 40 3S '5 20 12 6 38 10 35 9 1-5 9-5 72 15 60 216 Oats, 50 bush Straw 1,600 3,000 55 150 Total 50 40 35 75 18 18 2 45 '5' 45 II. 0 I 1 1 75 I 89 205 40 160 Corn, 65 bush. Stalks 2,200 3,000 1,800 3.500 Peas, 30 bush. Straw 20 18 7 60 22 38 12 I 71 90 I 9 200 64 176 Total ■25 35 20 28 20 60 •50 45 66 75 75 30 J 2 75 25 10 10 50 15 4 240 350 175 250 125 Meadow Hay, i ton Red Clover Hay, 2 tons. . Potatoes, 150 bush. 20,000 2,000 4,000 9,000 75 30 40 Flax, 1 5 bush 900 1,800 39 15 '5 3 8 19 3 13 •5 3 34 33 Total ... 54 18 27 16 3-5 87 The Chemistry of Soils and Fertilizers, Snyder. 42 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June Secondly, we have nitrogen. The percentage of this element in the tissues of plants will vary from , i to 3.0, the largest propor- tion being found in the seeds. With the exception of the legumes, farm crops, indeed all plants, obtain their necessary supply of nitrogen from that contained in the humus of the soil. This so- called organic nitrogen is not directly assimilable, but must first be converted by certain soil micro-organisms into compounds known as nitrates. The process by which this chonge of inert nitrogen into valuable food forms takes place, is known as nitrifi- cation and is one of the most remarkable and important in the whole field of agriculture. The amounts of nitrogen as nitrates consumed by crops is variable; while some remove not more than 20 lbs. per acre, others utilize 100 lbs. or more. Of the legumes (clover, peas, beans, &c.) and the source of their nitrogen we shall speak more particularly later on. The cropping of the land, therefore, we are to understand, depletes it more particularly of certain amounts of potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen — the so-called essential elements oj fertility. To maintain productiveness, it is essential that the stores of these elements in available forms be preserved ; to in- crease productiveness they must be added to. The rate of soil exhaustion is indicated by the subjoined data of an orchard and field crop. Essential Elements of Fertility Removed Approximately IN 20 Years from an Acre of Soil. Nitrogen. Potash. Phos. Acid. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Apples, fruit, leaves and wood (trees in full bearing) 1,300 1,800 300 Wheat, grain and straw 700 700 400 Mangels, roots and tops 1,50° 3»oo<^ 7oo The Nature of Soils. Having now taken this cursory review of the plant's require- ments, we must turn our attention to soils, and learn somewhat of their nature and the manner in which they are affected by culti- vation. All arable soils consist chiefly ot two classes of con- 1900] Shutt— Soils. 43 stituents : mineral or inorg-anic, derived from the disintegration ot the original rock surface of the earth, and organic, resulting from the decay of past generations of plants, and grouped under the general term humus. Besides these, air and water are present, making the soil a suitable and comfortable medium for the growth of plants, and playing an important part in the preparation of their food. And, lastly, as we have learned in recent years, there are in every fertile soil myriads of micro-organisms, working, under con- ditions that afford them warmth and moisture and air, in the con- vertion of inert or locked-up plant nourishment of the soil into substances and compounds more or less immediately available for crops. The transformation of the useless nitrog-en of humus, first into nitrites and finally into nitrates, is an important example ot the valuable work done for agriculture by these microscopic plants. We must not now stay to consider in detail the origin of soils nor the various natural ag-encies and forces that have been and are now at work in their formation. The whole subject is one of peculiar interest and magnitude, and merits a much more careful and systematic treatment than would be possible in this lecture. I can do little more than mention the fact that agricul- turally, as well as geologically, the name of soils is legion. There are clay -^oils and sandy soils, so called from the predominance of clay and sand respectively, and soils rich in humus, and a host of intermediate soils known as loams. Save in the case of trans- ported soils, such as the deltaic soils formed at the mouth of rivers, their mineralogical composition will accord with that of the underlying rock. But whatever the nature of soils, their chief agricultural function always remains the same, viz., to furnish certain mineral substances, among which potash, phosphoric acid and lime are the most prominent ; to offer, in combined forms, nitrogen, a further essential for plant life ; to hold moisture and air necessary for the growth of plants, and to form a firm, com- fortable and warrn support for their growth. Before proceeding to speak of the amounts of plant food in soils, it is desirable that I should call your attention to the im- portance of humus as a soil constituent, since the method of employing clover at a fertilizer, which I am to bring before you 44 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June to-night, is dependent in a very large degree for its value upon the fact that it adds vast quantities of this material to the soil. I shall endeavour to do this very briefly. The Agricultural Importance of Humus. ist. It is the natural store-house and conservator of nitrogen, which element is the most expensive of all plant foods when it becomes necessary to purchase it in commercial fertilizers. 2nd. It furnishes the food upon which the soil micro- organisms live and which by their life functions convert its organic nitrogen into nitrates. 3rd. It possesses considerable amounts of the mineral food constituents. These, in the further decomposition of the humus — a process continually going on in summer — are liberated in forms available to growing crops. We have reason to believe from recent research that the mineral humates furnish a large propor- tion of the potash, lime, etc., used by crops. 4th. It serves to increase the absorptive and retentive power of soils for moisture. 5th. It regulates and protects against extremes of soil tem- perature. 6th. It opens up and mellows heavy soils. 7th. It serves to materially diminish the loss of fertilizing elements by drainage, thus permanently improving in the best way light soils. From these considerations, it is evident that humus is to be regarded as a soil component of a very high order. The relation of humus content to nitrogen present in soils of similar origin under similar meteorological conditions, is practic- ally constant. It has been noticed that the amount of humus pre- sent gives an excellent though not an infallible indication of the amount of organic nitrogen the soil possesses. Further, it has been observed that as the humus disappears the nitrogen goes with it. Cultivation, that is, exposing the substance of the soil to the aic, as by our ordinary farm methods with the plow, harrow, etc., tends to dissipate the humus and, as a natural consequence, to decrease the nitrogen. Soils growing grain exclusively year after 1900] Shutt — Soils. 45 year lose, it is stated, more nitrog^en by this humus oxidation than is removed in the crop, and this loss is greatest in those soils which are richest in nitrogen. At the Minnesota Experiment Sta- tion it was determined that for every 25 pounds of nitrogen ab- sorbed by the crop (grain following grain for a number of years) 146 pounds of nitrogen were lost, due to oxidation of organic matter. These facts are of the widest importance and worthy of study by our farmers not only in the older provinces, but also in those Western areas which to-day are overlaid by such phenomenally fine soils. During the past twelve years a great maiiy Canadian soils — both virgin and cultivated — have been examined in the laboratories of the Experimental Farms. VVe have placed on record in our reports complete analyses of over one hundred samples, and data of a more or less incomplete character respecting many more. The soils^ examined are representative of many districts and large areas in all the provinces of the Dominion,* but we can- not now discuss the data of these analyses in detail. It must suffice to say that judged by the standards accepted by agricul- tural chemists we find many soils in Canada fully as rich in plant food as the most fertile soils of any part of the world. I refer now particularly to soils over large areas in Manitoba and the North- west Territories — quite the equal, as shown by analysis, of the renowned black soil of Russia. In all the other provinces there are virgin soils of more than average fertility, comparing most favourably with those of other countries. As is only natural to expect, there are areas also of poor, impoverished soils. It is well to have some idea of the amounts of plant food con- tained in an acre of soil, taken, say, to a depth of eight inches, a quantity that would weigh in the neighbourhood of 2,500,000 lbs. From data obtained in the Experimental Farm laboratories, I estimate our soils of extreme richness will contain from 10,000 to 20,000 lbs. of nitrogen, from 15,000 to 25,000 lbs. of potash, and In the year 1897 a paper giving the results of our soil work to date was presented to the Chemical Section of the British Association. It appears 171 extenso in the Report of the Chemical Division of the Experimental Farms, 1897. 46 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June from 5,000 to 10,000 lbs. of phosphoric acid. Similarly, in soils of g^ood average fertility we find : nitrogen, 2,500 to 5,000 lbs.; potash, 5,500 to 1 1,000 lbs., and phosphoric acid 3,500 to6,ooolbs. From comparing- these figures with those that I gave repre- senting the amounts used by various crops, it would at first sight appear as if adding plant food to the soil were quite unneces- sary, a "carrying ot coals to Newcastle"; that where there is such an abundance of food there would be no economy m supplying more. The explanation lies in the fact that while the vast stores that we have mentioned are truly present, but a xiery small per- centage of ther7i is immediately available to plants. In this we recognize a wise provision of nature, for if it were otherwise soils might soon become exhausted by the leaching of the food consti- tuents below the reach of roots, and by the selfish practices of farmers who care nought for posterity and return nothing to the soil. I have alluded to the agencies and forces instrumental in soil formation; it is by a continuation of these and by the solvent action of root sap that soil constituents are being continually prepared for the use of the higher plants. We have to recognize that the very small proportion of the nitrogen present as nitrates.and those minute percentages ot phosphoric acid and potash soluble in water or in 1% citric acid solution — a solvent of approximately the same activity and strength as root sap — represent all the quantities immediately available to crops, and give a measure of the soil's productiveness. We have made determinations of this soluble plant food in many Canadian soils. One instance is given below of a rich and fertile black loam from British Columbia.* *CoMPARisON of "Available" with "Total" Amounts of Potash and Phosphoric Acid. o Soil. O o Surface |0-23 Between 12 and 18 ins. 0.23 Between 18 and 24 ins. 0.26 Potash. P HosPHORic Acid. x:h 1-6 0 o<-= 0 u X. 'a entage al Ph oric A ailable int use. J*/- 0 "" '" < ^ H < Ch 0.00483 2.20 0. 19 0.01020 5.66 0.00299 1.36 0. 19 0.01055 5-85 0.00169 0.64 0. 12 0.00588 4.90 igoo] Shutt — Soils. 47 From the data presented it is evident that the amounts per acre of mineral plant food of immediate agricultural value are very small, compared with the amounts of total plant food present. Nor must we suppose that the whole of these supplies — small as they are — can be secured by any crop, for its root system occupies necessarily a more or less restricted area and does not envelope every soil particle. A poor physical condition of the soil and lack of sufficient moisture are factors that still further prevent the utiliza- tion of this available plant food. One of the chief functions of mechanical processes for disturbing- soil is to hasten the conversion of inert material into these more valuable compounds. The principal object — indeed, in most instances the only object — in applying manures and fertilizers is to add to this store of available plant food. The quantity of soluble food so added is insignificant, com- pared with that already present in an insoluble state, but the in- creased yields resulting, fully corroborate the statement that a soil's productiveness should be measured by the amounts of its plant food which are more or less available, rather than by the amounts of that shown by extraction by a method of analysis employing strong mineral acids. This view can scarcely be unduly emphasized; it explains, as we shall see, in a large degree, the value of the clover crop as a fertilizer, which we shall now consider. We have already mentioned that the legumes — of which clover is a prominent member — have a source for their nitrogen other than and additional to that present in the soil. Like other plants, they are unable to absorb free nitrogen of the air through their leaves ; like in other plants, that which they absorb through their rootlets must be as nitrates. In what way, then, is the in- disputable fact that they can make use of atmospheric nitrogen to be explained ? The careful researches of Hellriegel, Wilfarth, and other chemists have shown that the legumes obtain the nitro- gen of the air existing in the interstices between the soil particles tht^ough the agency of certain micro-organisms present in the soil. These bacteria, whose special function is the assimilation of free nitrogen, attach themselves to the roots of the growing clover or other legume, forming thereon nodules or tubercles. These nodules, swarming with countless hosts of the germs, are to be found in sizes varying from a pin's head to a pea, and frequently 48 The Ottawa Naturalist. [June scattered in vast numbers over the roots of the lej^ume. When they are not present, the clover, as regards its nitrogenous food, is in the same category as other plants. The nitrogen elaborated by these microbes is passed on to the host plant and there built up into the usual nitrogenous compounds of the tissues of the roots, stem and leaves. These facts, so briefly put, represent the most important discovery in agricultural science of the nineteenth century. For the reason that, as far as we know, the legumes alone offer themselves as suitable hosts to these germs and are thus able to appropriate nitrogen that is useless to all other vegetation, they have been termed nitrogen-collectors. All other plants, in contradistinction, are known as nitrogen-consumers. The legumes are especially rich in nitrogen, and though we are unable to say exactly what proportion of this element is taken by them from the air by the means I have mentioned, we may be sure that under favourable conditions the greater part is from that source. To he continued. THE LABRADOR FLYING SQUIRREL. By J. D. SoRNBORGER, Cambridge, Mass., U.S. Three specimens of Scinropterus , sent me by my friend Rev. Walter W. Perrett, from Makkovik, Labrador, seem so different from previously described forms, that I propose for them the name : SciUROPTERUS SABRiNUS MAKKoviKENSis, new subspecies, the Labrador Flying Squirrel. Both above and below, this form is the darkest of the flying squirrels of eastern North America. The composition of its pre- dominant colours, compared with those of a specimen from Moose Factory, by means of the colour top,* is approximately : * The "colour top" made by the Milton Bradley Company, of Springfield, Mass. See C. B. Davenport, Science, 1899, P- \^^ '■> A. G. Mayer, Proc. Bost. Soc, V^ol. XXV'II, p. 246. This method of colour determination was suggested to me by Prof. C. B. Davenport, now of the'Jniversity of Chicago, and, though subject to many limitations, is, in most instances, far better than any other method known to me. igoo] SoRNBORGER FlYING SqUIRREL. 49 % Black. % Red. % Yellow. % White. y , , . (Above...'. 40. 40. Is. 5. Labrador specimens ^ „ i -^ ^ ( Below .... 10. 17. 13. 60 . Moose Factory specimen < ,-, i ^ ■^ ^ ( Below 3 . 1 . 32 . 64 . Above, however, it is darker than the table shows. Only tawny areas were matched with the colour top, the scattered black hairs and the black tips of the party-coloured hairs were, so far as possible, ignored since it was impracticable to accurately measure. their effect. The proportions ot colours on the party-coloured hairs of a number of specimens from various localities are approximately : Plumbeous. Tawny. Black. Labrador specimens 17 . Moose Factory 15. Cumberland House 19. Matamag-aminque, Canada . . 17. The skin from Cumberland House is the Labrador form in the colour of the back of any I have examined. Perhaps the most noticeable character of inakkovtkensis is the sooty tail, which is darkened for more than half its length. A skin in the collection of Mr. C. F. Batchelder, from Tadousac, Quebec, though immature and in summer pelage, approximates this condi- tion, and it would seem to show that the conditions producing the dark form are operative at least so far west on the north shore of the St. Lawrence as the Saguenay River. From a comparison of the measurements given in this article .S". s. fnakkovikeusts may be- assumed to be the largest of North American flying-squirrels with perhaps the exception of 5". alpimis (and specimens from Alaska ? ). My acknowledgments are due to Mr. Outram Bangs, Mr. C. F. Batchelder, Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., of the U. S. National Museum, and particularly to Dr. Walter Faxon, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, for the use of material and for other favours received. 4- 2-3- 5- 0. 3- a trace 4- 0. most like the Thf Ottawa Naturalist. iJune Cranial measurements (in millimeters). 7709. 7710. 7711. 4915- 495^- 4959- 37216. 1540. 154'- •542- Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection Collection of E. A. of E. A. of E. A. of E. A. of E. A. of E.A. of the U of J. D. of J. D. of J. D. & O. Bangs. S & O. Bangs. $ & O. Bang-s. $ & O. Bangs. S & O. Bangs. 9 & O. Bangs. 6 . S. N. Miisenm Sornborger . . . Sornborger . . . Sornborger . . . cS O c c ni o .b^ . >. tn i.J. J= C J3 S y u 1- -a /C y V y. •C CL C a. T3 -a c Hri y Clover cut and roots dug >f mate mmes foot. H 1 0 he- . of " " in pou re. ge of in fr al. f Nitroj re in fr al. ulated.) on 251 h May, 1895. ^ X V «., u u x; be.-* 0 0 y s: y « ^3 x; - ^ in •5.E ^ be ^,0 Weig ma per ^ 0 .t a. One year's growth — Leaves and stems (green).. 209.0 20,070.0 13.29 2,667.30 -505 101.3 Roots, to a depth of 4 feet. •19-5 11,476.0 16.19 1,857.96 •423 48.5 .Semi-decayed material on surface Of ground 32.0 3,073-0 23-53 723-07 -732 .22.5 Total .... . 34,619.0 5,248-33 172-3 Two yea'-s' growth — Leaves and sttMiis (green). . 1 17.0 I J. 235.0 19-51 2,191.95 -447 50.0 Roots, to a dejith of 4 feet. 193.0 >8,535-o 18.85 3,483-85 •354 61.5 Semi-decayed material on surface of ground 13.0 1,248.0 35-73 445-91 .410 5-1 Total 31 ,018.0 6,121.71 ri6.6 In the same year Dr. Saunders, Director of the Dominion Ex- perimental Farms, instituted a course of experiments to ascertain if the growth of clover, using from two to ten pounds of seed per acre, sown with grain, lessened the yield of the latter. The results did not indicate any diminution in the weight of grain, nor in any subsequent trial — and this experiment has been repeated many times — have we found the yield to be materially affected from the presence of the growing clover. In the following year an investigation to ascertain the rela- tive merits of certain clovers as " cover " crops for orchards was begun. The seed was sown in July, and the analyses were made on plants collected in October of the same year, the roots being t iken to a depth of two feet. The chemical data are given in the subjoined table : I 60 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July Analyses of Clovers, I 896. Clover. Composition. 0 Weig-ht of Crop Per Acre. Amount of CERTAIN Consti- tuents Per Acre c C/; < 'J L." he "* 0^ (x> Is (Sown July 13, 1896, Cut Oct. 20, 1896) Crimson Clover - stems and leaves, root.s 83-32 83.89 •3-9' 12.92 2.77 3-2' 0.382 0.304 0.671 0-.557 T. c 0 H [ I 3 14 5 5 J 234 201 •XI XI 2,093 801 XI 602 199 801 ai X 85 19 Total 435 2,894 104 71-63 64.74 23.81 29.47 4-56 5-79 Alfalfa- stems and leaves, roots 1,192 558 2,664 3,120 5'o 613 «.I23 75 6! Total 10 1.750 5.784 136 79-13 77-57 17-05 19.41 3.82 3.02 0.620 0.662 Mammoth Red — stems and leaves, roots . . 6 3 10 4 2 7 1,210 1,260 570 2,269 1,409 508 219 82 48 Total 3.678 727 130 76.24 71.22 18.84 25.61 4-92 3-17 0.718 0.784 Common Red- stems and leaves. roots ... 1.779 ".445 1,224 1,842 1,394 48. 172 653 70 47 Total 3.236 117 Similarly, it was found in 1897 that the weight of clover, leaves and stems, together with roots to a depth ot nine inches, per acre, determined at the close of the season, varied from five tons to ten tons, according to variety and thickness of seeding-, &c. To find out what value this system might have in locations where clover would not live through the winter, we ascertained the amounts of fertilizing constituents found in the clover residues the following spring after winter killing. Though less than the amounts previously mentioned, the nitrogen is seen to be present in notable quantities. [goo] Shutt — Soils. 6i Analyses of Clover Residues, 1897. (Roots, dead stems and leaves.) All the clovers were sown at the respec- tive rates mention- Amount of ed below, on the W 'eight 5th May, 1 896, with Composition. CERT.\IN CONSTI- Odessa barley at - of the rate of i^/( TUENTS PER Acre, bushels per acre. Nitro- Clover The barley on all the plots was cut 27th July, 1896. gen. j^^tiH in=» The clover residues pe r acre. (roots, dead stems .y t: M t: and leaves) were c 2 2 collected ist May, rS .£ X 71 1897. ^ 0 < 0 < 2 Mammoth RedClover p.c. p.c. p.c. p.c. c 0 (/5 J3 a5 XI J3 sown 14 lbs. per H J J hJ J acre. 71-51 ^4-45 4.04 •903 3 636 1,622 268 59 12 69-73 25.28 4.99 I.I 09 3 976 1,762 349 77 10 59-43 33- '9 7-3« 1-417 2 1.955 1,97s 439 81 " 8 " 70.00 26.18 3.82 1. 123 3 976 1.783 258 76 .< 5 72.00 24.00 4. CO 1. 04 1 3 806 1,634 272 70 " 4. " 63-3-1 31-74 4.92 1.260 2 594 1.458 226 58 Common Red Clover, sown lolbs. perac. 72.50 23.6. 3.89 1.016 3 125 1,446 238 62 Alsike Clover, sown 6 lbs. per acre. . . 71-58 22.63 5-79 1.020 I 1,233 732 187 Z2> Alfalfa, sown 14 lbs. per acre 61.54 34-79 3-67 1-075 I 212 772 79 26 CrimsonClover, sown 24 lbs. per acre. . 62.82 33-01 4.17 .827 1,322 478 60 12 In 1898 further examinations were made of a somewhat similar character. The average weight per acre of clover, includ- ing roots to a depth of nine inches, obtained at the close of the first season's growth, i.e., in November, was between five and six tons. On another series of plots the clover was allowed to remain until there was a strong growth the following spring (May 21), and the average weight per acre, including roots to a depth of nine inches, vi'as found to be between thirteen and fifteen tons. On all these plots the clover had been sown with grain. As a rule, 62 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July the weight of clover material of the first season is greater than that of the second year's growth, but, as the data just recited show, this is not always the ca^e. Favourable climatic influences have much to do with a productive luxuriant growth of clover, and consequently as seasons differ so greatly it is only to be expected that any rule as to yield would be subject to many exceptions. The practical question as to the best time, from a manurial standpoint, to turn under the clover, must, neces- sarily, take many factors into consideration, and is capable of several answers, according to conditions of soil and crop require- ments. I may add, however, that the practice now generally in vogue for some years past is one that receives support and com- mendation alike from labratory and field results It consists of sow- ing eight to ten pounds of clover seed with the grain crop of the rotation ; if the crop of the succeeding year is to be Indian corn or potatoes, the clover is allowed to remain until, say, the second or third week in the May following (when there is usually a strong growth, the plants reaching a height possibly of two feet) and then ploughed under; if another crop of grain is to follow, the clover is turned under at the close of the first season of growth, say in October or November. It would be impossible to place before you in this address any detailed account ot all our experiments — field and laboratory — and I have, therefore, made the following estimate, based upon our published results. The data may be interpteted as showing, approximately, the manurial value of the clover crop : — Average Amounts, estimated per acre, of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid and Potash, in Clover Crop, including roots to a depth of nine inches. Nitrogen. Phosphoric Acid. Potash. Foli- age. Roots. Total. Foli- age. Roots. Total. Foli- age. Roots. Tl. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. First year crop 90 48 138 30 16 46 75 40 I '5 Second " 11 50 60 1 1 1 •7 20 37 45 51 96 igoo] Shutt — Soils. 63 The fertilizer universally used is barnyard or stable manure. Such contains, if of good average quality, about ten pounds of nitrogen per ton. It is evident, therefore, that by this clover method we can furnish the soil with at least as much nitrogen as would be supplied by a dressing of ten tons of manure per acre. And in addition to this nitrogen — the greater part of which is ob- tained from an otherwise unavailable source- -there are, as we have already pointed out, considerable amounts of potash, phos- phoric acid and lime, liberated in the decay of the clover, in forms much more valuable as plant food than they were originally, and therefore in a very true sense to be considered as a distinct addi- tion to the soil's store of available mineral plant food. It might be urged that the burying of such a large amount of rich food material as is contained in a crop of clover is wasteful and bad farming practice. This, in a certain measure, is true if the farmer has the stock to consume it, for by feeding it there is the opportunity of converting a part into high-priced animal pro- ducts and returning to the soil by far the larger portion (practically 75 per cent.) of the fertilizing elements of the crop in the waste product of the animal economy. On too many farms, however, there is not sufficient stock for this purpose. We have indeed in this fact the reason for many of our exhausted soils in the older provinces, where farming in certain districts has consisted in grow- ing grain, or oats, or hay, year after year. For such districts, even where stock is now kept in greater numbers, we strongly advocate the growing of clover for recovering fertility, for we know of no fertilizer or manure of equal value that can be so cheaply purchased. The benefits that I have enumerated are to be procured from sowing eight to ten pounds of clover seed per acre, costing $ I to $1.25. The lowest price for nitrogen in fertilizers is ten cents per pound. Since, as we have seen, practically 100 pounds, can be obtained by this method of green manuring, a moderate estimate of the manurial value of the clover would be $10 per acre. But nearly one-half of the fertilizing value of clover is in the roots, so that if the crop is harvested and sold oflF the farm there is still a large addition to the soil's store of available plant food and the land is considerably enriched. 64 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July It only remains for me to say in this connection that clover requires, comparatively speaking, large amounts of the mineral constituents, potash, phosphoric acid, and lime. These being present in sufficient quanlities, the clover plant with the aid of the o-erms I have referred to will obtain its own nitrogen. This points to the economy, where the soil is poor in these mineral elements, of supplying a certain amount of them either as wood-ashes — our own special product, and one that we are parting with to farmers in the United States at a price much below their true value -or some form of German potash salts supplementefl by super- phosphate or basic slag, to encourage the growth of the clover. In conclusion, I propose to present some of our field results, showing the beneficial effects upon grain and other crops from this system of manuring by clover. They are of an exceedingly strik- ing character, and furnish ample corroboration of the claims I have made for the clover crop as a means for increasing the soil's productiveness. These field experiments, I should add, were all conducted by Dr. Saunders, Director of the Experimental Farms. Grain j^fter Clover. In 1897, eight plots were sown with grain, four with the addition of clover seed at the rate of 10 pounds to the acre, four without the addition of clover. In October of the same year the crop of clover was turned under, the adjoining " no clover " plots being ploughed at the same time. • The grain sown on these plots were : Preston wheat, Banner oats, Bolton barley, and Odessa barley. This land without any application of manure was sown in 1S98 with Banner oats. Regarding the appearance of the growing crops on these plots, Dr. Saunders speaks as follows : — "The difference in the growth of the grain on these plots was soon very noticeable, and, as the season advanced, especially just before the heads ap- peared, the difference in height and vigour of growth in favour of the plots where the clover had been grown was very remarkable. So clearly was this manifest, that the difference could be dis- tinctly seen at a considerable distance, and the outline ot those, plots on which no clover had been sown could be readily traced by the manifestly shorter and less vigorous growth. After the grain was fully headed, the difference in appearance was not so clearly seen at a distance, but by careful examination it could be easily traced." The plots were cut and threshed separately, and weighings made of the grain and straw from each plot obtained. The results showed an average increase in the yield of grain from the four clover plots of more than 1 1 bushels per acre over that on the plots on which there had been no clover sown. PLATE I. ..«•"•.*• Showing the method of collection of Clover roots for analysis. ;i ■-•:■< Crop of Oats photographed July 4th, 1899, after Brome grass and clover, respectively. The oats after clover are 20 inches taller than on land previously sown with Brome grass. I goo] Shutt — Soils. To ascertain what manurial value there might be from the clover the second year after ploughing under, these same plots, without the addition of any manure or fertilizer, were sown in 1899 with Mensury barley. Again a great difference on the plots that had grown clover in 1897 was noticed, and the harvested results showed the average yield on the four clover plots over that of the four " no clover " plots amounted to almost nine bushels per acre. The weights of grain and straw harvested from these plots in 1898 and 1809 are given in the subjoined table ; Grain after Clover — Results showing fertilizing effect of Clover (a) first year, and (b) second year after being ploughed under. Nature of Crop sown in 1897. 1898 — 1st Year. 1899 — 2nd Ye ar. 0 Banner Oats. Mensury Barley. Preston wheat and clover . . " " no clover. . . . Increase due to manurial effect of clover Odessa barley and clover . . " " no clover .... Increase due to manurial effect of clover Bolton barley and clover " " no clover .... Increase due to manurial effect of clover Banner oats and clover .... " " no clover Increase due to manurial effect of clover Averag-e increase on four clover nlots Straw per acre. Lbs. Grain per acre. Bus. Lbs. Straw per acre. Lbs. Grain per acre. Bus. Lbs. I 2 3'770 2,160 56 37 6 2 3,120 1,740 40 25 20 20 1,610 2,180 1 .450 '9 4 1,380 15 0 3 4 37 30 12 10 2,620 2,440 32 27 29 44 730 7 2 180 4 33 5 6 3,180 2,090 51 44 26 24 2,470 2,000 33 29 26 28 1,090 7 2 470 3 46 7 8 5."o 2,260 2,850 55 44 0 4 3.270 2,320 44 33 38 36 10 30 950 1 1 2 1.570 1 1 I 745 8 32 66 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Ju'X Another experiment in which equally striking and important results were obtained may be described as follows : — In 1897 two plots adjoining each other and uniform as regards size and character of soil, were selected : No. i was sown with barley and a grass mixture containing clover seed ; No. 2 was similarly sown, with the exception that there was no clover seed in the grass mixture. In 1898 two crops of hay were taken off each plot. In the spring of 1899 they were ploughed and sown with Bavarian oats. The yield per acre on No. i was 46 bushels 4lbs. ; that on No. 2, 36 bushels 6 lbs., an increase of 9 bushels 22 lbs. of grain to the acre on the plot which had grown clover over that on the plot sown with grass seed only. This increase was practically due to the fertilizing constituents set free by the decay of the clover roots only, for in 1898 two crops of hay had been taken off. Indian Corn after Clover. In 1897 a number of plots were sown with grain and clover, check plots being left throughout the series upon which grain only was grown. The clover was allowed to remain through the winter, and on May 25rd., 1868 (at which date there was a-heavy mat of growth), ploughed under. It was planted with Indian corn. The yields in detail are to be found in the report of the Experimental Farms for 1898. I will now merely state that the average yield from three plots that had previously grown clover was 16 tons 240 lbs. of fodder corn, while that from the plots on which there had been no clover was 13 tons 380 lbs. Potatoes after Clover. The following experiment shows that, as with grain and fodder corn, an increased yield of potatoes was obtained b}' pre- paring the land with clover. Plots Nos. I and 2, of similar size and character of soil, and adjoining each other were selected in the spring of 1898. No. r was sown with grain and clover ; No. 2 with grain only. In May, 1899 (there being an excellent growth of clover on No. 1), the plots were ploughed and planted with potatoes. The yield of potatoes was, on No. i, at the rate of 146 bushels 27 pounds per acre ; on No. 2, 104 bushels 57 pounds per acre. PLATE II. OATS, 1899. — Wagons contain yield from adjoining plots of uniform size; that to the left is crop after grass, yield 36 bus. 16 lbs. per acre; that to the right shows crop after grass mixture containing clover, yield 46 bus. 4 lbs. per acre. "^ &t> ^ OATS, 1899. — To the left are seen four shocUs of oats grown second year after ploughing clover under; yield 53 bus. 13 lbs. per acre. To the right are seen three shocks of oats grown on an equal area of land not so treated ; yield 41 bus. 6 lbs. per acre. igoo] Shutt — Soils. 67 The data which I have just cited — obtained by careful experi- ments over a number of years, employing: the cereals, Indian corn and potatoes as test crops — are, in my opinion, of such a striking character as to leave no doubt as to the conclusion to be drawn therefrom. They unmistakably assure us that the clover crop has a most marked effect in increasing- a soil's productiveness, and confirm in the most emphatic manner the chemical results. We have referred to the fact that in certain of the western provinces ot the Dominion we find extending over very large areas some of the richest wheat soils in the world. To support this statement we have not only our own analyses, but those of European chemists. Where these soils are being cultivated the system of continuous cropping with wheat is in vogue, and prac- tically nothing is being put back into the soil. From what has been stated in this address it will be apparent th:\t not only are such soils becoming poorer in available plant food con- stituents by the amounts removed yearly in the crops, but that much organic matter and nitrogen is necessarily oxidized and lost by the indispensable cultural operations. When a short time ago in Portage la Prairie, one of our very best wheat areas, I was told by several careful and observ.-^nt farmers that already a diminution in the yield other than that which could be ascribed to climatic influences (for it w^as a more or less steady decrease) was to be observed on the older lands, that is, on those that had been consecutively cropped with wheat for twenty or twenty-five years. Thus it comes about that the farmers in many districts of the Northwest are now recognizing the necessity of adopting some plan for the maintenance of soil fertility, and interested and en- couraged by the results obtained through the use of clover in Eastern Canada, have already commenced a trial of this method. If it behooves the Western farmer who has tilled but for a quarter of a century one ot the most fertile soils of the world, to pay attention to this matter of the restoration of the nitrogen, humus and available mineral food, how much more important is this subject for the farmers of Eastern Canada, where for the most part the soil has been much longer tilled, and where originally it was not of that extreme richness as in the Northwest ! In my opinion, the average yield in all our Eastern provinces would be 68 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July considerably raised by the more extensive and regular growth of one of the legumes. You must not imagine from what I have said in this address that there are any grounds for considering our cultivated soils and their productiveness as seriously impaired ; such is not the case, save in a few localities in restricted areas. I do, however, say that in many parts of Canada we have, either through ignorance or carelessness, or both, practised a very foolish and irrational system of farming, one in which much has been taken out of the soil and little or nothing returned, a system which has necessarily resulted in diminished yields — the first and most serious step towards unprofitable farming. Since it is almost impossible to materially lower within a few years what I have termed the " total " stores of mineral plant food in the soil, it is evident that our one-sided system of farming has exhausted the land of those very small, but nevertheless most valuable, supplies of soluble available con^tituents which go to nourish crops. It is to restore these economically, to add humus and nitrogen, that this method of manuring by the clover is strongly advocated. I trust sufficient evidence has been brought forward to show that theory and practice alike justify us in recommending this system as one of the most effective, and certainly the cheapest for soil restora- tion. We may well consider our soils as a natural resource of great and permanent value They are a resource which should increase rather than deteriorate in value as time goes on, and I have no doubt that such will be the case. Of the capabilities and possi- bilities of agriculture in Canada we cannot as yet form any adequate conception, for little more than one-tenth of our agricul- tural lands is as yet tilled. Thousands upon thousands of acres of fertile soil yet await the husbandman to yield their quota of wealth. We may be said to be only beginning farming, but nevertheless we have sufficient evidence to show that Canada is pre-eminently a food-producing country. It is all important, therefore, that no pains should be spared in the investigation of • agricultural problems and in the dissemination of information arising therefrom. Every year marks an advance, and the most encouraging sign of all is that our agricultural work is being more igoo] Shutt — Soils. 69 and more prosecuted on rational lines, a result no doubt of the fact that the scientific principles underlying- the practice of agri- culture are becoming more widely known. Of improved methods based upon scientific truths that the Experimental Farm system has been instrumental in introducing, none g^ive more promise of fruitful results than the one which I have brought before your attention in this lecture : The maintenance and increase of soil fertility through the g-rowth of legumes. NOTES ON RARE BIRDS OCCASIONALLY BREEDING IN EASTERN ONTARIO. By Rev. C. J. Young, B.A., Wolfe Island, Ont. From time to time very interesting local lists of birds have appeared in The Ottawa Naturalist, but I have not recently noticed any additions to the Ottawa list, published in Vol. V, 1891. If the radius of the district covered by that list is a little extended, so as to take in parts of the counties of Leeds and Frontenac, several birds may be added. For instance, Brunnich's Murre has been seen in numbers and shot on the River St Lawrence several times during the past five years, and last winter (1900) a specimen was captured in a field near the village of Lansdowne, Ont., which the writer saw alive. 2. The American Merganser breeds occasionally, selecting a hole in a tree. One such location was at Bobs Lake, near Sharbot Lake, Ont., where the same nesting site was resorted to for several years. This bird also breeds in trees near the head ot Wolfe Island, Ont. 3. The Red-breasted Merganser is a common species and breeds both at Charleston Lake, County Leeds, and on small islands aj the foot of Lake Ontario. There was a nest last year on Pig-eon Island, Lake Ontario. 4. The Wood Duck is unfortunately becoming quite uncom- mon, and seldom breeds now. 5. Ttie Old Squaw {Clangula hyeiTialis) is very common this year about Kingston, and many are flying- over the water at this date, May 15th. 70 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July 6. The Green Heron {Ardea virescens) is a reg'ular summer visitor to the neig^hbourhood of Kingston and Charleston Lake, and hiSt year (1H99) I saw three nests with eggs. It might probably be met with nearer Ottawa, most likely along the Rideau. I may say that I thought I had found a permanent nest ing home of these birds in Eastern Ontario. Last year, as stated above, we found three nests; this year (1900) I visited Charleston Lake on the 31st May, two days later than last year, and did not see any new nests, nor a sign of any birds. The three old nests were as we lett them last year, close to the lake, and wonderfully preserved, considering what frail structures they are, but as for new ones there was not a sign of onQ. This appears very strange, for I think birds, if not killed in the interval, as a rule always return to their former nesting localities. 7. A very fine specimen of the King Rail was caught by Mr. Stratford, taxidermist, of Kingston, during the past winter. It is now in his shop, and was secured by him in Cataraqui Marsh, December, 1899. 8. The Bartramian Sandpiper is by no means a rare species. It breeds from Kingston eastward.•^ as far as the neighbourhood of Brockville. I frequently see it, and on May 21st saw, about five miles from Kingston, a nest with two eggs in. Many pairs bred this year. 9. The BufF-breasted Sandpiper I believe breeds in the same district, but I have no certain knowledge of this ; though I have seen the bird in the summer, and saw one May 21st. 10. The Red-shouldered Hawk is the commonest hawk in this district, though stated to be very rare nearer Ottawa. 11. On the other hand, the Broad-winged Hawk is quite rare, seldom breeding, though it is a common hawk in the Ottawa valley. A nest was seen near Lansdowne in 1898. 12. The Bald Eagle is rapidly becoming rare. This year (1900) on the 28th April, a nest was located within a few miles of Kingston, and two eggs secured, one of which is in my possession. 13. The Scarlet Tanager breeds sparingly in the township of Lansdowne. I saw a nest with four eggs June 5th, 1898. 14. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Towhee Bunting alsf» igooj Young — Birds. 71 occasionally breeds in this district, and I have seen the nests of both in 1898 and 1899. 15. I shot a specimen of the King- Eider in December, 1896, among- the Thousand Islands, near the Fiddler's Elbow. The bird was in very poor condition, and probably came from the Hudson Bay reg-ion, where I believe the Brunnich Guillemots, that have visited the St. Lawrence recently, come from, and not from the Gulf. 16. A specimen of the Horned Grebe in full summer plumage was shot by Mr. Stratford, of King-ston, in April last, in Cataraqui Marsh. 17. The Least Bittern spends the summer in the marshes be" tween Kingston and Brockville, and last year I saw eggs that were taken near Kingston in June. 18. Cooper's Hawk occasionally nests in the same district, but is not common. 19. The Saw- whet Owl very rarely breeds. I have seen one that was caught among the Thousand Islands in June. 20. The Screech Owl (Scops asi'o) is becoming quite common, and the young are met with every year. 21. Two specimens of the American Barn Owl have recently been obtained near Kingston. One of them was caught alive by D. Breakey, of Wolfe Island, and is now in his possession. 22. The Black-billed Cuckoo. — This bird is very common in the vicinity of Kingston, as it also appears to be down the St. Lawrence. It frequents moist and marshy locations, and is not often met with far from water. This year I met with two nests each containing one egg on the 8th and 9th of June respectively. The nest was the frailest affair possible. With regard to the nest of the 9th June, I visited it again on the 12th, and to my surprise it contained five eggs, whereas only four could have been ex- pected. In addition to this the nest was greatly improved and strengthened since the visit of June 9th, and showed plainly that the bird had added to it after laying her first egg. 23. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo occasionally nests around Lans- downe, Ont., but is rare. Three eggs appear to be the usual number laid I saw nests in 1898 and 1899. 72 The Ottawa Naturalist. July ORNITHOLOGY. Bird Notes. The following- observations on the arrivals of birds were prac- tically all made by Mr. Geo. R.White. All members of the Ottawa F'ield-Naturalists' Club having- notes of observations of birds and their habits are asked to send them to me at the Experimental Farm, that they may be compiled and published in The Naturalist. During the remainder of the season many interesting facts may be noted regarding the nesting of birds, and these would be especially welcome. Notes should be sent in between the 15th and 20th of each month. 1900. April 24 — Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineahis. Mr. Geo. R. White. 24 — Flicker, Colaptes auratn's. Mr. Wliite. 27 — Chimney Swift, Chcetura pelagica. Mr. White. 27 — Fox Sparrow, Passerella iliaca. Mr. White. 29 — White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichin albicoIHs. Mr. White. May I — Barn Swallow, Chelidon erythrogaster. Mr. White. 2 — Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regidus calendula. Mr. White. 3 — American Osprey, Pandion haliaetus caroli?iensis. Mr, White. 4— Spotted Sandpiper, ^r^«//5 macularia. Mr. White. 4 — Hermit Thrush. Turdiis aonalaschkce pallasi. Mr. White. 5 — Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon lunifrons. Mr. White. 5 — Purple Martin, Prague suhis. Mr, White. 6 —Broad-winged Hawk, Buteo latissimus. Mr. White. 7— Bank Swallow, CUvicoln riparla. Mr. White. 10 — Kingbird, Tymnnus tyrannus. Mr. White. 10 — Olive-backed Thrush, Turdus ustidatus sivainsonii. Mr. White. 10— Myrtle Warbler, Dendroica coronata. Mr. White. 10 — Parula Warbler, Compsothlypis americana. Mr. White. 10 — White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys. Mr. Wiiite. 10 — American Sparrow Hawk, Falco sparverius. Mr. White. 10 — Wilson's Thrush, Turdus fuscescens. Mr. White. II — Cape May Warbler, Dendroica tigrina. Mr. White, li — Yellow Warbler, Dendroica cestiva. Mr. White. II — Black and Yellow W.\rbler, Dendroica maculosa. Mr. White. I goo] Macoun — Ornithology. 73 II — Yellow Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmaruvi hypochrysca. Mr. White. II — House Wren, Troglodytes aedon. Mr. White. II —Black-throated Blue Warbler, Dendroica ccemlescens. Mr. White. II — Crested Flyc.\tcher, Myiarchns crinHus. Mr. White. II — Cedar Wax WING, Ampelis cedrorum. Mr. White. 12 — American Bittern, Botaums lentiginosiis. Mr. White. 12 — Greater Vellow-legs, Totanus melanolencus. Mr. White. 12 — Solitary Sandpiper, Totanus solitarius. Mr. White. 13— Baltimore 0^\o\.v.^Icterus galbula. Mr. White. 13 — Savannah Sparrow, Ammodramus sandnnchensis. Mr. \\'hite. 14 — Catbird, Galeoscopies carolhiensis. Mr. White. 14 — Oven-bird, Seiurus aitrocapillus. Mr, White. 15 — Black-poll Warbler, Dendroica striata. Mr. White. 15 — American Redstart, Setophaga mticilla. Mr. White. 15 — Bay-breasted Warbler, Dendroica casta nea. Mr. White. 16 —Nashville Warbler, Hehuinthophila mjicapilla. Mr. White. 17 — Black-throated Green Warbler. Dendroica virens. Mr. White. 17 — American Woodcock, Philohela minor. Mr. White. 18 — Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pennsylvanica. Mr. White. 18 — Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica hlachhumice. Mr. White. 18 — Pine Warbler, Dendroica vigorsii. Mr. White. 19 — American Herring Gull, Lams argentatus smithsotiiamis. Mr. White. 19 — Black and White W.\rbler, Mniotilta varia. Mr. White. 20 — Night Hawk, Chordeiles virginianus. Mr. White. 20 - Scarlet Tanager, Piranga erythromelas. Mr. W. T. Macoun. Mr. White, 23rd, 21 — Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Trochilus colubris. Mr. White: 24- -Mourning Warbler, Geothlypis Philadelphia. Mr. White. 24 — Canadian Warbler, Sylvania canadensis. Mr. White. 24 — Least Flycatcher, Empidonax tnini?nus. Mr. White. 24 — Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus. Mr. White. 27 — Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Mr. Macoun. W. T. Macoun. 74 The Ottawa Naturalist. July BOOK NOTICKS AND REVIEWS. Canadian Surveys and Museums, and the need of increased EXPENDITURE THEREON. Proceedin_srs of the Canadian Institute. (Issued as a separate pamphlet, 15 pp.) By B. E. Walker, Esq., F.G.S., President. Following up the remarks made by Dr. G. M. Dawson in his inaugural address as President of the Royal Society of Canada in 1894, Mr. Byron E. Walker, of the Canadian Institute, Toronto, (a Society which has now reached the 51st year of its existence,) draws attention to two very live practical questions of the day, viz., National Surveys and Museums. The place that these occupy in the economy or government of a country like ours, their value and the extent to which they ought to be supported and fostered, has been treated in a masterly way in the above paper read before the Institute last November. Mr. Walker first reviews the work of the early explorers and surveyors of British North America, in which he notices the names 6i Admiral Bayfield (1814), Lieut. Baddeley and- Sir Richard Bonnycastle (1829), Prof. A. Lockwood, Ma)or Samuel Holland (1748) and his grand-nephew Lt.-Col. Joseph Bouchette (1832), Dr. J. J. Bigsby (1819), Samuel Hearne (1769-1772), Sir Alexander MacKenzie (1789), Capt. George Vancouver (1790-1795), David Thompson (17S4-1850), Sir John Franklin (1819-1822), Capt. John Palliser, Blakiston, Hector and G. Gladman (1857-9), Henry Youle Hind, W. H. E. Napier and S. H. Dawson (1857), John Keast Lord (1868-82) and Dr. G. M. Dawson (1874-75). Mr. Walker then calls attention to the United States surveys and explorations carried on by the Federal Government before the establishment of a regular geological survey. He then describes in broad general outlines the geological and survey work carried on in the old Province of Canada under Sir William Logan, Alex- ander Murray, James Richardson, Robert Bell, E. Billings, A. Michel and Thos. Macfarlane. Referring to work done in other provinces he notices that of Dr. Abram Gesner (1838-1844), J. F. W. Johnston (1850), L. W. Bailey (1864), G. F. Matthew, L. W. Bailey and C. F. Hartt (1865). Work in Labrador (1861) by igooj Book Notices and Reviews. 75 Prof. H. Y. Hind is then recorded, also his work in 1864 in New Brunswick published 1865. The labours of Charles T. Jackson and F. Alger (1832), tog^ether with those of Sir William Dawson in Nova Scotia (1855- 1878), are also referred to, as also tho.se of Prof. H. A. Nicholson (1874-5) fof Ontario, and later, reports of the Mining- Bureau of Ontario, under Mr. Archibald Blue, and those of British Columbia by the various officers of that province. Mr. Walker, who, from his high scientific attainments and accurate knowledge of geology — with special reference to that captivating department, palaeontology — and from his prac- tical experience as a financier, has watched the work carried out by the Geological Survey in Montreal, and later, in Ottawa, can speak intelligently on this subject. He then goes on to describe the present work of the Geological Survey, with its natural history departments, as at present constituted. He points out that " we should have the Dominion and Provincial surveys working out the topography in'a tar more minute manner, and on a greatly larger scale than at present." He points out also that no surveying party is complete without a trained geologist and a trained naturalist attached thereto, to record the economic resources of the district surveyed. As to Public Museums, Mr. Walker has a word in season, knowing as he does, the value of Canada's mineral resources, being also well acquainted with the hundreds of thousands of the specimens that have been examined, reported upon, and analyzed by the Canadian Geological Survey, which specimens are now- stored in the tottering and inadequate building, the so-called National Museum on Sussex street, Ottawa. After describing what a National Museum should contain (p. 14), he goes on to say: •'The necessity of a new building at Ottawa is admitted. The crime of leaving exposed to fire, in a wretched building never intended to protect anything of value, the precious results of over fifty years of collecting, has been pointed out in a recent official report ; but the Government seem deaf to such claim. I can only repeat that we are rich enough to bear the cost with ease, but we are not intelligent enough to see our own interest in spending the money." 76 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July Such a statement oug-ht to awaken the attention and con- sideration of our legislators. I am led to understand that the Canadian Institute has distributed a copy ot Mr. Walker's most valuable memoir to each member of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, In face of the statements made, of their strict accuracy, and of the great necessity of a new building, it is earnestly hoped that the Government will see its way clear to place a sum in the estimates for a National Museum, wherein to properly house the invaluable national collections in g'eology and natural history. Such a building would enable the department to carry on its work in a much more efficient manner. — ^H. M. A. A PRIZE FOR MOSQUITOES. In view of the important bearing mosquitoes are now known to have upon the spread of certain diseases among human being's, a more complete knowledge of these little-studied insects is thought to be very desirable. The subject was vividly brought before a large Ottawa audience by Dr L. O. Howard, the United States Entomologist, at the recent meeting of the Royal Society of Canada, and the Council of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club have decided to offer a prize to the member of the club who makes •during the present season the largest collection of species of mosquitoes. These collections are to be exhibited on the Ento- mological evening in next winter's lecture course and may be made in any part of Canada. The specimens must be pinned and each one labelled with the locality and date of capture. THE OTTAWA [(ATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, AUGUST, 1900. No. 5. ADDITIONS TO THE NORTH AMERICAN AND EURO- PEAN BRYOLOGY (MOSS-FLORA). By N. CONR. KiNDBERG. Since the publication of my " European and North American Bryineae (Mosses) described" (1897, December), I have received many mosses, collected by Prof. John Macoiin in the Rocky Moun- tains, 1897, in Cape Breton, 1898, in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (with Sable Island) 1899 ; by Mr. /. M. Macoiin in Alaska ; by Rev. A. C. Waghome'xn Newfoundland ; by Prof. C. F. Baker in Alabama and Colorado ; by Mr. C. M. G. Machado in Portug^al ; by Mr. F. A. Artaria in Italy; by Dr. H. V. Aniell, Mr./. Persson and Mr. P. Lai'sson in Sweden. The results of the new discoveries in America are very interest- ing because of new localities for many species, described by myself as new, sometimes from a sing^le place. Also several ones described as sterile, have been found in a fruiting state. Several species discovered in British Columbia, have since been found in other districts. There are also some new species and varieties to be added. A species belonging to the family Hypopterygiaccr, hitherto not found above the Tropic of Cancer, was collected on Queen Char- lotte Islands, situated in lat. 56*^, off the coast of British Columbia, in the Pacific Ocean. Some species are new both to America and Europe. I will also propose some remarks concerning some families and genera following my treatise " Studien iiber die Systematik der pleurokarpischen Laubmoose," Botan. Centralblatt, 1899, 2 and 12. { y8 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August " Meteoriaceae, " differing- from Hookeriacese only in pen- dent stem, may be considered as a group ( MeteoriecB ) of this family ; but the genus Papillaria (not found in N. America) may consist of a proper family, PapillariacecB. " Thuidiaceae " are rather a group ( Thuidiecc ) of Hypnaceae. " Hypnum nigrescens, Swartz" was related by Jaeger and Sauerbeck to Papillaria, by myself (Bot. Centralblatt, 1899, 2) to a new genus, Tricholepis. Its characters are : Capsule exserted; peristome double; endostome "tricholepide" (with filiform segments). Calyptra glabrpus. Leaves limbate by short cells ; inner cells minute, shortish, faintly or not papillose; costa short, double. Stem pendent. " Meteorhan nigrescens Mitten." Lesq. et James, Manual of the Mosses of N. America. It is to be placed in the family Cryphfetacecp. ** Leskea tris/is Cesati," was found in Japan in fruiting state, describedas Haplohymenium Sieboldi, by Dozy and Molkenboer, but identified by Mitten. Its name may be Haplohymenium iriste (Cesati) Kindberg, Revue Bryol., 1899, 2, so characterized : Capsule globose; endostome wanting; lid rostrate; pedicel red. Calyptra rough and hairy. Stem without paraphyllia. Leaves crenulate by papillae ; alar cells indistinct. Dioecious. Family : A nom,odontacece. Hypopterygiacece. Secondary stem (as in many hepatics, viz. Jungermania) furnished with amphigastria. Leaves quite di- stichous (not subdistichous as in Neckeracecr); primary stem rhizomatic (subterranean), the secondary tree-like ; leaves smooth; cells subrhombic; costa simple ; capsule symmetric; endostome " dicholepide stenolepide" (with carinate and narrow segments); calyptra cucullate; pedicel smooth. Pleurocarpous. HYPOPTERYGIUM, Bridel. I. Hypopterygium canadense, Kindberg, Revue Bryol,, 1899, 2. Branch-leaves small, crowded and appressed, broadly ovate apiculate, dentate nearly all around, narrowly limbate by hyaline narrow cells; other cells subrhombic, about 0.02 mm.; costa short; 1900] KiNDBERG — Bryology. 79 ainphigastria rotundate dentate limbate; costa confluent with the* point. The naked part of stem about i cm., the upper one scarcely long-er. Capsules and male plants unknown. - Rocks near Pacific Ocean r.; Amer. Canada, British Columbia, Queen Charlotte Is- lands, 189S (growing- together with the fern Asplenium viride): Dr. Newcombe, communic. Macoun. Cryphceu pendula, Lesquereux & James. Outer peristome reddish. Alabama : C. F. Baker. Anomodon platyphylLus, Kindb.; A. rostratus (Hedwig) Schimper; Alabama: Baker. A. sicbrigidulns, Kindb., and A. tectorum (Al. Braun) Kindb. — Canada, Rocky Mountains : Macoun. Fabronia Wrightii^ var. brachyphylla, Kindb., with ovate- oblong leaves, yellow peristome and lid of capsule furnished with longish often curved point, and F. Ravenelii, Sulliv. Alabama : Baker. Neckeni Macounii, C. Muller & Kindberg (related to A^. obtusata by Mitten) is generally dioecious and rarely fruiting ; it is not easily (as N.Jamesti, Schimper) distinguished from A', tricho- tnanoides in a barren state.— Newfoundland (sterile): Waghorne. Thelia coftipacia, Kindb.; Leskea polycarpa, Ehrhart. L siib- obtusifolia, C. M. & Kindb.; L. Cardoti, Kindb. — Alabama : Baker. Leskea obscura, Hedwig. Canada : Macoun ; Alabama : Baker; Europe, Italy, Argegno by Lago di Como : F. A. Artaria {'■'■ Pseudoleskea Artaricei,'' Thdriot, Revue Bryol., 1891, i). New to Europe. Entodon seductr'ix (Hedw.), C. M. ; E. compresstts (H.), C. M. ; E. brevisetus (Hooker & Wilson), Kindb.; Platy- gyriiun repens (Bridel), Br. Eur. Alabama : Baker. Pseudo- leskeella catenulata (Bridel), Kindb. Canada, Rocky Mountains : Macoun. New to America. Thuidiuni delicatiilum (L. ), Mitten, var. repens, with creeping stem. N. Brunswick : Macoun. T. Philiberti, Limpricht, with smaller capsule than in T. delica- tuliiyn and allied species. N. Brunswick : J. Moser, com. Macoun. (" T. laxifolium (Schwaegr) " is doubtful, perhaps Eurhynchium refiexum. ) Pylaisia intricata (Hedw.), Schimp.; P. polyanthos (Schreber) Br. eur. -Alabama : Baker. Raphidostegitini laxepahilum (\^QSC[. & Jam.), Kindb. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. .Alabama : Baker. 8o The Ottawa Naturalist. [August Rhynchostegium semilatum (Hedw.), Kindb. Alabama : Baker. Plagiofhecium psevdo-latebricoldy Kindb. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. P. ulbn/um (C. M.), Kindb. Alabama : Baker. 2. Plagiothecium denticulatum (L.). Br. Eur. * P. Ruthei, Limpricht. Capsule larger and more curved ; cilia sometimes appendicu- late ; pedicel otten 4 cm. long; leaves large, generally without point, nearly undulate when dry. Not very distinct. Europe, Sweden! " Germany" : Limpricht. 3. Plagiothecium curvifolium, Schliephacke; Limpricht. Leaves somewhat small, often partly recurved, ovate-oblong with a short often curved point; capsule not large, faintly oblique ; cilia present ; lid usually muticous. Monoecious. Resembling P. Isetumand nearly agreeing with P. aciculari-pungens, C. M. & Kindb. Rocks r. ; Eur., Norway! Sweden : P. Larsson ; "Ger- many" : Limpricht. 4. Calliergon subgiganteum, Kindberg, n. sp. Differs from C. gigantetim in monoecious inflorescence, from C. cordifolium in stems or branches pinnate and leaves auricled — from both in the very short costa of the leaves, in stem-leaves generally nearly indistinct, in branch-leaves reaching to the middle. America, Canada, "Sask., Prince Albert," 1896, (fruiting): Macoun. 5. Calliergon subeugyrium, Renauld et Cardot. Hyptmni, Ren. et Card. ; Calliergon, Kindb.; C. dilatatiforme, Kindb., in litt. ad Macoun. Leaves broadly ovate or rotundate, obtuse, not decurrent ; cells generally sublinear, except the finally reddish alar ; costa usually short and double ; capsule arcuate, very strangulate. Monoecious. Tufts often brownish or golden glossy ; stem with- out rhizoids. Habit of C. molle. "Agrees with C. palusfre \n capsule not annulate." Rocks in water r. Amer. , Canada, N. Brunswick and Cape Breton: Macoun; Newfoundland: Waghorne. Caniptothecium acuminatum (Hedw.), Kindb. Pedicel of I goo] KiNDBERG — Bryology. 8 1 capsule smooth ; Eurhvnchiutn illecehrum (Beauvois), Milde. Alabama : Baker. Eurhynchiiun glaciale (Br. Eur.), Kindb., and h. lahradoriciim Kindb. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. E. scabi-idum, Lindb., new to America. Newfoundland : Waghorne. 6. Eurhynchium lusitanicum, Kindberg, Revue Bryol., 1898, 6 and 1899, I. Stem decumbent, not creeping"; paraphyllia numerous ; leaves subdistichous, nearly crowded, not distinctly decurrent ; alar cells oblong-, generally not well-defined ; other cells sublinear ; costa vanishing near middle or somewhat above it ; stem-leaves from cordate base attenuate with longish subpiliform point, sinuolate below middle, entire above ; branch-leaves oval-oblong acuminate apiculate, denticulate all around. Perichetial leaves small, narrow. Capsule small, piriform, sub-symmetric, strangulate ; pedicel smooth. Monoecious. Resembles E. incgdpolitantun but pecu- liarly differing through the present paraphyllia. Europe, Portugal, Coimbra : C. M. G. Machado. 7. Brachythecium cyrtophyllum, Kindberg, in Ottawa Naturalist, IV, 63. Leaves small and short, not plicate, sometimes recurved at one side, not or slightly decurrent. loosely appressed when dry. Stem-leaves round-ovate or ovate, subobtuse or short-acuminate acute, generally entire ; branch-leaves ovate, longer acuminate, denticulate all around ; alar cells small, numerous, green or some- times pellucid ; upper cells narrowly rhomboidal, inner sublinear ; costa vanishing near middle. Dicecious. Capsules not seen. Tufts green, faintly glossy. Resembles B. Fendleri, which differs in all leaves denticulate long-pointed or long-acuminate, etc. Elm logs r. Amer., Canada, Ontario : Macoun. Brachythechun Hillehrandi, Lesquereux. Branch-leaves sub- ovate acute, slightly acuminate ; alar cells hyaline, well-defined from the green ones. Alabama : Baker. Brachythecium ^'^ fagineum'' (H. Miiller) was "by Spruce named Hypnum fenuicaule,'' Has not muscol. gall.; its name must therefore be changed to Brachythecium tenuicmile, but 82 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August '• Eurhynchiu7n gertnanum^ Groebe (Limpricht)" is a much young^er name. Campylium ufiicostatvm, C. M. & Kindb. Alabama : Baker. C. sinuo/atiim, Kindb. Capsule small, curved ; perichetial leaves costate, gradually long-acuminate, not striate. Canada, Cape Breton: Macoun ; N. Brunswick: Moser, com. Macoun ; Ala- bama : Baker. Myuriiun Boscii (Schwajgr.), Kindb. Alabama : Baker. M. hebridariini^ Schimper (i860) was " already — 1844— in Seubert, flora azorica, by Schimper named Hypnnni HochstettcriJ" Braithwaite, Brit. Mossflora, 1899, P- ^8. It must be named Mytirium Hochstetteri. Azores, San Miguel : Machado. Hypnwn fliiviatile , Swartz. Alabama and Wisconsin : Baker, H. Bambergeri, Schimper. Canada : Macoun. H. vcrnicosmn, Lindb., may be considered as a proper species. 8. Hypnum exannulatum, Guembel. *H. pseudo-lycopodi- oides, Kindberg, n. subsp. (n. sp. ?). Agrees with H . exanyiulatum in leaves long decurrent and their large hyaline alar cells; but leaves are shortish and entire with generally obtusate acumen; costa thicker; capsules not seen ; \resembles in habit CaLliergon ochraceiun, but stem-leaves are plicate, as in Hypyium lycopodioides. Amer., Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. 9. Hypnum polycarpon, Blandow ; Limpricht. Differs from H. Kneiffii in leaves generally striate, with shortish acumen; cells narrow. Eur. r. Italy, Como : Artaria; "Germany": Limpricht. Hypyium Sendhieri, Schimper in part ; Boulay. It may be ac- cepted as a proper species. England (fruiting): G. A. Holt. Hyptnim plicatilc (Mitten), Lesq. & Jam. * H. rcvolutuyn (Mitten), Lindb., with large capsule and broad paraphyllia and sometimes at insertion pale leaves (as in H. plicatile). Colorado (fruiting) : Baker. Hypnum Renauldi, Kindb. Alabama : Baker In this species cilia of endostome are variable, either smooth or appendiculate, as in H. curvifoliuni and H. Lindbergii. In the figure oi H. curvi- IQOO] KiNDBERG BrYOLOGY. 83 folium in Si.llivant's Icones cilia are smooth but described as appendiculate. Hypniim Jertile, Sendtner. Canada : Macoun ; Sweden, Oroust : P. Larsson. 10. Hypnum imponentiforme, Kindb. N. sp. Stern green, irregularly divided ; branches complanate ; para- phyllia broad ; leaves not recurved, entire, short-acuminate, not striate; those of stem ovate-oblong, the other ones longer ; inser- tion pale yellow; cells sublinear except the distinct hyaline but not numerous alar. Dicecious. Capsules not seen. Resembling H. pratense in habit, but allied to H. iinponens. Turfy soil r. Eur,, Italyi near Como, 1897 : F. A. Artaria. 11. Hypnum pseudo-circinnale, Kindberg N. sp. Differs from H. circinnale : Leaves yellow at insertion, not striped ; alar cells hyaline ; stem-leaves tapering to a longer acumen; capsule cylindiic, nearly straight; teeth pale yellow; stem with few rhizoids. Logs r. Amer., Canada, N. Brunswick: Macoun. 12. Hypnum recurvatum, Lindberg &Arnell; Stereodon, Ldb. & Arn. ; Hypnum, Kindb. Differs from H. dovrense : Leaves more gradually acumi- nate, sometimes more recurved, often denticulate at acumen; alar cells more distinct. Monoecious. Stem more regularly pinnate ; tufts green or yellowish, not glossy ; capsule small. Eur. r., "Finland"; Brotherus. Asia, Siberia: Arnell. Fontinalis disticha, Hooker & Wilson. Alabama : Baker. F. microphylla, Schimper; Limpricht and F. bnltica, Klinggraeff; Germany : Liitzovv, com. Warnstorf. F. giganiea, Sulliv., and F. seriata, Lindb. (fruiting). Canada, Cape Breton ; Macoun. Catharinea angiistata, Bridel. Alabama : Baker. C. Haiisknechtii (Juratzka & Milde), Brotherus. Canada, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island: Macoun. England, Surrey: E. F. Shepherd, com. Waghorne. Fissidens Ravenelii, Sulliv. Canada, Owen Sound : Macoun. F. subbusilaris, Hedw. Alabama : Baker. f 84 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August 13. Fissidens rufulus, Bryol. Eur. * F. Warnstorfii, Fleischer (as species). Leaves loosely disposed, less opake, with paler, often hyaline borders ; capsules not seen. In water r. Eur., Italy : Fleischer, com. Warnstorf. " Leucobryum " Leanum (Sulliv.), Kindb., appertains to Campylopns, agreeing- in capsule and calyptra, not described by SuUivant & Lesquereux, or to Brothera C. Mueller. Dicranum fnlvum, Hooker. N. Brunswick (fruiting) : Moser. com. Macoun. D. Scottii, Turner. Spitzbergen : com. Mr. K. Johansson. D. siibiilifolmtn, Kindb. N. Brunswick : Macoun. D. pachyneuron (Molendo), Kindb.; capsule as in D. lortgi folium. Italy, Como (fruiting) : Artaria. D. consobrinum, Renauld & Cardot. Canada, Ontario and Nova Scotia, Sable Island: Macoun. j D. scopariiforme, Kindb. Canada, not r. : Macoun ; Colorado : Baker. D. pallidum, Bruch & Schimper. Alabama : Baker. D. uTtdulifolium, C. M. & Kindb.; capsule smooth. Canada (fruit- ing): Macoun. D. Roelln, Kindb. Canada, Vancouver Island : Macoun. D. majus. Smith, var. uudulascens, Kindb., Oefversigt of K. V. A. (Roy. Swed. Acad, of Sciences) foerhandl. 1899 n. 10; leaves often undulate. Sweden, near Rostock in Dalsland! D. caynptophyllum, Kindb., var. with smaller capsules and porose leaf-cells. Canada, Rocky Mountains : Macoun. D. longirostre (Weber & Mohr). Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. D. malic, Wilson. Canada, Labrador : A. P. Low, com. Macoun, D. algidu?n, * D. subspcidiceutn, Kindb. ; capsule sulcate. Canada : Macoun. D. crispulum, C. M. & Kindb.; capsule sometimes strumose; Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. D. rhabdocarpum, SuUiv. ; capsule erect and nearly straight. Colorado (fruiting) : Baker. D. groenlandicum, Bridel. Canada, Labrador: A. P. Low, com. Macoun. Dicrmiella cerviculutula, Kindb.; capsule generally erect- symmetric. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. Grimmia prolifcra, C. M. & Kindb.; stem not always pro- liferous. Alaska: J. M. Macoun. G. robuslifolia, Kindb. Canada, N.Scotia: Macoun. G. pulviuata {L.), Smith, var. cana. Ala, bama : Baker. I goo] KiNDBERG BrYOLOGY. 85 14. Grimmia (Pseudo-Racomitrium, sect. Trichophylloidese) subcurvula, Kindberg-, K. V. A. foerh. (Transactions of Roy. Swed. Acad, of Sciences) 1899 n. 10. Resembling" G. pulvinata in capsule smooth, pedicel curved and inflorescence monoecious, also in rectangular cells at the angles of leaves. Diff"ers in : leaves somewhat longer, broadly ovate-lanceolate; inner cells distinctly sinuous ; h lirpoint short; tufts low, about I cm., blackish when dry, small and not pul- vinate. Schistose rocks r. Eur., Sweden, near Rostock in Dais- land! 15. Grimmia pilifera, Beauvois. * G. longidens, Philibert, Revue Bryol., 1898. Differs principally in " monoecious inflorescence."' Rocks r. Eur., "Switzerland, Culmann" : Philibert, 1. c. 16. Grimmia subflaccida, Kindberg. N. sp. Agrees with the European G. flaccida (Notaris) Lindb., not found in America, in brittle orange peristome and channelled ovate- lanceolate entire leaves with not distinctly sinuous cells ; differs in leaves smaller, recurved nearly all around, muticous or with short rough hairpoint ; also in capsule narrower. Lid and calyptra not seen. Rocks r. Amer., Canada, N. Brunswick: Macoun. Racomitrium microptis, Kindb. Canada, N. Scotia ; Macoun. '■'Gnmmia calyptraia, Hooker," was already (1867) by Hampe, in Bryol. Mittheil aus dem Herbarium, p. 5, related to Cosci- nodon, but named C. Hookeri. Brachystelitun incurviim (Schwaegr.), C. M. Alabama : Baker. B. incarvum, * B. glyphomitrioides (Balsamo & Notaris), C. M. Italy: Artaria. Barhida nitida (Lindb.), Juratzka. Sweden, near Rostock in Dalsland! New to Sweden. B. Sohnsii, Schimper, var. with per- current costa of leaves. Portugal, Coimbra : Machado. B, Vahlii Schultz. Italy : Fleischer, com. Warnstorf. B. macrostegia {Trichostoimim, Sulliv.) was by Mitten, Musci Austro-Amer., p. 45, named Rhamphidium macrostegimn and related to DicranacecB. Didymodon trachyneuron, Kindb. ; capsule cylindric ; lid conic acute. Canada, Owen Sound (fruiting) : Macoun. 86 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August 17. Didymodon azoricus, Cardot. — Trichostomum, Cardot. Mosses of the Azores and of Madeira, in report of the Missouri Bot. Garden, 1897; Didymodon, Kindb. Plants very small; stem 2-2 mm. DiflFers from D. triurnphans: leaves larger; costa not excurrent; capsule oblong; pedicel pale red. Portugal, Coimbra : Machado. New to Europe. 18. Didymodon crispulus (Bruch), Wilson. * D. mucrona- tulus, Cardot, as proper species. — Trichostomum, Cardot, moss, of the Azores; Didymodon, Kindb. Stem 5-7 mm. high ; leaves sublinear-oblong : capsule (not described by Cardot) subcylindric ; lid rostellate ; pedicel pale red. Portugal, Coimbra, 1868: Machado. New to Europe. Weisia rutilans (Hedw.), Lindb. * fF! Ganderi, Juratzka. Sweden, Nacka, near Stockholm : J. Persson. 19. Weisia Perssoni, Kindb., in Botan. Notiser, 1898. Differs from W. viridiila : leaves not involute ; capsule con- stricted to a very small mouth ; pedicel short. (Peristome is present.) Rocks r. Eur., Sweden, Scania (Skaone) near KuUaberg 1898: Apothecary J. Persson. Encalypta alpina, Smith. Canada, Rocky Mts. : Macoun. OrthotrichuTti Bolanderi, Sulliv., and O Watsoni, James. Canada, Rocky Mts.: Macoun. O. Kingii, Lesquer. Colorado: Baker. O. affine, Schrader ; * O. suhlimbatuni^ Kindberg, new name ('* O. stibidatum, C. M. & Kindb.," not " <9. suhulahun Mitten," Musci Austro-Amer.) var. sublceve, Kindb., with nearly smooth leaves. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. O. psilocarptim, James, and O. diaphaman (Gmelin), Schrader. Alabama : Baker. O. cupulatian, Hoflfman. Colorado : Baker. Zygodon Mougeoiii, Br. Eur. Canada: Macoun. Z. Sullivantii, C. M.; leaves recurved. Canada, Cape Breton • Macoun. New to Canada. 20. Anoectangium canadense, Kindberg; n. sp. " A. Horn- schuchii," Austin in Herb. Macoun ; "Zygodon caespitosus (Mitt.)," Kindb. Eur. and N. Amer. Bryineae, p. 316. Leaves small, channelled, involute, smooth and (also at base) entire, from broad base abruptly acuminate ; only lowest basal igoo] KiNDBERG — BRYOLOGY, S^ cells narrow; costa scarcely exciiVrent ; tufts dense, rusty-red with green branch-tops, about 5 cm. high ; capsules not seen. Amer., Vancouver Island, 1875 : Macoun. Cinclidium Macounii, Kindb. Canada, " Sask., Prince Albert" 1896 : Macoun. Bartramia vhidisshna, Bridel, and B. circinnulata, C. M. & Kindb. Alaska, St. Paul's Island : J. M. Macoun. Philonotis Arnellii, Husnot. Sweden^ near Uddevalla (fruit- ing): P. Larsson. Not before found in fruiting state. Funaria serrafa, Beauvois, and Phvscomitriiim Langlotsii, Ren. & Card. Alabama : Baker. Timmia mcgapolitana, Hedwig ; sheath of leaves (as in T. norvegica) papillose at back. Norway, in Dovrefjeld, truiting! New to Scandinavian countries. 21. Timmia austriaca, Hedwig; *T. comata, Lindberg. Ap^rees with T. austriaca also in sheath of leaves smooth at back, as in T. arctica and T. bavnrica ; differs from T. austriaca in smaller leaves and short stem. Eur., " Finland" : Brotherus ; (Asia, Siberia: Arnell). Mtiiuni hymenophylLoides Hiibener. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. M. rostraturn, Schrader, is usually synoecious. M. ctispidatum {Schreher), Leysser, var. pachyphyllum, Kindb.; leaves crowded, short-decurrent, crisped when dry ; stolons wanting. * Alabama : Baker. M. ciliare (Greville), Lindb. ; distinct from M. affine in leaves with ciliiform teeth, inner leaf-cells rotundate. Canada, Cape Breton : Macoun. New to Canada. M. rug'icnm, Laurer. Newfoundland : Waghorne. M. sphiosum (Volt), Schwaegr. Canada : Macoun. Colorado : Baker. M. spinulosum, Br. Eur.; *M. macrociliare^ C. M. & Kindb. Alabama : Baker. Bryiim Fercheii, Funck, and *^. stiecicum, Kindb. Sweden, Dalsland! B. Duvalii, Voit. Alaska: J. M. Macoun. B. Reycri, Breidler ; allied to B. alpimim (not to B. ve?itricosum) ; leaves indistinctly limbate. Austria: Sreidler, com. Warnstorf. B.fusciim Lindb. Sweden : J. Persson. B. occidentale, Sulliv. ; spores nearly 0.02 mm. — B. gevimuligcruni, Kindb. Canada, Ottawa, clay bank : Macoun. B. meeseoides, Kindb. Newfoundland : Waghorne. Eur., " Norway" : Dixon, Revue Bryol., 1899. 88 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August • B. lacustre, Blandow {*^ B. inaritimurn, Bomanson," Arnell). Sweden, Gestrikland : Arnell. B. Knowltoni, Barnes ; leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate ; tufts not always tomentose. N. Scotia, Sable Island, Macoun. B. globosum, Lindberg. Newfoundland (forma monoica: Waghorne. New to America. B. Grr^?/?/, Schliep- hacke [B. grandijJorum^ Arnell). Sweden : Arnell. B. lapponi- cum, Kaurin; tufts sometimes 3 cm. high. Sweden, Gestrikland : Arnell. B. (W^ebera) Lcscurii, SuUivant. Alabama : Baker. B. (AA^ebera) cameutn L. Vancouver Island : Macoun. Bryum " atropurpnreum ,'" Schimper, not Wahlenberg, is to be named B. bicolor, Dickson. 22. Bryum Donii, Greville ; * B. humile, Kindberg, Revue Bryol., 1898, 6. Stem not very distinct, with small buds ; leaves smaller, nearly entire, narrowly limbate and not distinctly recurved ; cap- sule smallish, brown or blackish, not shining ; pedicel 1.5 cm. Dioecious. Eur., Portugal, Coimbra ; Machado. 23. Bryum microstegioides, Kindberg. N. sp. Differs from B. submicrosiegium : leaves short-acuminate; capsule with large lid ; endostomial membrane very low ; cilia short, smooth. Amer., Alaska, PribylofF Islands, 1891 : Palmer. 24. Bryum (Webera) pseudo-carneum, Kindberg. N. sp. Differs from B. carneum in leaves shorter, ovate-oblong, and long-decurrent; costa percurrent. Capsules not seen. Sandy soil. Amer., Canada, N. Scotia, Sable Island: Macoun. 25. Bryum (\A^ebera) atropurpureum, Wahlenberg, H. Lind- berg, acta societ. pro fauna et flora fennica, t. xvi, n. 2, 1899. Differs from B. carneum principally in stomata of capsule superficial and generally narrower leaf-cells. Amer., Brit. Colum- bia, Revelstoke and Cascade Mountains : Macoun. New to America. Eur., "Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Germany": H. Lindberg, 1. c Andrecea yiivatis, Hooker. Greenland : com. Macoun, 1899. New to America. Ephcjnerum Ruihei, Schimper. Germany : Ruthe, com. Warnstorf. Linkoeping, Sweden, March, 1900. J 900] Royal Society of Canada. ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. Popular Science Lecture, 1900. ' One of the most enjoyable features of the annual meeting of the Royal Society of Canada this year wa^- the Popular Science Lecture delivered on the evening of May 31st by Dr. Leland O, Howard, the United States Entomologist, of Washington. The lecturer is so well known as a leading and accurate authority on practical entomology that it is unnecessary to refer to that feature of the lecture. Few of our members, however, had previously had the privilege of meeting Dr. Howard and hearing him speak. For over an hour the large audience which filled the lecture hall of the Normal School was charmed with the masterly way in which the subject was presented and the beautiful slides with which it was illustrated were explained. Dr. Howard is a fluent and easy speaker, and from his perfect acquaintance with his subject he was able to convince his hearers of the importance of a knowledge ot the life-histories of common insects and the bearing ol this know- ledge in many unthought-of ways, upon the ordinary affairs of everyday life. In introducing his subject the lecturer spoke of the wide com- mercial distribution of injurious insects, which, in these modern days of rapid ocean voyages, is becoming so pronounced that quarantine services are being established in different countries in the endeavour to bar out injurious insects from abroad. As an example, he described briefly the recent carriage of the San Jose Scale upon nursery stock and fruits to many different quarters of the world, and mentioned the legislation which had been effected in different countries from this incitive. It was his purpose, how- ever, he said, not to dwell so much upon this aspect of economic entomology, as to show the good which could be accomplished by well planned introductions of beneficial insects from one country to another. He told once more the well-known story of the in- troduction of the Lady-bird beetle Novius cardinalts from Australia by the United States Department of Agriculture, and the resulting • saving of the citrous crops of California which had been threatened with extinction by the White or Fluted Scale, an insect which had 90 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August been previously accidentally introduced from the same country. He showed how more recently the same insect had been introduced into the Hawaiian Islands, Egypt, Cape Colony and Portugal with equally beneficial results. He described other importations of beneficial insects into the United States, and dwelt at some length upon his recent introduction and establishment in California oi Blasiophaga grossorum, the well known fertilizer of the Smyrna fig crop in oriental regions. He then took up briefly the subject of insects as carriers of disease, reviewing the many instances in which the function of insects in this direction has been recently proved. He dwelt more especially on the relations between mosquitoes and malaria, in- dicating comparatively the biology of Culex and that of Anopheles, showing for the first time a series of pictures illustrating a com- plete life-round oi Anopheles quadrimaculatus. He also spoke at some length on the carriage of typhoid germs and the germs of other diseases of the alimentary tract by flies, showing a number ot illustrations of dipterous insects reared from human excreta. Dr. Howard closed his address with the exhibition of a num- ber of slides relating to protective resemblance and protective mimicry, many of which were entirely new. The chair was taken by the Patron of the L-lub, His Excel lency the Governor-General of Canada, who at the end of the lecture spoke in highly appreciative terms of the manner in which so much useful information had been presented to the audience. A hearty v^ote of thanks was proposed by the Hon. Sidney Fisher, the Minister of Agriculture, who complimented the audience on having had an opportunity of hearing Dr. Howard's delightful lecture. He reminded them of the great losses suff"ered every year by farmers from the attacks made upon their crops and live stock by injurious insects. He was much pleased to notice the growing appreciation of the science of economic entomology among all classes. The yearly losses among farm crops were enormous. For instance, it had been estimated that the annual loss in the United States of America alone footed up the astonish- ing amount of $300,000,000, while in Canada the loss has been placed at not less than ten per cent, of every crop that is grown. It is, however, now well known that much of this loss can be pre- igoo] The Billings Memorial. 91 vented by following the practical advice given by such men as the lecturer of the evening. He felt proud that Canada in no way lagged behind other countries in the prosecution and appfication of these studies. The Dominion Entomologist was doing excel- lent work, highly appreciated both at home and abroad. Dr. Fletcher, the Dominion Entomologist, in seconding the vote of thanks, considered it an honour to have an opportunity of expressing his opinion, not only of the lecture of the evening, but of the splendid work which Dr. Howard had been doing for so many years. He drew attention to some of the triumphs in Applied Entomology in which that gentleman had taken an active part, mentioning, among other things, the discovery of practical remedies for some of the worst enemies of the farmer and fruit grower, the improvement of machinery for the distribution of insecticides and many other kindred subjects. He felt very happy this evening on account of the honour which was being paid his dear and particular friend, Dr. Howard, as well as the science of Entomology, and which was well attested by the presence of His Excellency the Governor-General, the Hon. Minister of Agricul- ture, and the large audience now before him, as well as by the rapt attention which was paid to every word uttered by the lecturer and the hearty and frequent applause. The skilful manipulation of the lantern by Mr. J. P. Dunne was favourably commented upon by Dr. Howard. THE BILLINGS MEMORIAL. A Portrait to be Placed in the Geological Survey Department. Under the auspices of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club last fall a movement was inaugurated with the object of perpetu- ating, in some visible and tangible manner, the memory of one of Canada's greatest sons, Elkanah Billings, who departed this life some 24 years ago. Elkanah Billings, well known in old Bytown and in Ottawa's earliest days as a barrister, was an ardent natur- alist and geologist. He published the "Canadian Naturalist and Geologist" for several years, first in Ottawa, but later in Montreal, whither Sir William Logan had induced him to go and join him in investigating the geological resources of old Canada (Quebec 92 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August and Ontario). For twenty years Mr. Billings laboured in the Survey, and by his good work achieved for Canada as well as for himself a reputation in the scientific world of which the greatest might be proud. The name of Billings in the field of geology and especially in the domain of palaeontology is a household word and one synonymous with accuracy of observation and descrip- tion. He possessed in a high degree an analytic as well a? a synthetic mind. He has left behind him monuments of imperish- able fame in the species and genera he described. Except for the many fine collections now exhibited in the show-cases of the National Museum on Sussex street, which, as has been frequently pointed out, run the daily risk of being destroyed by fire, there is nothing to recall his memory in our midst. As an outcome of a suggestion made by the President of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club a committee was appointed with the object of having a suitable portrait of the late Mr. Billings painted. Mr. Charles E. Moss, R.C.A., has been requested to paint this portrait. He has just returned from Montreal, where he found an excellent likeness of Billings hanging in the rooms of the Natural History Society of Montreal which that society has generously placed at the disposal of the artist, and has given Mr. Moss every facility possible for the completion of his work. Many of Mr. Billings's old friends are still living, and the geologists of Ottawa and Canada are joining hands in doing honour to such an eminent scientist. It is the intention to present the portrait to the Geological Survey Department to be placed in the Museum in a suitable spot not distant from the numerous collections on which he devoted so much care, time and study with such glorious results. Billings's works are constantly quoted to-day in Europe as well as in America, and as Canadians we are justly proud of him. Among the Canadians on the committee appointed by the Club are the names ot Sir James Grant, Dr. J. F. Whiteaves, Mr. B. E. Walker (Toronto), Prof. John Macoun, Dr. James Fletcher, Mr. W. J. Wilson and Dr. H M. Ami (convener). With a view of enlisting the co-operation of all the friends and numerous admirers of the late Mr. Billings and giving all an oppcrtunity of taking part in this memorial the committee have thought it desirable to announce that all subscriptions, however small, will be accepted. When the list is complete, the names of the subscribers will be published in The Ottawa Naturalist. Contributions may be sent in to any member of the committee. It is expected that the presentation will take place in the near future. I goo] Poole — Ants and Bees. 93 NOTES ON THE PERIODICAL APPEARANCE OF ANTS IN A CHIMNEY AND ON AN UNUSUAL SITE FOR A HUMBLE-BEE'S NEST. By Henry S. Poole, F.G.S., Stell.irton, N.S. (Read before Nova Scolian Institute of Science, Fob. 12, 1900.) For many years, possibly fifteen, a flight of ants has annually tumbled down a chimney in the office of the Acadia Coal Co. at Stellarton, N.S., g^enerally on Aug-ust 24th, sometimes a day or two later, and occasionally a few ants again appear as late as the middle of September. Fires are used in the chimney each winter. A tinned roof has been put on the office since the ants first were seen, and the top of the chimney has been thoroughly repaired by masons without finding a nest. The habitat selected seems un- usual, and so far has not led to the similar adoption by colonies of other chimneys in the same building. In a grove of young fir trees, about eight feet from the ground, 1 noticed one autumn a large Robin's nest in unusually good repair. On pulling down the tree tcp the nest was found to be full, with a dome-shaped cover. It was occupied by Humble- bees and a small comb with larvai in it. Such a situation for a Humble-bee's nest, I am told, has been seen before, but appar- ently it is unusual. IN MEMORIAM. It is with deep regret that we have to record the death ot one of our members who for many years has been an active field- botanist in the little-worked island of Newfoundland, the Rev. Arthur C. Waghorne, late of the Bay of Islands, Nfld. Owing to ill-health, Mr. Waghorne resigned his charge this spring and died recently at Gordon Town, in Jamaica. " Mr. Waghorne came to Newfoundland over twenty-five years ago He was a man of strong personality, devoutly attached to his Church and her interests, and was an ardent student of Botany, especially that of this country. His contribu- tions to this science have made his name well and widely known outside of this island, many plants peculiar to it bearing his name." — St. John's Evening Telegram. 94 The Ottawa Naturalist. [August CONCHOLOGY. On an Addition to the Mollluscan Fauna of Canada. By Bry.-vnt Walker, Detroit, Mich., U.S.A. While examining recently a suite of Gastrodonta jntUtidentata^ Say, from Ottawa, received several years ago from Mr. Gilbert Heron, I was surprised to find a single well marked specimen of Gastrodonta latnellidens Pils. This little species was described in 1898 from specimens collected in 1897 in the Great Smoky Moun- tains of Tennessee. It was then supposed to be peculiar to the southern Appalachians. But recently specimens have been recorded, from Deering, N.H., and Greenwich and Litchfield, N.Y. This new find extends its range far to the north and west of any previous records. It is very rare, even in Tennessee. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with it, it may be stated that in size and shape it is very similar to G. multidentata, but instead of having two or three radiating rows of separate teeth on the internal base of the shell, there are two or three long, radiating, somewhat flexuose lamellae similarly situated. In the Ottawa specimen referred to, these lamella? appear to be more slender and rather more bent than in specimens from the original locality. It is quite possible that this species is more widely extended than has been supposed, but has been hitherto overlooked from its great similarity to G. ynultidentata. It is very desirable that collectors should carefully examine their suites of that species for specimens of lamellidens. Any new localities should be reported at once for publication in the proceedings of this society. BOTANY. Botanical Club of Canada — Annual Report for the year May 20th, 1898, to May 20th, 1899, issued as part of vol. v. Trans. Roy. Soc. Can., 2nd series, 1899- 1900 (35 pages). Distributed March 31st, 1900, by Dr. A. H. MacKay, General Secretary-Treasurer. This report contains a sketch of the history of " Phenological Observations in Canada." It also indicates the progress of botanical research, points out the results obtained in Newfound- I goo] Botany, 95 land, as well as in Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. This is followed by "Observations in a Wild Garden," by Dr. G. U. Hay, of St. John, New Brunswick, besides notes on work done in Ontario. Prof. Macoun's researches in the " Cryptogatnic Flora of Ottawa,'' published in The Ottawa Naturalist, Mr. James M. Macoun's " Contributions from the Herbariurn of the Geological Su?^ogan landed at Halifax on May 31st from England. He visited the Joggins on his way to Gasp6 and made a complete section of the rocks there. He next visited Dorchester, Richi- bucto and Mirimichi and examined the coast for fifty miles from Bathurst, and also along the south side of the Bay of Chaleurs from Jacket River to Pockshaw. Then he worked between Cape Rosier and Paspebiac. Murray arrived from England in May and called at Kingston, but commenced his work at Toronto by examining the country between the Credit -and Don rivers. Then he went to Lake Simcoe and explored its shores. From Simcoe he went down the Severn River to Lake Huron and along the coast to Coldwater River and as far as Penetanguishene. Returning to the narrows of Lake Simcoe and to Barrie he struck west through Notta- wasaga Township following the Niagara escarpment for a short distance but returned to the Lake Ontario shore, visiting Scar- borough, Pickering and Whitby. Next from Oakville he traced the rocks west through Esquesing and back by Nelson and Tra- falgar Townships. Subsequently he examined the couutry lying I goo] DowLiNG — Summary of the Field-Work. 109 between the Grand River as far up as Paris, and Lake Ontario east to the Niagara River. 1844. Logan and Murray left Montreal in May and proceeded to Gasp^ arriving June ist. They commenced work at Cape Rosier and continued to Cape Chat and then ascended the Chat River to the vicinity of the Notre Dame Mountains. Crossing to the Cascapedia River, their Indians built bark canoes, in which they descended to the mouth and coasted to Paspebiac. From there Murray was sent up the Bonaventure River, while Logan visited Port Daniel and returned to New Richmond. The coast was examined to Dalhousie and the Restigouche to Campbellton and thence to the mouth of the Matapedia. Up this stream they journeyed to Lake Matapedia and from thence by road the country was examined on foot. 1845. Logan this year commenced the exploration of the Ottawa River. With J. McNaughton he surveyed not only- the main river but several tributaries. He ascended the Riviere h la Graisse and the Riviere du Nord some distance, the Mississippi River to Pakenham, the Madawaska to High Falls, and the Bonnechere to Jessups Rapids. From Portage du Fort he went around Calumet Island, and passing Coulonge Lake reached Pembroke, From the mouth of the Mattawa he made a visit to Lake Nipis- sing. Murray spent the summer in Gasp6 where he made surveys on the Matane, Ste. Anne and St. John rivers. Later in the year he collected fossils at Thetford, Ont. 1846. The nucleus of a museum was this year moved from 40 St. James street to Little St. James street, Montreal. Logan and Murray, with McNaughton as surveyor, formed a party to explore the north shore of Lake Superior. JameS Richardson is said to have accompanied this party. De Rottermond, who had been acting as chemist, resigned. I lo The Ottawa Naturalist. [September Dennison Olmstead, Jr., received the appointment but owing- to ill health could not assume the duties. He died early in the year. T. Sterry Hunt, at the age of 21 years, received the appoint- ment and came to Montreal the following- F'ebruary. 1847. Log-an devoted most of the season to work on the south side of the St. Lawrence, from Montreal and Lake Champlain to the Chaudi^re River. Murray went to explore the northern shore of Lake Huron. He took four Indians from Montreal. Going by Detroit he took steamer to Sault Ste. Marie and from there explored the north shore and the Manitoulin Islands to Manitowaning. He left La Cloche on August i6th to survey the French River to Lake Nipissing. Hunt spent part of the summer with Logan, but afterwards went to Lachute and Grenville to collect fossils from the lime- stones of the Ottawa. He visited ihe falls on the Gatineau and examined the rocks there, and also the iron-ore at Hull. From there he went to Perth and examined the apatite deposits of North Burgess. The mineral, perthite, was analyzed by his pupil, Mr. Hartley. Mineral waters were collected from Caledonia Springs, Tuscarora, Charlotteville and Ancaster, Ont. 1848. Logan spent only two months in the Eastern Townships when he determined to pay a visit to Lake Huron. There he examined the Bruce Mines, and with Marray ascended the Thessalon River before returning to the Eastern Townships. Murray made a short excursion up the Grand River to Gait and then went to Goderich, examining the rocks on the Ashfield, Maitland and Bayfield rivers. Then he proceeded along the lake shore to Sarnia, and by Lake St. Clair to Windsor. Then from Detroit he took steamer to Sault Ste. Marie and joined Logan at Bruce Mines. Separating from Logan on September 5th, he went along the coast to Spanish River and ascended it for sixty miles. igoo] DowLiNG — Summary OF THE FiELD-WoRK. iii After examining^ the Wallace mining location he coasttd the east coast of Georgian Bay to Penetanguishene and Collingwood. Hunt visited mineral springs at St. Leon, Caxton, Champlain, Quebec, Varennes, Sabrevois and St. Benoit, Que. 1849. Logan and Murray spent most of the summer in the Eastern Townships between the Chaudi^re and the Temiscouata road. As coal was supposed by some to occur near Murray Bay and Bay St. Paul, Que., and petitions for borings had been sent to the Legislature, Logan was asked to make an examination. This took some time, and he did not finish his work in the Eastern Townships. Hunt accompanied Logan on the St. Francis and Chaudi^re rivers, but later visited portions of Jthe west to collect soils. Mineral waters also occupied part of his attention. 1850. The Provincial Act creating the Survey expired in March, and it was August before it was renewed. Logan was part of the time in London superintending the collection of exhibits for the Exhibition, but later continued the examination of the gold-bearing gravels of the Chaudiere. Murray spent the summer in Western Ontario tracing the rocks of the Niagara escarpment. Hunt was with Logan in the Chaudiere district. In Sjptem-. ber he went to the north shore of the St. Lawrence below Quebec and then returned to Montreal to continue laboratory work. Richardson collected fossils at Cornwall. 1851. Logan went to England with the exhibit but returned in August, then, with Richardson, studied the outcrop of the Pots- dam sandstone near the St. Lawrence. Murray worked between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers east of Gananoque. He made a short excursion to Ennis- killen Township, in Western Ontario, to examine into the reports of mineral pitch or petroleum. He also collected fossils at Ed- wardstown and in Township Beverly, Went worth, Ont. . j-lV^Ny^ KM: 112 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September Hunt spent some time with Murray in Eastern Ontario, and then went to the village of St. Nicholas, Kamouraska County, Que., to examine metamorphic rocks. Several short excursions were also made to collect mineral water. 1852. The museum was moved in the spring from Little St. James street to St. Gabriel street, to a building formerly the residence of the Hon. Peter McGill. Logan went to England but returned in May and began an examination of the north shore of the St. Lawrence between Mon- treal Island and Cape Tourmente. Murray examined the country between Kingston and Lake Simcoe tracing the outcrop of the lower fossiliferous rocks. Richardson assisted Logan between Montreal and Three Rivers. Hunt continued his investigations of the mineral waters of Canada. 1853- Logan examined the rocks at Grenville, Que. Murray ascended the Muskoka River and descended by the Ottawa to AUumette Lake. Then he ascended the Bonnech^re and passed from it to the Madawaska. Ascending the York or south-west branch he crossed several tributaries of the Ottonabee River and came out by Balsam Lake. Hunt made analyses of dolomites and limestones and also continued his investigation of the mineral waters of Canada. Richardson collected fossils at Stafford, Fitzroy and Ottawa, Ont, 1854. Logan studied the rocks at Point Levis and collected material for the Exhibition at Paris. Murray examined the Meganatawan River and commenced the survey of Lake Nipissing. Hunt examined the triclinic felspars of the Laurentian and also various ores. Richardson and E. Billings collected fossils at Point Levis, Que. igoo] DowLiNG — Summary of the Field-Work. i 13 1855- Log^an and Hunt went to Paris. A larg-fe collection of grap- tolites from Levis were taken to Prof. James Hall, at Albany, to be described. Murray, with Prof. Hall, visited some of the fossil localities in Ontario. Then he went to Lake Nipissing- by way of Lake Huron and surveyed the west coast from the outlet. Hunt reported on iron-ores, cement, plumbago, peat, and the extraction of salt from sea-water. Richardson and Billings collected fossils at Levis, Que., and Thetford, Ont. 1856. Logan was knighted January 29th. He stayed most of the summer in Toronto trying- to get another Act passed tor the Survey. Murray, with Mr. Brown as assistant, ascended the Sturgeon River from Lake Nipissing for 52 miles, then the Maskinong^ for 30 miles, and crossed to the Wahnapitae River and back to the French River. Another survey was made from the Wahnapitae by the Whitefish River to Lake Huron. Hunt continued laboratory work. E. Billings was appointed Palaeontologist on August ist. Richardson went in June by way of the Mingan islands to Anticosti. At both places examinations were made, but the greater part of his time was spent at the latter place. Logan seems to have made him a short visit and collected fossils. Capt. E. D. Ashe was employed on longitude determinations by means of the electric wire. R. Barlow, one of the engineers employed on the construc- tion of the Victoria Bridge, was appointed chief draughtsman June 1st. S. Barlow was employed to assist his father at mapping, appointed Dec. ist. 1857- Logan was detained in Montreal at the meeting of the,Ameri- can Society for the Advancement of Science. He went to Gren- 114 jt^HE Ottawa Naturalist. [September ville in October and spent a few weeks tracing the limestone bands of the Laurentian. Murray, with J. Johnston as assistant, made a survey of the mouth of the French River and then went to the Bruce Mines and Echo Lake to study the copper deposits. A survey was made of Echo Lake and River, the northern part of Great Lake George, Little Lake George and Garden River. He also collected fossils at Gait and Woodstook with Billings. Richardson, with Scott Barlow as assistant, surveyed the Magdalen River and the coast of Gasp^ to Gasp6 Bay. A traverse was made from Griffin Cove to Peninsula Cove in Gasp6 Bay, then up Dartmouth River and to Grand Etang. R. Bell was another of the party and collected objects of natural history on which he specially reported. After the St. Lawrence was reached, the party crossed over to the Saguenay and ascended to Lake St. John. Richardson and Barlow walked across to Bay St. Paul. Billings ascended the Ottawa and Bonnech^re rivers, collect- ing fossils. At Eganville he engaged }. McMullen, and with him visited Lake Clear in Sebastopol Township. He then returned and ascended the river to Golden Lake. The rocks of the fourth chute were examined while the water was shut off". Later he visited Gait, Woodstock and Port Colborne, Ont. Hunt continued his chemical work on the dolomites of Canada and also investigations on fish manures. Ashe reported on his longitude determinations. 1858. Logan spent six months in the Grenville region and ascended the Rouge River to Iroquois Chute. In August he attended the meeting of the American Society for the Advancement of Science. D'Urban accompanied Logan to Grenville and collected natural history specimens. James Lowe was employed by Logan in the Grenville region. Murray and Johnston, with S. Barlow as assistant, continued the examination of the copper deposits north of Lake Huron be- tween the coast and Thessalon River. They connected their work to Echo Lake and around Rock Lake. They also examined the coun- igoo] DowLiNG — Summary OF THE Field- Work. 115 try and coast between Thessalon and Mississagui Rivers and sur- veyed the upper part of the latter. Richardson, with Bell as assistant, explored the country between Riviere du Loup and Ste. Anne de Monts and along the coast to Marsouin River. He ascended the Ste. Anne River and crossing overland to the Barn-shaped Mountain he continued to Lake Matapedia and descended to Dalhousie, collecting fossils down to Patapedia. He ascended the Patapedia and crossed by the lakes of the Metis River to the St. Lawrence. Before return- ing to Montreal he visited several townships south of Rimouski and Trois Pistoles, Cacouna and Riviere du Loup. Hunt continued work on the intrusive rocks of Montreal Mountain and the metamorphic Silurian rocks of the Eastern Townships. 1859. Logan went to the Mingan Islands in June, and in July to Burlington and St. Alban's, Vermont. In September he was in Carleton Place, and afterwards visited Acton and the copper mines ot the Eastern Townships. Richardson accompanied Logan, but afterwards visited Perry, Lubec and Bangor, Maine. He also collected fossils in Western Ontar-io at Bosanquet and Thetford. Murray was also employed most of the summer along the north side of the Ottawa River, taking latitude observations and making surveys in the vicinity of Grenville. Bell was sent to explore the north shore of Lake Huron in the vicinity of the Manitoulin Islands, where he also collected fossils. Returning to Owen Sound he traced the outcrop of the Silurian along the Niagara escarpment to Lake Ontario. Billings collected fossils near Montreal. i860. Logan continued making measurements at the copper mines in Acton and Milton Townships, Quebec. He records observa- tions on the Island of Montreal, and visited Orleans Island and Point Levis in September. Richardson made a long traverse along the north shore of ii6 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Straits of Belle Isle, from near the Ming-an Islands. Murray was instructed to make explorations west of Sault Ste. Marie, on the coast of Lake Superior. His assistant this year was R. Bell, who mad 3 many of the necessary surveys, such as a triangulation of Bachewanung Bay and Goulais Bay and River. A visit was paid to the Limestone Mountains near Lake Anne on the south shore. After Murray had sailed for Sarnia, the party under Bell coasted the north shore to Bruce Mines, calling at the Manitoulin Islands, and collecting fossils From Collingwood, Bell ran several long lines of levels through the townships south, and also established heights of points on .the Blue Mountains. The surface geology of this region was also studied. Lowe made surveys in Grenville and Chatham Townships, Quebec. 1861. Logan was mostly in the Eastern Townships, but in Novem- ber he visited Phillipsburgh and Swanton, Vermont, making many sections of the Phillipsburgh series, which were published in the report of 1S63. Richardson spent the season in Newfoundland on the west shore. Murray visited several points along the escarpment near Owen Sound, and then went up the lake to Drummond Island, calling at Colpoys Bay, Gun Point and Flowerpot Island. The first part of September he was on Barr River and Lake George. Bell worked out the distribution of the formations westward of the Niagara escarpment in the counties of Grey, Bruce, Huron, Wellington, Waterloo, Perth, Brant and Haldimand. He also collected specimens for the International Exhibition of 1862. Lowe made surveys in the vicinity of Grenville, Quebec, in De Salabery Township. 1862. Logan was a juror at the International Exhibition, London, but made a short trip in August to Point Levis and Island of Orleans. In September he paid a visit to Phillipsburgh ar^ Swan- ton, Vt, igoo] DowLiNG — Summary OF THE Field Work. 117 Murray traced the limestone band north of Lake Huron in the Huronian roCks east of the Mississagui River and upward to Wah- comatagamingi Lake above Salter's baseline to the contact with the Laurentian ; also eastward along- the Marsh River to Blind River and north-west to the narrows of Macomang Lake. Richardson spent a short time in Newfoundland visiting Burnt Cape, Table Head and St. Paul Bay. Bell surveyed the Dartmouth, York, Malbay and Grand rivers in Gasp6, Que., and also made large collections of fossils at Port Daniel and Gasp6 Bay. Lowe made surveys in the vicinity of Grenville, Que. 1863. Logan visited Sherbrooke, Ascot and Point Levis in February and was in the vicinity of Montreal during June and July, but visited Point Levis and Orleans Island in August. In the fall he visited Albany, N. Y. Richardson and Bell spent the summer in the Eastern Town- ships. Murray, with S. Barlow as assistant, explored the country north of Lake Huron, surveying the following : Lakes Macomang and Tandanaidah on Blind River, and from Trout Lake to the Little White River. Lowe made surveys in Ponsonby Township, Que. T. C. Weston was collecting fossils with Richardson and visited Maine with Logan. In autumn R. Bell was appointed Professor of Natural Science at Queen's College, Kingston. 1864. Logan visited Quebec in May, making measurements and examinations at Point Levis. In July a short trip was made to the Eastern Townships. The publication of the Atlas to the report of 1863 obliged him to go to England, where he remained till spring. Richardson spent the summer in the Eastern Townships. Murray left early in the spring for his new field of lab Newfoundland. ii8 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September Weston was sent to Troy, N.Y., to collect fossils. He spent some time at Bald Mountain and Glen Falls. Lowe made surveys in St. Jerome Township, Que. 1865. Logan arrived in Canada early in June. He ascended the Petite Nation River in September, but was recalled to Montreal by his brother's death. Richardson spent the summer in the Eastern Townships. A. Michel, mining- engineer, was ent;aged to explore the gold- bearing gravels and quartz veins of the Chaudiere River, Que. Bell was employed during the summer on an exploration of Manitoulin Island. H. G. Vennor, accompanied him. Thomas Macfarlane examined the north-east shore of Lake Superior and visited the copper mines of Portage Lake, Michigan. Weston was sent to Anticosti and Silver Brook, Gasp6, to collect fossils. Hunt made assays of gold-ores from the Chaudiere River, Q"^- . ... Lowe made surveys in Suffolk and Petite Nation Townships, Q"e. THE KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE. ( G\ m nocladus Canadensis. J By Rev. John Morrison, London, Ont. When on my holiday tiip in the summer of 1898, L visited my friend H and his beautiful home on the east side and closely overlooking the little river Sydenham, just over the boundary of Lambton County, in Kent. As I tied up my horse I was surprised to notice beside the driveway some five or six very fine specimens of the Gymnocladus Canadensis, about four inches in diameter and fifteen feet high. On enquiring where he got them, I was doubly surprised when told that fifteen years before he dug them up about a mile away on the western side of the river believing them to be walnuts; that only quite recently had he discovered they were not walnuts, and he did not know what they were, nor did anyone veho had looked at them, and one man urged him to cut them down lest they might be of a poisonous nature. I informed him what they were, and not having time then I was compelled to wait a year. Then, when on my annual holiday I spent some iqoo] Morrison-:-Kentucky Coffee Tree. 119 time searching for them, but failed to find them. On August 7th this year I went there determined if there were any of them grow- ing in the locality to find them, and after some time spent in a most careful search I was rewarded by finding on a plat of ground not more than one hundred feet square about fifty specimens. About a dozen will average from three and a half to four and a half inches in diameter and twenty-five feet high. There are some fifteen or sixteen others from one inch and a half to two and a half in diameter and ten to twelve feet high ; the others are from one foot to four feet in height, and there are some six or eight stumps averaging six inches in diameter where the largest ones in the group have been cut down. They grow upon a little knoll on the edge or rather in the midst of a swampy piece of ground about a quarter of a mile west of the River Sydenham and within half a mile of the northern boundary of Kent County, or on the old maps of twenty-five years ago within the southern boundary of Lambton. I searched care- fully to find traces of a parent tree from which they might have come but failed. That they are native and not planted I am satis- fied. I conversed with a member of the family on whose farm they grow ; she has lived there for many years and her father before her — one of the old settlers. She knew nothing at all about them, and as they are half a mile from the farm-house and build- ings, it is another evidence they were not planted, at least by any white person within two generations. In Macoun's Catalogue of Canadian Plants, pt. I, p. 123, we are told of their being found . (native, I take it) on Pelee Island, and nowhere else in Canada unless planted. Now, what are we to believe regarding this group — nearly one hundred miles as the crow flies north-east of Pelee Island ; has a young tree or a seed been planted there generations ago by the neutral Indians, who are belitved to have used Pelee Island as part of their highway from the south into Canada (see Archaeological Report, 1899, pages 32-33) an 1 so started the group now found, or are they the " last of their race " driven south by the cold climate which suc- ceeded the warm semi-tropical climate which once prevailed over all this country ? Who will solve this riddle ? In any case the discovery is a most interesting one to the lover of the rare and strange in the scientific field, and I gladly respond to the invita- tion of Prof. John Macoun, the Dominion Botanist, (to whom I reported my find) to write it up, believing there are many who wil} be interested to know ot it, I20 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. A Hint to Gardeners. — The well-known Cutworms which destroy so many young plants in spring are the caterpillars of several kinds of moths which lay their eggs in autumn upon weeds and other rubbish too frequently left unattended to by gar- deners at this time of the year. The destruction of all weeds and the burning up of all old plants from which the crop has been gathered, such as the vines of peas and beans, the haulms of potatoes and tomatoes, the stems of Indian corn from which the ears have been gathered, etc., etc., will prevent the eggs of many Cutworm moths from being laid in a garden where the caterpillars might do harm the following year. The experience of many has shown that gardens kept scrupulously clean of weeds and useless vegetation are much freer of Cutworms than those which are left in a neglected condition during the autumn months. Not only are the moths ot Cutworms attracted to this rubbish to lay their eggs, but many other insects gather around them seeking places to pass the winter. The early destruction of all weeds of course also prevents the ripening of seeds. The bonfire is a good servartt of the gardener and should be kept constantly at work throughout the autumn, burning up his worst enemies, weeds and rubbish, with many insects' eggs, and turning them into useful fertilizers. BOTANICAL NOTES. Jewel Weed, hyipatiens fulva. — The form of this plant with spotless flowers has been growing along the sidewalk in Anne street (or as it has been lately called Gladstone avenue) and also along the St. Louis dam road to the Experimental Farm, in small numbers tor several years. During the past summer several patches have been noticed, and those of our botanists who wish to obtain specimens can now collect them in fine condition.— J. F. EXCURSION TO KIRK'S FERRY. The last excursion of the season will be held on Saturday next to Kirk's Ferry, a beautiful locality on the Gatineau River. It is hoped that many of the ladies and gentlemen attending the Normal School Jubilee will be present. The train will leave the Union Depot at 1.30 p.m. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, OCTOBER, 1900. No. 7. NOTES BEARING ON THE DEVONO-CARBONIFEROUS PROBLEM IN NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK. (Based on Dr. David White's recent Report entitled : — " The Stratigraphic Succession of the Fossil Floras of the Pottsville Formation in the Southern A nthracite Coal Fields of Pe7insylva?iia.'') By H. M. A.Mi, of the Geological Survey of Canada. From recent studies pursued with great care and diligence, extending over a period of many years in the Floral zones of the Pottsville formation in Pennsylvania and the Eastern States, Dr. David White, Palaeozoic palaeobotanist to the United States Geo- logical Survey, has given to the world a most elaborate and com- prehensive report in Part II. of the 20th Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey — General Geology and Palae- ontology— in which the results there given have considerable bearing upon and are closely in line with the results obtained in Canada during the last few years by the writer. In May, i8g8, I had the good fortune of visiting the Anthra- cite coal-fields of Pennsylvania, in company with Dr. David White, and of examining several of the sections in the Carbon- iferous system of that state, with a view of obtaining evidence that would tend to throw light upon the Devono-Carboniferous problem in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Near the town of Pottsville, at Maunch Chunk, Tremont, Brookside, and many other localities, typical sections were observed, and a number of 122 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October characteristic fossils obtained. The succession of strata in the Pottsville Gap gave the following series of formations in descend- ing order : Carboniferous Devonian Coal Measures. Pottsville. Maunch Chunk. Pocono. Catskill. Chemung. The above constitutes an unbroken though somewhat tilted series which, if followed down, would be found to be continuous with the Silurian system without any apparent unconformity or break, and presenting a series of estuarine and terrigenous deposits of the Carboniferous system, from the Coal Measures proper down to the Pocono, (the probable equivalent of the Horton formation of Nova Scotia according to Sir William Dawson, Dr. White and other authorities), followed by the terri- genous and estuarine Catskill series, and in close contact with, but preceding in point of time the marine sediments of the Chemung and earlier Devonian strata, with their brachiopod and crinoidal faunas. The Pottsville formation underlies the productive Coal Mea- sures* of Pennsylvania just as the so-called " Millstone grit" of Nova Scotia underlies the productive Coal Measures of that pro- vince. Workable seams of coal occur in the Pottsville (Lykens series) as well, yet not so extensively, as in the Coal Measures ot Pennsylvania. In Canada, the Millstone Grit (or Westville forma- tion of the Pictou coal field) is held to be for the most part barren of productive coal seams. A detailed study of the fossil floras which accompany and characterize the productive Coal Measures of both the Upper and Lower Coal Measures of Pennsylvania and elsewhere, by Dr. White, has enabled him to locate definitely the horizon of the various seams met with, and I have no doubt that similar detailed palaeobotanical studies in Canada would also yield important and definite results. * The term Coal Measures is not by any means a good formational name, it is one conveying- economic and petrographical relations, and should not be used in nomenclature. igoo] Ami — Devono-Carboniferous. 123 In the present volume and report by Dr. White, among- the " Pottsville " plants described and recorded by him are noticed quite an array of species characteristic of that formation, which were however originally described from the "fern ledges" of New Brunswick, andfor the most part, referred to the "Middle De- vonian." This reference was very probably based more on apparent metamorphic and petrographic grounds than for any other reason. The importance of this finding of Dr. David White's cannot be too strongly emphasized, and in calling attention to the forms in common between the Pottsville formation and the Lancaster formation, at this juncture, the writer presents it as an additional argument in favour of the Carboniferous age of the New Brunswick deposits known as the Mispeck Group, Cordaites shales, " Fern ledges," the " Little River Group" the " Dadoxylon sandstone" and the " Bloomsbury conglomerate." The strata constituting these "fern ledges" containing a large and abundant flora and fauna has been recently designated by the writer as the Lancaster formation. The following species from the Pottsville formation of Penn- sylvania also as identical or allied species in New Brunswick, whilst a number of them have also been recorded from Nova Scotia. 1. Trigonocarpon Dawsoniaman, D. White. On page 910 Dr.White describes this new species and writes: "it agrees so completely with the fragments figured by Dawson from the ' fern ledges' at St. John as ' fruit or bracts of uncertain nature,' that I have ventured to include a portion of the latter material as well as the same species." Dr. White further adds : " The figures given in the ' Devonian Flora' will serve to illustrate the Pottsville material which I name in honour of the late distin- guished Palaeontologist of America." 2. Cardiocarpon obliqimm, Dawson.* 3. Cardiocarpon cotnutuni^ Dawson.* 4. Cardiocarpon Girtyi, D. White. (Allied to Cardiocarpon Bailey i, Dawson.)* *The species marked with an asterisk (*) were described by Sir William Dawson in Q. J. G. S., Vol. XVIII, 1862, pp. 296-330, London, Eng. 124 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October 5. Cordaites angustifolms, Dawson (possibly young- leaves of C, ■ Robbil, Dawson).* 6. Cordaites Robbit, Dawson.* 7. Anmdaria laiifolia, (Dawson)* Kidston. 8. Anmdaria acicularis, (Dawson)* Sp. (Under this species I note that Dr. White employs the term "Lancaster formation" suggested for the strata described as " Middle Devonian" from the " fern ledges" of Lancaster, New Brunswick.) 9. Aster ophyllites parvidus, Dawson.* 10. Netiropteris Pocahontas^ var. inceqiialis, n. var. Allied to Cardiopteris Eriana^ Dawson,* and Odontopteris squamosa, Dawson, which, bye the bye, has been called O. Dawsoniana by S. A. Miller. Dr. White adds that it deserves a special comparison with the Neuropteris Pocahontas group of Potts- ville form's. 11. Megalopteris plumosa, D. White, n. sp. This species closely resembles M. Dawsoni, Hartt, from the so-called Middle Devonian of New Brunswick. 12. Alethopteris discrepans, Dawson.* This species, originally de- scribed from the "fern ledges" of New Brunswick occurs in the Pottsville formation at the New Lincoln Mine. Of specimens from this place, Dr. White says : they " appear to agree in all' respects with specimens from the 'fern ledges' at St. John." "The occurrence of this species," he adds, "together with Sphenopteris Harttii, S. pilosa and Pecopteris serrulata, Hartt, in the Upper Lykens division of the Pottsville formation points strongly to the close relationship between the flora of the latter and that of the supposed Middle Devonian beds at St. John, a relationship so close as to convince me that no appre-j ciable diff"erence in age exists between the plant beds at the! two localities." (p. 886.) ' 13. Pecopteris serrulata, Hartt. 14. Sphenopteris pilosa, Dawson.* 15. Spheyiopteris Harttiiy Dawson,* igoo] Ami — Devono- Carboniferous. 125 Besides the above 15 Canadian so-called Devonian species ecorded by Dr. White from the Pottsville formation in Pennsyl- vania in his description of the species from the southern Anthracite :oal field, he also records additional evidence, which in the writer's udgment, points clearly to the view advocated in referring- the Lancaster formation of New Brunswick with its abundant flora Df ferns and with insects, etc., to the Carboniferous and not to the Devonian System. (6, Annularia laxa, Dawson, sp. {^Asterophyllites laxus, Dawson*), referred to in a subsequent paragraph, adds another species to the list of forms common to the Pennsylvania Carbon- iferous and the New Brunswick strata. In his summary of conclusions regarding the floral zones of he Pottsville formation Dr. White devotes paragraph 14 to the ollowing statement, which will be of special interest to the students of systematic geology, not only of America, including he United States and British North America, but also of Europe. He thus writes : " The flora of the Pottsville formation is so far identical, in DOth its genera and specific composition, with that from the sup- posed Middle Devonian beds of St. John, New Brunswick, as to eave no room for a great difference in the age of the latter. In "act, the plants from the ' fern ledges ' include a flora essentially equivalent to that of the Sewanee zone, which appears to be epresented by a portion of the section at St. John." Such a statement, coming from so eminently qualified a Avorker in and student of Palaeozoic floras, taken into considera- :ion with the report of Mr. R. Kidston, of Sterling, Scotland, on 'ossil plants, from strata belonging to the Riversdale formation of Mova Scotia (the recognized equivalent of the Lancaster forma- tion of the New Brunswick "fern ledges ") compels me to re affirm the statement made in the " Summary Report of the Director of he Geological Survey Department for the year 1897" (p. 135), that these formations " hold plants and animals which in their broad general character resemble those of the Eastern American Carboniferous." This statement was intended to convey the idea that the Riversdale and Union formations had a Carboniferous facies and ia6 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October . i were, in addition, the equivalents of those fossil plants from Lan- caster in New Brunswick, " held to be of Devonian age," thus implying- that whatever one series was, the other must be also,, and hence the Lancaster " fern ledges" must also have a Carbon- iferous facies though coloured Devonian. Later, in the '* Summary Report of the Director of the Geo- logical Survey Department for 1898" (p. 181), I made the following statement : " Regarding the general results of this Devono- Carboniferous problem from a palaeontological standpoint it would appear, in reviewing the value and amount of the evidence afforded by fossils obtained during the past three seasons, that, in so far as the faunas are concerned, they clearly indicate a ' Carboniferous facies.' " Subsequently, in the " Summary Report of the Director of the Geological Survey Department for the year 1899" (pp. 201-203), the writer gives the result of an examination made by Mr. R. Kidston, F.G.S., of the material collected from the so-called " Devonian" strata of Nova Scotia, and as regards the rocks of the Horton formation he says they "appear to be undoubtedly Lower Carboniferous.". ... "there is no evidence at all to support the opinion that they are of Devonian age" "all the evidence derived from the study of these fossils points very strongly against this view." Of the Riversdale series of plants, Mr. Kidston gives them " a pronounced Upper Carboniferous facies, and markedly possess the characteristics of a coal measure flora. Judged from a European comparison, no other conclusion can be arrived at." Such evidences, relative to the Devono-Carboniferous problem and the various results given, all seem to indicate that both in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick we find a series of fossil plants which in one province had been assigned to the Carbon- iferous and in the other to the Devonian, but whose characters and affinities as adduced and understood respectively necessarily place them both in the Carboniferous system. For brief notes upon the succession of the strata in the Carboniferous of certain portions of Nova Scotia with special reference to the Union and Riversdale formations the reader is referred to the writer's paper on that subject in the Transactions of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, Vol. 10, 1900, pp. 162-1 igoo] Harrington — Fauna Ottawaensis. 127 178, and in the various summary reports of work carried on by the writer during- the seasons of 1896-7-8-9, issued by the Geol. Survey. The writer desires to emphasize the fact that he has done his utmost to search for evidence in support of the Devonian age of the strata in question. He has failed to do so except in the case of the strata constituting the Knoydart formation — a term used to designate the red shales, sandstones, marls and impure calcareous beds such as are developed in McArras Brook, Knoydart Brook, etc., and coloured Upper Devonian on the map prepared by the Geological Survey Department — in which remains of Pieraspis, Cephalaspis, Pterygotus and Onchus — examined by Dr. Henry Woodward and Mr. Arthur Smith Woodward, of London, Eng- land, and pronounced by them (as palasontological evidence warrants) as belonging to the base of the Old Red Sandstone type of the Devonian, and very similar in faunal as well as lithological character to strata of Devonian age in Herefordshire, England, and in Spitzbergen, as has been pointed out to the writer by these gentlemen. Ottawa, 3rd Sept.. 1900. FAUNA OTTAWAENSIS. DiPTERA. By \V. Hagi'e Harrington, F.R.S.C. The publication of the following list of some Ottawa Diptera has been made possible through the courtesy of Dr. L. O. Howard, the Chief of the Division of Entomology in the Department of Agriculture, Washington, U.S. By his kind permission the deter- minations of the species were made by Mr. D. W. Coquillett, an eminent specialist and authority in this order. The specimens submitted to him had gradually accumulated in my cabinets, but they were taken only as " extras," during the collecting ot Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. The list is, therefore, only a frag- mentary contribution toward a knowledge of the Ottawa fauna, and is presented with the hope that at some future time others 128 Thr Ottawa Naturalist. [October may make systematic collections and studies of these insects, so .numerous both as regards species and individuals. The minute and delicate forms of which the order of flies is largely composed, as well as many of the larger forms which have long fragile legs, require special care and skill in collecting and preserving. F^or these reasons a list such as the following is by no means typical of the fauna, as whole groups of the most common species may be entirely lacking. I have tried to group the species in agreement with the classi- fication published by Dr. Williston, so as to indicate the families represented. When sending my flies for determination I requested Dr. Howard to retain for the U. S. National Museum's unrivalled collections any specimens which might prove to be of special value, and I was gratified to find that about fifty were deemed to be worthy of retention. The remark " U. S. Nat. Mus." after any species denotes that its representative Is to be found there. Cecidomyid.^. Cecido.myia, sp. Very common on willows. Diplosis pini-inops, O.S. Bred from puparia upon pinc-twigfs. Diplosis, sp. One specimen, MVCETOPHILID.^. Sciophila, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. CULICID.B. Culex impig-er, Walk. A very abundant and obtru.sive pest. Chironomid-^. Chironomus cristatus, Fabr. Common early in May. TlPULID.^. Limnophila macrocera, Say. One specimen. Limnophila rufibasis, O.S. One specimen. Tipula angustipennis, Loew. A very common species. Pachj'rrhina lug-ens, Loew. Also common. Amalopis inconstans, O.S. One specimen. Ctenophora, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. Ctenophora, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. Rhyphid^. Rhyphus alternatus, Say. One taken 28th June. Rhyphus punctatus, Fabr. Two specimens. igoo] .Harrington — Fauna Ottawaensis. 129 BlBIONID.^s. Plecia heteroptera, Say. Several at Hull 24th September. Dilophus serraticollis, Walk, A very common species. Bibio pallipes, Say. Everywhere in early spring'. Bibio albipeniiis, Say. Equally common witli above. Bibio gfracilis, Walk. U. S. Nat. .Mus. Leptid^. Xylophagus fasciatus. Walk. One specimen. Coenomyia ferruginea, Fabr. This large species is rare. Atherix varieg-ata, Walk. One specimen. Leptis mystacea, Macq. Very common on tree-trunks on margin of woods. Leptis vertebrata, Say. One specimen. Chrysopila quadrata, Say. Somewhat abundant in June and July in damp woods. Chrysopila flavida, Bigot. One specimen. Chrysopila proxima, Walk. A common species in June. Xylomia, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. Str.\tiomyid.«. Nemotelus nigrinus, Fall. Common in May. Euparhyphus belhis, Loew. Abundant in June. Allognosta fuscitarsis, Say. Two specimens in Aug^ust. Allogfnosta obscuriventris, Loew. This species is common. Beris viridis, Say. Less abundant. Sargus viridis, Say. Moderately abundant in May. Sargfus decoris, Say. Occasionally taken, from May to September. Odontomyia interrupta, Oliv. Apparently not common. Odontomyia pubescens, Day. Very abundant. Several dead ones in Cypri- pediums. Odontomyia cincla, Oliv. Upon flowers in June; not common. Odontomyia virgfo, Wied. Occurs with preceding species. Odontomyia vertebrata. Say. Two specimens of this smaller species. Stratiomyia barbata, Loew. A common frequenter of flowers. Stratiomyia apicula, Loew. One specimen i8th May. Stratiomyia discalis, Leovv. Common ; our largest species. Stratiomyia badius, Walker. One specimen. Tabanid^. Chry^ops celer, O. S. A common and aggressive fly in woods. Chrysops exitans, Wied. One specimen. Chrysops niger, Macq. One specimen. Chrysops fugax, O. S. Rather common. Chrysops vittatus, Wied. Common in midsummer in woods. Chrysops obsoletus, Wied. Less abundant and not so troublesome. Atylotus bicolor, Wied. One specimen 21st July. 130 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October Therioplectes lasiophthalmus, Macq. One of our commonest species of Horse-fly. Therioplectes septentrionalis, Loew. Rare. Therioplectes affinis, Kirby. One example oi this larg^er form. Laphria pubescens, Will. Not very abundant. Laphria sericea, Say. A common and rapacious insect. Laphria gfilva, Linn. Almost as abundant. Laphria canis, Will. Common, Dasyllis flavicollis, Say. Abundant. Dasyllis posticata, Say. Not so common. Dasyllis sacrator, Walk. A large and abundant species. Dasyllis grossa, Fabr. The largest of our Bumble-bee mimics. Leptogaster testaceus, Loew. This slender species is common in June. Cyrtopogon chrysopogon, Loew. Also common. Nusa fulvicauda, Say. One specimen. Asilus notatus, Wied. Not common. Asilus annulipes, Macq. Abundant. Asilus novascoliae, Macq. Rare. Asilus callidus, Will. One specimen. BOMBYLIID.li:. Anthrax tegminipennis, Say. Our largest Bee-fly; not common. Anthrax fulviana, Say. Abundant in midsummer. Anthrax alternata, Say. One specimen. Anthrax lateralis, Say. Not common. Argyramoeba analis, Say. Our commonest species. Argyramceba oedipus, Fabr. One specimen of this pretty fly, 30th July. Bombylius major, Linn. One taken i8th May. SystcEchus vulgaris, Loew. Common but difficult to capture. Therevid^. Psilocephala hremorrhoidalis, Macq. Several in June and July. Psilocephala munda, Loew. One specimen i8th May. ACROCERID.^. Pterodontia flavipes, Gray. U. S. Nat. Mus. Opsebius pterodontinus, O. S. U. S. Nat. Mus. Oncodes costatus, Loew. V. S. Nat. Mus. Empidid^. Syneches rufus, Loew. Abundant. Empis varipes, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Empis otiosa, Coq. Two specimens. Rhamphomyia rustica, Loew. Two specimens. Rhamphomyia pulla, Loew. Two specimens. igooj Harrington — Fauna Ottavvaensis. 131 Rhamphomyia laevig-ata, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. DOLICHOPODIDyE. Psilopus caudatiilus, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Psilopus patibulatus, Sa)'. A very common species. Dolichopus laticornis, Loew. Less often observed. Dolichopiis albiciliatus, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Dolichopus incisuralis, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. CONOPID.^. Physocepiiala furcillata, Will. Common upon g-oldenrods. Myopa vesiculosa, Say. Two specimens. Myopa obliquefasciata, Macq. One specimen. Zodion fulvifrons, Say. One specimen. Oncomyia abbreviata, Loew. One specimen. Dalmannia nig^riceps, Loew. L^ S. Nat. Mus. Syrphid/E. Chrysog-aster pictipennis, Loew. Common in May. Chrysogaster pulchella, Will. Also common. Paragus angustifrons, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Paragus bicolor, Fabr. Occurs from May to September. Xylota anthreas, Walk. One bred from puparium found under stone. Xylota pigra, Fabr. A common and handsome species. Xylota curvipes, Loew. This fine insect is less abundant. Xylota ejuncida, Say. Several specimens. Syrphus arcuatus, Fall. Rare. Syrphus torvus, O. S. Rare. Syrphus ribesi, Linn. Four specimens taken in June and Jul}'. Syrphus disjectus. Will One specimen. Syrphus umbellatarum, Schin. One specimen. Melanostoma mellinum, Linn. Rather common. Melanostoma obscurum, Say. Two captured in July. Platychirus quadratus, Say. Common. Pyrophaena ocymi, Fabr. Only two specimens observed. Sphserophoria cylindrica, Say. Very common. Mesogramma parvula, Loew. Rare ; July and August. Mesogramma geminata, Say. Two speciniens, June and July. Neoascia globosa, Walk. Several in middle of J"ne. Syritta pipiens, Linn. Somewhat abundant May and June. Rhingia nasica, Say. Common in May ; taken also in August. Helophilus conostomus, Will. Common. Found dead in Cypripedium. Helophiius laetus, Loew. One specimen in June. Helophilus bilinearis, Will. One specimen in May. Helophilus similis, Macq. Three specimens of this large species. Helophilus, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. 132 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October Helophihis latifrons, Loew. More abundant. Helophilus chrysostomus, Wied. Several dead in Cypripediiim blossoms. Criorhina analis, Macq. One taken near Hull, June 2nd. Baccha fasclpennis, Wied. Two of this slender species ; middle of Au,e;-usf. Bracliyopa nolata, O. S. One specimen. Microdon tristis, Loew. Rare. Sphegina Keeniana, Will. U. S. Nat. Mus. Brachypalpus inarmatus, Hunter. U. S. Nat. Mus. Ceria abbreviata, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Spilomyia 4-fasciata, Say. This fine fly is moderately abundant. Spilomyia fusca, Loew. Two only of this large and handsome species. Sericomyia militaris, Walk. One specimen only. Sericomyia chrysotoxoides, M-icq. Three in July. Temnostoma alternans, Loew. Three in June. Temnostoma aequale, Loew. One taken near Hull, June 14th. Temnostoma bombylans, Fabr. Several in June. Volucella evecta, Walk. One specimen. Eristalis flavipes, Walk. One specimen, May 31st. Eristalis bastardi. Macq. Common during the summer. Eristalis tenax, Linn. Also a common species. Eristalis dimidiatus, Wied. Less abundant. Eristalis Brousi, Will. A few taken in May. Pipiza pisticoides, Will. One specimen. Tachinid^. Ocyptera Carolina, Desv. Common in June and July. Ocyptera dosiades, Walk. Several in May and June. Cistogaster immaculata. Macq. One specimen July 30th. Gymnosoma fuliginosa, Desv. One specimen August 22nd. Bombyliomyia abrupta, Wied. Common in July. Echinomyia algens, W'ied. One only in my collection. Melanophrys insolita. Walk. Common, as is probably the preceding. Peleteria tessellata, Fabr. One specimen. Frontina Frenchii, Will. One specimen. Exorista vulgaris. Fall. One specimen. Tachina rustica, Fall. One specimen. These species may all be common. Hypostena renea, Coq. U. S. Nat. Mus. CEstrophasia clausa, Br. & Berg. U. S. Nat. Mus. Exoristoides, n. sp. ? U. S. Nat. Mus. Alophora diversa, Coq. U. S. Nat. Mus. Sarcophagid.«. Sarcophaga Kgra, Walk. One specimen. Sarcophaga, sp. Two specimens. Helicobia helicis, Town. One specimen. May 24th. [goo] Harrington — Fauna. Ottawaensis. ^33 MVSCIDJE. Pollenia rudis, Fabr. Pseudopyrellia coinicina, Fabr. Calliphora erythrocephala, Me'ig. Cynomyia cadaverina, Desv. Musca domestica, Linn. Stomoxys calcitrans, Linn. Myospila meditabunda, Fab. Probably all the species of this family are common, althougli with the exception of the common House-fly they are only represented in my collec- tion by single specimens. Anthomyfd^. Homalomyia canicularis, Linn. Two specime«is. Phorbia fiiscipes, Zett. Two specimens. Mydaea ansoba, Walk. Common. Mydaea diaphana, Wied. One specimen. Hyetodesia nigripennis, Walk. One specimen. SCATOMYZID^. Scatophaga stercoraria, Linn. Our common species. Scatophaga furcata, Say. Also abundant. Neuroctena anilis, Fall. One specimen. Cordylura setosa, Loew*. U. S. Nat. Mas. Cordylura pleuritica, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Cordylura munda, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Cordylura varipes, Walk. This interesting- species is cdTmfnon. Cordylura gracilipes, Loew. Two specimens. Orthochseta gilvipes, Loew. One specimen. PSILID.^. Loxocera cylindrica, Say. Common in July. Loxocera pectoralis, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Psila bicolor, Meig. One specimen. Helomyzid^. Helomyza longipennis, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. Leria pubescens, Loew. U. S. Nat. Mus. MlCROPEZID^. Calobata alesia, Walk. Common. Calobata antennipes, Say. Rare. Calobata univitta., Walk. Three specimens. '34 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Octobei These flies, many of wliicli liave llie wings very prettily mottled, are all poorly represented in the collection, although some of the species are pro- bably quite common. SCIOMYZID^. Tetanocera Boscii, Desv. Tetanocera saratogensis, Filch. Tetanocera decora, Loew. Tetanocera rimbigua, Loew. Tetanocera arcuata, Loew. Tetanocera pictipes, Loew. Tetanocera canadensis, Macq. Tetanocera plumosa, Loew. Sepedon foscipennis, Loew. Sepedon armipes, Loew. Sepedon pusillus, Loew. DiOPSlD.E. Sphyracephala brevicornis, Say This curious fly is not often observed. Sepsid^. Nemopoda cylindrica, Fabr. Two specimens. Sepsis violacea, Meig. Two specimens. Trypetid^. Trypeta longipennis, Wied. Cominon ; May and June, Trvpeta sparsa, Wied. One specimen, August 22nd. Trypeta solidaginis, Fitch. Galls common on goldenrods. Trypeta tabellaria. Fitch U. S. Nat. Mus. Trypeta florescentiae, Linn. U. S. Nat. Mus. ORTALIDiE. Rivellia flavimana, Loew. Two specimens. Chffitopsis a^nea, Wied. Our commonest species ; May and June. Seoptera vibrans, Linn. Also common. Sapromyzid^. Sapromyza notata, Fall. Sapromyza philadelphica, Macq. Sapromyza lupulina, Fabr. Lauxania cylindricornis, Fabr. Chlorops proxima. Say. Chlorops assimilis, Macq. Chlorops variceps, Loew. Eurina exilis, Coq. The members of this family are poorly represented in the collection. OsciNiD^. The foregoing remark applies equally " well to this family. Drosophilid/E. Drbsophila ampelophila, Loew. A large number bred from grapes. Drosophila colorata. Walk. U. S. Nat. Mus. I goo] The Finding of a Flamingo's Nest. i;;;5 Agromyzid^. Phytomyza, sp. Mines in leaves of Thalictrum. Ag-fomyza aeneoventris, Fall. One specimen. PlPUNCULID.^. Pipimculus nitidiventris. Loew. One specimen, June 2nd, Ephydrid.^. Ochthera mantis, DeG. Three specimens, July and Aug-ust. (Families, 37 ; Genera, 134 ; Species, 234.) THE FINDING OF A FLAMINGO'S NEST. The Mangrove tree is one of the characteristic growths of Florida, and a Mangrove swamp is perhaps the hardest travelling in the world. The tree sends forth drooping horizontal roots from the trunk, even as high as four or five feet, and these eventu- ally grow down into the mud beneath. My friend Captain S. D. Kendall, of Tarpon Springs, gave me a keen in!^ight into the diffi- culties of Mangrove travel in the following anecdote. He was cruising near the southern extremity of Florida, and happened on a place where Flamingoes fed abundantly on a wide tide flat. Now one of these birds stands about five feet high, is clear pink throughout, and is an ornithological prize; and their nest is seldom seen, being placed in almost inaccessible localities. However, my friend thought these birds were breeding, and not being in a hurry (as is the contented manner of a Floridian) nor yet afraid of any obstacle that might exist, he spent some time watching these birds, feeding, then flying in, flying out, and feeding. After watching a good while, and making a line on the breeding grounds from all possible points, he settled on one point as being closest to the breeding ground, and in the early morning left his comrade, telling him, " If I don't come out in three days, you needn't wait," and started in. The swamp was a mass of Man- grove roots from entrance to centre, and in that whole day of hard labour he covered only about four miles. All through the long night the mosquitoes swarmed, and the bull Alligators roared near by ; he could only sit, and smoke, and fight mosquitoes. Next morning he started at daylight and proved the correctness of his alignment by arriving at the nesting ground in a short time. It was an 136 The Ottawa Naturalist. [October open j^lade in the swamp, and here were many P'lamingoes, com- iPij, g'oing, and brooding the eg'gs. The nests, instead of being" tall cones of mud, as usualh' pictured, were large structures of sticks, and the bird curled her ungainly legs until the bones pro- truded horizontally far behind the nest, wherein were two chalky eggs. After completing his examination, and killing a single specimen, he started to retrace his steps, carrying this additional burden with him, and by dint of hard labour and good judgment, sharpened by experience, he reached open water the same night. The bird made a very fine specimen, and some time later, when he had it and several other choice specimens at New York, it excited much admiration. One visitor took a special fancy to it and asked the owner to set a price on it. Not wishing to sell, he named a figure which he thought far above its commercial value, and was chagrined beyond measure when the enquirer promptly paid the money, thus losing to him a specimen for which he had performed so much toil. W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES. Colias Eurytheme. — A remarkably unusual number of the above beautiful orange-t oloured Colias have been taken and ob- served around Ottawa during the latter part of September and the first week in October. This is a rare butterfly in this district, only an occasional specimen having been observed each season in years past. On October ist, five nice examples were taken on and close to the Experimental Farm by Dr. Fletcher and the writer, and as many as a dozen others have been observed. Mr. C. H. Young has also taken over twenty specimens on his farm on the Rideau River, near Hurdman's Bridge. Among the speci- mens caught three of the recognized forms, viz., Eurytheme Eury- theme, Eurytheme Keewaydin and Eurytheme Eriphyle were represented. Many of the specimens when taken were in a fresh condition and looked as if they might have just emerged from the chrysalis, A number of examples of this butterfly have been also taken by collectors in Toronto, and it is probable that this species was fairly prevalent in many parts of Ontario this fall. Owing to the fact that it is a western species occurring commonly through- out Manitoba and the North-west Territories, its presence in such numbers so far east as Ottawa is interesting and worth recording. Arthur Gibson, THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, NOVEMBER, 1900. No. 8. DR. NANSEN'S SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. 1^ By Professor Edward E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries, Ottawa. On Dr. Nansen's return from his perilous Arctic expedition, doubt was expressed in many quarters as to the utiHty and value, scientific or otherwise, of any results which he might give to the world. Even in scientific circles, the risks and hardships involved were regarded by some as greatly overbalancing probably meagre additions to our k.iowledge, and the question " Cui bono ? " was not infrequently urged. Many critics, indeed, did not hesitate to pronounce the North Pole expedition to be a somewhat foolhardy enterprise. Nothing could be further from the truth, as those felt who knew Nansen as a scientific worker, and especially those who knew him personally as a friend. It cannot, of course, be denied that the chief aim of some Arctic discoverers, so-called, has been self-glorification. Their object was achieved when the columns of the newspapers were filled with accounts of their elaborate preparations, or their theatrical embarkations, Even an explorer like Peary, of the United States Navy, declared to the American Geographical Society (in Chickering Hall, 1897), that "his aim had always been to push the Stars and Stripes to the very apex of the globe!" Wholly different were Dr. Nansen's aims. His methods were entirelv the reverse of that. His object above all was to add to the world's knowledge, and Lord Lister succinctly ex- pressed the truth upon this matter when he said, addressing the 138 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November Royal Geographical Society in London (on Feb. 5th, 1897), that "nothing is more remarkable than ihe scientific element in Nansen's expedition." How far Dr. Nansen succeeded we have now some means of judging in the handsome volume of scientific memoirs, published in London a few months ago. When Dr. Nansen was in Ottawa, three years ago, I ventured to ask him what his results were likely to be, and when the scien- tific world might expect their publication. He said that he had accumulated in his trip such a mass of observations, physical, meteorological, geological, as well as biological, that some years would of necessity elapse before they could be fully worked up into treatises. "The specimens of Crustacea alone," he informed me, knowing my special interest in zoology, "will take my brother-in- law, Dr. Sars, about three years to completely study." That was in 1897, and like so many of Dr. Nansen's anticipations, it has been literally fulfilled, for of the five splendid scientific memoirs contained in the quarto volume just issued by Nansen, the longest, and in some respects most striking, is that upon the Crustacea by Professor G. O. Sars, the brilliant Norse zoologist. It contains some very unexpected information. Thus we learn that floating surface animals of minute size, are abundant even in the most northerly polar waters, though almost perpetually covered by a layer office. Mr. Tyrrell has told us that there are lakes in the northern barren grounds sheeted over with thick ice at midsum- mer, yet abounding in whitefish ; but the plenitude of minute crustaceans in the icy surface waters of the Arctic is even more surprising. Most of them are Copepods, an order of almost microscopic crustaceans, of which the common freshwater mite, Cyclops^ is a familiar example. Most of the sub-class Entoniostraca, to which the Copepods belong, are small crustaceans with a thin firm cuticle, never a thick shell like the lobster or crayfish, a simple organization, and a variable number of segments or body rings, and jointed legs. Like Cyclops they have usually a single median eye at the front of the head. Copepods are frequently colourless and translucent, though they may be orange red, and one species which I observed off the west coast of Ireland, was appropriately enough of a brilliant green colour. They form the iQoo] Prince — Dr. Nansen's Scientific Results. 139 staple food of young fishes in the sea, where they are very wide- spread in the surface waters. In the cold seas of the north the number of species is extraordinary, and they often discolour the sea's surface by reason of their multitude. Dr. Sars tells us that, oddly enough, the largest catches in Polar waters were made not at the surface, but at a depth of 250 or 300 yards (200 to 300 metres); indicating that the presence of ice makes the uppermost strata too frigid for even these hardy members of the crab and shrimp class. It is no doubt paradoxical to speak of the open sea in reference to the Polar basin, which, for so large a part of the year, is frozen over to a great thickness; but Dr. Nansen's tow-netting in the long lanes of water, which opened between the long ridges of hummock ice, revealed a rich pelagic life at apparently all seasons. British, German, Norse, and American investigators have found that typical surface animals constantly descend, and many species appear to frequent the basal waters 20 to 50 fathoms deep ; but the mid-water zone of life de- scribed by Dr. Sars, at 200 to 300 metres depth, is a new fact of interest. Naturalists anticipated that there might be a rich fauna on the floor of the Arctic seas. The reverse appears to be the case. Indeed the paucity of animal life there is most striking. As Dr. Nansen held the view that the polar waters were probably shallow, the good ship "Fram" was not well provided with deep- sea gear : but Professor Sars reports that in the deep sea sound- ings which were made every indication appeared of a scanty abyssmal fauna. Only one bottle in Dr. Nansen's extensive col- lection contained true bottom-living animals. The more consider- able depths, 1600 to 1900 fathoms, occurred northward of 79 deg. N. latitude. Near the Siberian coast, and up to 79 deg. N. latitude, the water rarely exceeds 90 fathoms : but a little south of the lat- itude named, the shallows began to disappear, deeper soundings were recorded, and the depth increased with amazing suddenness, thus overthrowing altogether the preconceived conception of a North Polar sea. Indeed the great depth discovered appears to be a continuation of that North Atlantic channel which extends be- tween Spitzbergen and Greenland. One peculiar shrimp-like creature, an Amphipod called Cyclocaris guilelmi, was found cling- ing to the sounding line, when hauled up from depths of iioo to 140 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November 2000 fathoms. Its eyes were very rudimentary — indeed it was al- most blind — and it afforded every evidence that in its abyssmal habitat no light strayed down from the surface waters. The deep sea fauna may however be more varied than Nansen's fragmen- tary investigation appears to indicate. Perhaps the most remark- able facts to the minds of naturalists have been the discovery in polar waters of Copepods which are identical with, or closely allied to, species hitherto found in tropical waters and in some cases not nearer than twelve thousand miles. What can be the meaning of this strange occurrence of the same or similar animals in localities so far asunder ? It is less surpris- ing to find that some Calanoids, small crustaceans rarely larger than a grain of sand, were recognised at once by Sars as species he had got in deep fjords off the west and south shores of Norway, at depths never less than 100 fathoms. The conditions at that depth in the fjords are evidently the same as those characterizing the more superficial Arctic strata. A similar fact has long been known to naturalists in regard to the higher Amphipodan type, Norwegian and Swedish naturalists having described many species of Amphipods which were known to be Arctic also. Species of Calanus are widespread, and along the whole route of the " Fram" specimens were secured in almost every haul. Dr. Sars imagines that these minute crustacean worms have, for the most part, been carried north and east by a warmer Atlantic current flowing from the west beneath the cold Siberian current moving from the east, iust as a cold northern current flows southward along the coast of Nova Scotia on the top of the deeper and warmer water of the Gulf Stream. Contrary to all previous hydrographical experience in the extreme north, the temperature was found by Nansen to rise as the thermometer descends in the water to greater depths, thus showing that the warmer currents referred to permeate and influence the conditions which prevail in the very heart of the ice world. Dr. W. B. Carpenter long advocated an hypothesis that a warm current " interdigitated " with an Arctic stream flowing south, but it had remained for Dr. Nansen to confirm it with some modifications. Nansen explains this deeper warmer current as the last remnants of the Gull Stream spending itself in these frigid zones, a much more questionable theory than 1900] Prince — Dr. Hansen's Scientific Results. 141 Carpenter's equatorial current. Thus an abundant float- \r\g fauna has been introduced, as Nansen argues, from the west, while the food supplies to support this vast marine population come from the east. " I think that the Siberian current is of great importance," says Dr. Sars, " in conveying a constant supply of nourishment to the pelagic animals of the north polar basin. This nourishment consists of microscopic algae, chiefly Diatoms, which are found to abound in the superficial polar water of the Siberian Sea, though, gradually diminishing in quantity westwards, apparently owing to their being largely fed upon by the various pelagic animals. Indeed, without such a constant conveyance of nourishing matter, there could be no such rich animal life in the polar sea." The dark bands and discolora- tions exhibited by ice in northern waters are mainly due to these lowly plants (diatoms), though mingled at times with mineral dust, probably volanic. The ochre, brownish red, or dull green tints seen on the sides and margins of large bergs, floes, and even pans, are found to be due to these vegetable organisms.* Dr. Wakeham, when in Hudson Straits with the "Diana"' in 1897 reports, July 14th, " A great deal of the ice we have seen to-day is discolored and soiled ; in some of it we noticed sand and gravel : the most of it, however, is covered with an alga, similar to that we have seen on the ice through the strait." (Hudson Bay Exped. 1897, Report Marine and Fisheries, 1898, p. 17.) Mr. Andrew Halkett, in the report mentioned, figures these plant forms, of which there appear to have occurred more than a dozen species. Professor Cleve, on his first examination of Dr. Nansen's material, distinguished sixteen species, all of which were identical with Kellwan's specimens from Behring Strait, and twelve are un- known elsewhere. Cleve was struck by the fact that two areas so far removed should be the habitat of the same organisms, utterly unlike others from other localities. Still more remarkable facts are, however, detailed in this report. A minute crustacean, unique in its external characters, a species of Heinicalamis was obtained in the very centre of the "polar basin." All previous records of this genus are either in * Dr. Robt. Brown "On the Discoloration of the Arctic Seas." Quart. Journ. Mic. Sci., 1865. 142 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November the distant waters of the Mediterranean Sea or in the tropical zones of the Athintic and Pacific. None are recorded in British or Norse seas, or in the Atlantic waters of Europe. A precisely similar find was that of two species of Oncoea, which Dr. Sars to his uncontrollable astonishment found to be identical with species quite recently captured by Dr. Giesbrecht in the Bay of Naples, and described in one of his last papers. A beautiful Copepod so perfectly colourless and translucent as to be almost invisible when swimmings in the water, Dr. Sars recognized as a Mormonilla—'A. highly remarkable genus established by Dr. Giesbrecht, and ot which only twa species are known. Both species, strange to say, are strictly confined to tropical Pacific waters, south indeed of the equator. Yet here we find in the remote polar seas, over twelve thousand miles away, Arctic specimens which can hardly be distinguished from the Tropical species. Dr. Sars would have con- ferred upon the Arctic form the name bestowed by Dr. Giesbrecht on the tropical form, "were it not" he says "that the great distance between the occurrences seems to forbid such an identification." Hardly less remarkable and of extreme interest" not to zoologists alone, but to geologists and physiographers, is the fact that two polar species of Amphipods * [Pseudalibrotus) brought back by Nansen are closely allied to forms peculiar to the Caspian Sea. It is hardly possible to conceive of a more erratic occurrence of creatures practically identical, and the most reasonable explanation is that already provided by the geologists' supposition, usually accepted, viz : the tormer continuity of the Caspian and the Polar seas. Many interesting lines of thought are suggested by these re- markable results of Dr. Nansen's expedition. Either the species, practically identical, have originated independently in widely separ- ated localities, or they have been carried from one centre to re- mote and isolated areas, and have left us representatives in the intervening waters. In the case of the Copepoda there is this pro- foundly significant point to be noticed that zoologists are agreed upon their primitive and unspecialised character. The Copepoda are regarded as generalised, indeed the whole sub-class Entomos- traca is looked upon as resembling the ancestors of the modern * The common fresh-water shrimp {Gamniarns) is a typical Amphipod. 1900] Prince — Dr. Nansen's Scientific Results. 143 specialised Crustacea. Professor F. M. Balfour says (Comp. Embryol, Vol. I., p. 487) : "The free Copepoda are undoubtedly amongst the lowest forms of those Crustacea which are free or do not lead a parasitic existence. Although some features of their anatomy, such for instance as the frequent absence of a heart, may be put down to retrogressive development, yet from their retention of the median frontal eye, .... their simple biramous swim- ming legs, and other characters, they may claim to be very prim- itive forms, which have diverged to no great extent from the main line ot Crustacean development." In a brief notice of the Paddle-nosed Sturgeon in Ontario {Ottawa Naturalist, October, 1899, Vol. xiii) I indicated what meaning the naturalist feels bound to attach to the local oc- currence, in areas remote from one another, of any primitive or generali.eed type of animal. The same deep significance attaches to the Copepods and Amphipods referred to above. Of the birds observed during the expedition Dr. Nansen him- self writes conjointly with Dr. CoUett, and the account is full of interest. Between 81 deg. and 83 deg. N. latitude there is an abundance of bird life. Oddly enough, young birds seem to pre- vail in these inhospitable regions. Vast numbers of certain species were noticed including the Little Auk [Mergulus or Alle alle, Linn.) and the Ringed Plover [^gialttis hiaticula, Linn.). Cepphus inandtii, Crymophilus fulicarius, and Pagophila ebuniea, the Ivory Gull, were also obtained, and one specimen of Sabine's Gull [Xema sabinii, Sabine). During the spring of 1894, it was on May 13th, when the "Fram" was moving towards the most northerly point in her drift through the ice, a gull was noticed, apparently Pagophila ebuniea, and others were seen occasionally until Aug. 23rd, but after the lanes between the hummocks and the channels around the ship began to freeze, about the end of August, no more birds were seen for over eight months. Indeed, the first to appear the next year was noticed on May 14th. Readers of " Farthest North" will remember Nansen's references to the beautiful and rare Ross's Gull or the Roseate Gull [Rhodos- tethia rosea, Macgill), and for the first time a fully detailed description of the species is now published with exquisitely tinted illustrative plates. In the waters around Hirtenland, the four 144 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November glacier-capped islands in 8i deg. 38 min. N. lat. and 63 deg. E. long., numbers of that scarce and weird bird appeared. Its beautiful rose-coloured breast, wedge shaped tail, and airy flight, make it, as Nansen tells us, " the most beautiful of all the animal forms of the frozen regions." Though too late to find its nest or eggs there appeared no doubt that its breeding grounds were in that area. Lastly, some results are published of great value in a geolog- ical and palseontological sense. The second and third papers in the volume are by Dr. Pompeckj, Professor Nathorst and Dr. Nansen; they deal with the stratigraphy and fossils of Cape Flora and the adjacent territory, and of Franz Josef Land. Dr. Nansen treats of the geological structure of Cape Flora, while the fossils obtained there in the Jurassic sedimentary rocks are described by Dr. Pompeckj, who determined twenty-six species of animal forms in the collection — a less extensive list than that made by the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition. Both collections go to estab- lish close affinity with the Jurassic of Central Europe, and invali- date Neumayer's scheme of climatic zones in the Jurassic period. Dr. Nathorst's report on the palaeophytology of Cape Flora is valu- able, a.s the fossil plants he describes from Cape Flora are re- legated to the Upper Jurassic, and to an earlier horizen than the Wealden, which in his view is not Cretaceous but Jurassic. Fine plates accompany these papers. Most readers of Nansen's simple but thrilling story "Farthest North," had their attention rivetted upon the mammals, few in species, which make their home in these fields of eternal ice. Foxes were found by Nansen and Johansen further north than any other air-breathing animals. It was in 86 deg. N. latitude on April 25th 1895, very little south of their most northerly point (which was 86 deg. 14 min. N. and about 95 deg. E. longitude); and their astonishment may be imagined when they observed the foot-prints of two foxes in these remote Arctic snows apparently untrodden by any other living thing. These foxes probably sub- sist on small Crustacea, which they must dip out of the shallow watery lanes between the rugged ice-ridges. They shot a large bearded seal in 82 deg. N. latitude, and a little further south killed three polar bears. It appears as though animal life (so far as iQoo] Winter Lectures. 145 quadrupeds and birds are concerned) wholly ceases in the extreme north, and over the vast ice fields no moving thing is visible. Of the polar waters, on the other hand, it may be affirnied that they everywhere abound in minute examples of animal organisms, some of which have been hitherto pronounced by naturalists to be Mediterranean or even equatorial species. It is apparent that warm and cold currents so affect and modify submarine life as to complicate very much the problems with which the palaeontologist deals. As the late Dr. Carpenter long ago pointed out, Arctic shells have been fou^nd as far south as Gibraltar, a clear proof that the glacial temperature exists there beneath the waves without making any difference in the terrestrial climate. Vice versa we find Tropical species in Arctic waters. The late Sir William Dawson once wrote to Dr. Carpenter that the latter's accounts of the temperature of the deep->ea and its effect upon animal life while they tended to modify geological theory, explained facts otherwise difficult to interpret, especially the evidences of glacial conditions in periods when such conditions were not regarded as existing. *' I am quite prepared," wrote Sir William, " to accept the conclusion that glacial beds may have been formed in any latitude and at any geological period." WINTER LECTURES. The Soiree Committee are now preparing the programme for the series of winter lectures, and will be obliged if any members who wish to read papers, or who have short notes of interest to communicate at any of the meetings, will at once send in their titles, and at the same time state at what date they would wish to present their papers. This information may be sent to Dr. R. Bell, F.R.S., the chairman of the Soir6e Committee, Dr. H. M. Ami, F.R.S.C., or any member o^ the Council. It is probable that there will be a Conversazione or two, and six or seven Lecture nights. Fro.m the papers which have been already promised, the coming season promises to be one of exceptional interest. It is hoped that the first meeting will be held early in December. All titles of papers must therefore be in the hands of the Committee at the latest by the 15th November. The Ottawa Naturalist. [Noveml er GANNETS AND CORMORANTS, WITH SPECIAL REFER- ENCE TO CANADIAN FORMS. By Andrew Halkett, Ottawa. The following notes are mostly about the Solan-goose or Common Gannet [Sula bassaria, L. ) and several species of Cor- morants [Phalacrocorax), with brief references to allied species. The Toti-palmate order of birds, w.hich embraces the Pelicans {Pelecanus), the Darters {PIo/us), the Frigates {Tachypeles)^ the Tropic Birds {Phaeihon), the Cormorants [Phalacrocorax), and the Gannets {Stila), are distinguished from all other birds, by having, as the name implies, the feet completely webbed. Ducks, gulls and murres have only two webs to each foot ; the toti-palmates have three. This is occasioned by the hallux, or hind toe, being located semi-laterally, which admits of three webs to each foot. Another distinguishing character is the possession of a gular- pouch which in the Pelicans and Frigates is enormously expanded; is rudimentary and unfeathered in the Gannets, Cormorants and Darters ; and rudimentary and feathered in the Tropic Birds. The Pelicans ( Pelecanus J like the Cormorants and Gannets are gregarious, resembling in their habits the former in being both marine and inland birds, while the latter are solely marine. There are two North American species : the White Pelican fP. eryihror hynchos ) and the Brown Pelican f P. fuscusj, and some consider that there is a third, the California Brown Pelican (P. californiciis). I remember seeing a fine White Pelican in captivity, whilst passing through the prairies. A nicely mounted specimen of the Brown Pelican, an adult male, is to be seen in the museum of the Geological and Natural History Survey, Ottawa, which was shot on the eastern end of Pictou Island, Nova Scotia, by Mr. J. W. Hogg, on 15th May, 1892. An examination of a specimen of this species to which I had access, showed in brief as follows : The plumage variegated and dark, a whitish spotted band from the top of the head down each side of the neck, the bill very large and long in proportion to the head, and terminating in a hook, the gular-pouch of enormous size. igoo] Halkett — Gannets and Cormorants. 147 The Darters (T lotus) nnlike all other genera of the order are not maritime in their habits. If we are to see them in their native haunts they must be followed to almost impenetrable swamps in the tropics. These birds have long slender necks, with numerous cervical vertebrae, so that they sometimes receive the name of Snake-birds. There are only a few species of Darters, one of which Plotus anhinga belongs to North America, The Frigates (Tachy petes) like the Pelicans have the gular- pouch of great size. There is one well defined species Tachypetes \ aquUus. This bird has the feet very small, and the wings of great size and strength, so that it is not only marine in its habits, but pelagic. It is a poor swimmer, can hardly walk, and cannot dive at all, but its power of flight is astonishing. Of Tropic birds ( Phacthon) there are three known species : P. flavirostris, P. cethereus, and P. riibricaiida, the two first men- tioned of which are North American. The following is an examin- ation of a specimen of the Yellow-billed Tropic Bird {P. flavirostris). It had a yellow bill and black toes : the bill b^ing very like that of a tern and was not hooked. The rudimentary gulai -pouch was covered with feathers, instead of being naked as is generally the case with toti-palmate birds, and the nostrils were open, which is an uncommon feature in other birds of the order. The middle feathers of the tails were of great length. The general colour of the plumage was white, nicely contrasted with black. Of Gannets there are now recognised six distinct species in- digenous to North America. These are the White Gannet or Solan- goose (Suiabassana), the Brown Gannet or Booby (S. teiicogastra or S. sula), the Blue-faced Booby (S. cyanops), the Red-footed Booby ( S. piscator), the Blue-footed Booby (S. gossi), and Brewster's Booby (S. brewsteii). The first time I ever saw a Gannet was when a boy at a small inland town about eight miles from the sea, on the east side of Scotland. Some fifty miles from this town at the Bass Rock, in the Frith of Forth, the White Gannets congregate in prodigious numbers : indeed this species which is otherwise called the Solan goose, receives its specific name bassana from the Bass Rock. The bird T saw was in the hands of a fish-monger, or cadger as I that functionary is designated in some parts of Scotland, and it 14^ The Ottawa Naturalist. [November had doubtless strayed from the Bass Rock or from the coast of Fife. The Solan-g-oose is not considered edible, yet forsooth the Scotch are sometimes charged with eating them. Still the cadger sought not to dispose of his gannet as he did of his turbot and skate, and one of the things yet vivid in my memory is that bird sitting at the end of the cart greedily gulping down a fish every time its owner offered one, whilst the patient horse drew the load offish up the steep High street. Last August and September (1899) ^ ^ad a rare opportunity of seeing the white gannets at their native haunts at the Bird Rocks and at Bonaventure Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The nesting season was then of course over^ and some of the birds had seemingly migrated south, yet this was one of the finest sights I have witnessed in my natural history studies. On certain dull evenings in summer the chimney-swifts congregate around the Parliament buildings in immense numbers, and if those who are familiar with the spectacle presented by an assemblage of some thousands of these birds, can in imagination magnify them in size to that of a goose, and bring them comparatively low down so that the effect of size is not lost, some idea may be formed of what I saw. At Bonaventure Island the Gannets readily associate with the murres and gulls, but never with their allies, the cormorants, and vice versa with the cormorants at Percy , Rock adjacent, and it is a funny sight to see the rocks of the one place white with gannets, and the rocks of the other black with cormorants, both species being in full view at the same time. It is like the old story repeated about the Jews who had no dealings with the Samaritans. In examining the bodies of four specimens of gannets I was surprised to find the entire absence of fat, just where one would have expected to find it — in a water bird. Instead there was a wonderful provision of nature. The skin hung loosely, as it were away from the body, being connected to it by membranous tissue forming a wonderful receptacle for air : thus giving to the bird great buoyancy. Nothing could well be imagined more beautiful than the iris of the white gannet. The books describe it as white, but it is difficult to give it any true description, and must be seen in order iQoo] Halkett — Gannets and Cormorants. 149 to appreciate its beauty. It is silvery or ice-like in colour, and certainly is as beautiful a bird's eye as I have yet seen. The following- outline of some of the external characters of the white gannet was made from a few skins. The bill is longer than the head, and cleft beyond the eyes. It tapers towards the tip, and is not hooked, as it is in the case of the cormorants. The mandibles have keen cutting edges, as I experienced, for one bird almost bit the top of my thumb off. There is a nasal groove, but the nostrils are abortive. The gular-sac is rudimentary but unfeathered. The wings are of great expanse — one I measured ^ was fully six feet from tip to tip. The tail is wedge-shaped and the shape and position of the feet give an equi-balance to this species which is lacking in the other birds of the order. The eggs of Gannets are encrusted in a calcareous deposit. When that is removed they are of a pale bluish-white colour. The specimens I have examined were all denuded of the rough outer coating. Gannets are said to lay only one egg at a hatching. An interesting fact, in connection with Gannets, was brought to light in the year 1888, in the discovery in the Gulf of California, by Col. Goss, of two new species, one of which has been ascribed to him as Sula gossi, its vernacular name being the Blue-footed Booby; whilst the other is called Suhi brewsien, the vernacular name ot this species being Brewster's Booby. In the possession of Prof. Cope are fossil remains of a Gannet {Sula loxosiyla) from the Miocene of North Carolina. After what has been pointed out relative to our Gannet, I need hardly enter into the structural peculiarities of Anserine birds, in order to convince the incredulous that the Solan-goose is no goose. About half the species of Toti-palmate birds are Cormorants, and they are almost cosmopolitan in their distribution. It is well known that the Chinese employ them in fishing. I have been for- tunate enough to observe them in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and in one instance in the Behring Sea. Never can I forget the quaint appearance of a craggy rock or islet in Barclay Sound, Ucluelet, at the west" side of Vancouver Island, with three Shags or Cormorants sitting bolt upright upon it. The cormorant I saw in the Behring Sea w.is a stray individual, as these birds do 150 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November noi wander far out to sea. I saw it alight among some other marine fowls which do go a great distance from hind, and at the place there was no land for several hundreds of miles from either the American or Asiatic sides. The Double crested Cormorant {P. dilophus) is the only Cana- dian inland species. '1 he young birds lack the side plumes which belong to the adults. The iris is green, a very common colour with Cormorants, but most uncommon among birds in general. Fossil remains of a Cormorant [P. macropus) are in the pos- session of Prof. Cope from the Pliocene of Oregon ; and fossil remains of another [P. idahensis), from the Pliocene of Idaho, are in the Yale museum at New Haven, Conn., but when I visited that institution some years ago I was not specially interested in Toti- palmate Birds, so the pleasure of seeing the specimen is in reserve. HEMPHILLIA GLANDULOSA. A Slug New to the Canadian List. By Geo. W. Taylor, Nanaimo, B.C. A couple of days ago one of my boys brought in a specimen of H. glmidulosa, which he had found near the banks of the Nanaimo river, about three miles from its mouth. As the species was new to British Columbia and to Canada, I devoted an hour or two this morning to an examination of the spot where the slug had been found, and was rewarded by the capture of eleven other specimens. They were all taken under the dead fronds of ferns [Aspidinm nuniiium) growing in a rather open spot on the banks of the river. //. glandnlosa was discovered nearly thirty years ago at Astoria, Oregon, by the indefatigable Henry Hemphill, and was described as the type of a new genus by Bland & Binney in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York for 1872. It has since been found at other points in Oregon, and at Chehalis, Olympia and Tacoma, in Washington, but has not been recorded, I think, from any locality outside these two States. A second species of the genus {H. camelus) has however been described iQoo] A National Museum. 151 recently from Idaho, by Messrs. Pilsbry & Vanatta. [See " Nautilus," Vol. XI, p. 44.] A full account of the g^enus, with fioi'ures and anatomical details of both species, has been published by the last-named authors in the Proceeding-s of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for 1898. The paper, with which I suppose most Canadian conchologists are familiar, is entitled, " Revision of the North American Slugs : Bimieya, Hemphillia, Hespej-arion, Prophysaon and Anademclus.'^ For the benefit of those who have not paid much attention to slugs, I may say that the genus HernphiLlia differs from all other genera represented in our fauna in that the mantle has a large opening above (about 5x3 mm. in extent) exposing to view nearly the whole of the internal shell. Figure No. 75 in Binney's Manual is an accurate representa- tion of our slug as contracted in alcohol, but figure 78 in the same work bears small resemblance to it either alive or dead. Nanaimo, B.C., Oct. 15, 1900. A NATIONAL MUSEUM. The recently issued report ot the United States National Museum drawn up by the Acting Assistant Secretary, C. D. Walcott, and containing 246 pages, shows the progress made during the last year. Part I discusses the condition and progress of the Museum itselt, whereas Part II treats of the papers describing and illus- trating the collections of the National Museum. Part I is of special interest and gives an idea of the equip- ment of the Museum and staff. The Department of Anthropology alone has seventeen curators and assistants. The Division of Animal Biology has twenty-seven curators and assistants besides three honorary associates. The Division of Plants counts eight curators and assistants, whilst the Division of Geology and Mineralogy numbers eighteen curators and assistants. The Museum authorities consist of a Secretary and Keeper, the Hon. S. P. Langley ; an Assistant Secretary, the Hon. C. D. Walcott, and an Executive Curator, Mr. F. W. True ; besides t wo 152 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November Librarians, one Editor, one Chief of Correspondence and Docu- ments, and one Chief of Buildings. The main purposes of the National Museum are these : I. Exhibition of Collections. 2. Access to reserve collections for specialists. 3. Identification of specimens. 4. Library. 5. Dona- tion of specimens to educational institutions. 6. Donation of publications. 7. Lecture Course during- the year. 8. Corres- pondence and Information. In looking over these figures and reports it appears to indi- cate clearly the line in which it is confidently expected that at no distant date our politicians will see to it that a National Museum will be established at Ottawa and properly maintained. It is an urgent necessity that a Central Bureau exist, where not only infor- mation on all kinds of subjects can be obtained from specialists, but a record may be kept of the information gathered from the result of studies made in connection with the resources of -our great Dominion, sent from al directions. The incalculable value to the United States of the National Museum has been recognized by Congress, and it is hoped that our Canadian statesmen will see that before long a suitable building shall be erected and a thoroughly equipped staff" established, so that we can take our place and properly exhibit and illustrate those wonderful natural resources which we possess in our own country, Canada. H. M. A. TO OUR READERS. Although there is actually no time of the year when nothing can be seen or collected by the naturalist, the collecting season in most branches of natural history study is now practically over ; there is, however, much good work for our members yet to do. All collections should be put in order for exhibition and notes revised for presentation at the winter soirees. All should realise that what has interested or seemed new and strange to them in their out-door observations will also be of interest to many others. Short, consise notes, with specimens if possible, are what we par- ticularly want at our evening meetings. These will give a live character to the meetings and make the Club more and more use- ful and attractive. — J. P., Act'g Editor. THE OTTAWA f(ATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, DECEMBER, 1900. No. 9. CATALOGUE OF THE RECENT MARINE SPONGES OF CANADA AND ALASKA. By Lawrence M. Lambe, F.G.S. For convenience of reference, the names of the species of recent marine sponges referred to or described in a number of papers by the writer, pubHshed in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, at various dates since 1892, are here brought together in the form of a catalogue. Although the species enumerated are for the most part to be found in Canadian waters, a number are mentioned that occur outside of this limit. In the west, localities are given as far south as California, and some of the more northern forms are recorded from the Alaskan Arctic, with frequent reference to Behring Sea and North Pacific species. In the east, species from off the western coast of Greenland are considered to be from Canadian waters. The Canadian and foreign distribution of each species is given, although in the latter case a complete statement of the geographical range outside of Canada is not always attempted. It is thought desirable to state where the type, or specimens used in the description, of species that have been described as new, were collected and where they are now to be found. A bibliographical index is appended as well as the names of a number of species, recorded by different authors as occurring off the coast of Greenland and in Behring Sea and Strait. An asterisk placed before the name of a species denotes that that species is not represented in the collection of the Geological Survey. 154 The Ottawa Naturalist. [December . The numbers in heavy type refer to the Bibliographical Index. I. MONAXONIDA. 1. Halichondria panicea, Johnston. 1842. (14) Distribution— Kwer and Gulf of St. Lawrence (37) ; coast of New Eng- land (33) ; Vancouver Island ; Queen Charlotte Islands and Behring- Sea. (15, 16, 17, 18) Foreign distribution— Coasts of Great Britain (Johnston, Bowerbank); Basse Rocks, off southeast coast of Ceylon (Carter); Kerguelen Is- land (Carter, Challenger); Torres Strait (Ridley "Alert"); Japan (Challenger); coasts of Norway, Sweden, Novaya Zemlya and western Greenland (Fristedt). 2. Halichondria disparilis, Lambe. 1893. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XI, p. 25, pi. ii, figs. I, la; type in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type localitj/- Gulf of Georgia, near Comox, Vancouver Island, B.C. 3. EuMASTiA siTiENs, O. Schmidt. 1870. (26) Distribution — River and Gulf of St. Lawrence and coast of Nova Scotia; Greenland ; North Pacific Ocean and Behring Sea. (17, 18) Foreign distributio?i — Pitlekai, eastern Siberia (Fristedt^'. Schmidt's specimens are from Greenland. 4. Petrosia hispida, Ridley and Dendy. 1886. (23) Zoca///;)/ — Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska (17). Foreign locality — Royal Sound, Kerguelen Island (Challenger). 5. Reniera cinerea, Grant. 1827. Locality — Blunden Harbour, B.C. (16). Foreign distribution — Coasts of Great Britain (Grant, Bowerbank); Philip- pine Islands (Challenger); Spitzbergen (Fristedt). 6. Reniera rufescens, Lambe. 1892. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. X, p. 75, pi. iv, fig. 6, and pi. v, figs. 12, 12a ; type in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type locality — Petropaulowski, Kamtschatka. Distribution —Arctic Ocean (Kotzebue Sound), Behring Sea and North Pacific Ocean ; Gasp^ coast and Orphan Bank, off the entrance to the Baie des Chaleurs, Gulf of St. Lawrence. (15, 17, 18) igoo] Lambe — Catalogue Marine Sponges. 155 7. Reniera mollis, Lambe. 1893, Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XI, p. 26, pi. ii, fig's. 3, 3a ; type specimen in the museum of the Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. Type locality — Elk Bay, Discovery Passage, Vancouver Island, B.C. Distribution--^ -Ancoxwex: Island ; coast of Labrador, Orphan Bank, off the entrance to the Baie des Chaleurs, and Hudson Bay. (16, 18, 20, ai). Chalina oculata, Pallas. 1766. Distribution — River and Gulf of St. Lawrence (37), coast of Nova Scotia (18); New England coast (Verrill, 33). Foreign distribution — Between England and Belgium (Pallas) ; Northum- berland coast and Firth of Forth (Johnston) ; coast of England (Bowerbank). g. Gellius arcoferus, Vosmaer. 1885. (35) Distributio/i— G\i\f of St. Lawrence (iS) ; Greenland (Fristedt, 12). Foreign distribution — Barents Sea (Vosmaer) ; Siberian Arctic Ocean (Fristedt). 10. Gellius flagellifer, Ridley and Dendy. 1886. (23) Distribution —Gulf of St. Lawrence (i8). Foreign locality — Off Marion Island (Challenger). 11. Gellius Laurentinus, Lambe. 1900. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, second series, vol. VI, p. 20, pi. i, figs. I, I a; type material in the museums of Uni- versity College, Dundee, Scotland, and of the Geological Survey of Canada. Distribution^QtviXf of St. Lawrence; Davis Strait. 12. Toxochalina borealis, Lambe. 1894. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XII, p. 115, pi. ii, figs. 2, 2a— e ; type material in U. S. National Museum at Washington, D.C., and in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type locality — Kyska Harbour, Kyska Island, Aleutian Islands. 13. Tedania fragilis, Lambe. 1894. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XII, p. 116, pi. ii, figs, 3, 3a — c ; type specimen in U. S. National Museum at Washington, D.C., and authentically named examples in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. 156 The Ottawa Naturalist. [December Distribution — Amaknak Island (type locality), Aleutian Islands ; Sooke, | Vancouver Island, B.C. ij i 14. Desmacella Peachii, var. Grcenlandica, Fristedt, 1887. (12) Locality — Between Anticosti and the Gasp^ Peninsula, Gulf of St. Lawrence {18). Foreign locality — East coast of Greenland (Fristedt). 15. Desmacella pennata, Lambe. 1894. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XII, p. 129, pi. iv, figs. 6. 6a — d ; type specimen in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type locality — Sooke, Vancouver Island, B.C. 16. EsPERELLA LINGUA, Bowcrbank. (Sp.) 1866. (l) Distribution — Gulf of St. Lawrence (18) ; northeast coast of the United States (Verrill, 33) ; Greenland (Fristedt) ; Adak Island, Aleutian Islands (17). Foreign distribution — Western Islands, Outer Skerries and Unst, Scot- land (Bowerbank); off northern coast of Norway (Vosmaer). 17. EsPERELLA serratohamata, Carter. (Sp.) 1880. Locality — Sooke, Vancouver Island, B.C. (17). Foreign locality — Gulf of Manaar, India, (Carter, 7) and (?) Korea Strait ( Esperella macrosigma, Lindgren, 39). 18. Esperella helios, Fristedt. (Sp.) 1887. Distribution — Alaskan Arctic Ocean; Behring Strait and Behring Sea. Type locality— ViWekaX (Fristedt). 19. Esperella hispida, Lambe. 1893. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XI, pt 27, pi. ii, figs. 4, 4a — c; type specimen in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type locality- Near Suquash, off Pulteney Point, Queen Charlotte Sound, Vancouver Island, B.C. 20. Esperella adherens, Lambe. 1893, Described in Transactions. Royal Society of Canada, vol. XI, p. 27, pi. ii, figs. 5, 5a — d ; type in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Type locality — Elk Bay, Discovery Passage, Vancouver Island, B.C. Distribution — Vancouver Island, North Pacific Ocean and Behring Sea (16. 17). igoo] Lambe — Catalogue Marine Sponges. 157 21. Esperella occidentalis, Lambe. 1893. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XI, p. 28, pi. ii, figs. 6, 6a— e; type in museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Tpye locality — Gulf of Georgia, near Comox, Vancouver Island, B.C. 22. Esperella modesta, Lambe. 1894. Described in Transactions, Royal Society of Canada, vol. XII, p. 118, pi. iii, figs. I, I a — d; type material in the U. S. National Museum at Washington, D.C., and in the museum of the Geological Survey of Canada. Localities from imhich material 'i.iurface markings, this fossil seems to be a specimen of a previously undescribed species of Unio, that is quite distinct from U. Hubhardi and from any of the Unionidce of the Cretaceous or Laramie rocks of North America. The species may now be provisionally named and characterized as follows : — UnIO NaNAIMOENSIS (Sp. NOV.) \a $9C42 Fig. I.— Unio Nanaimoensis. Side view of the only specimen known, in outline. Fig. irt,— Dorsal view of the same, also in outline, to show the proportionate^convexity of the closed valves. V^\ Both the figures are of the natural si2e. .IBRARYIaol igoi] Botany. 179 Shell compressed-convex, ovately subelliptical, much longer than high, higher than broad, and very inequilateral. Anterior end short, rounded ; posterior end much longer than the anterior, its extremity obliquely subtruncate above, produced and somewhat narrowly rounded below ; beaks placed in advance of the mid- length ; posterior umbonal slopes not at all angulated. Surface marked only with numerous concentric lines of growth. Hinge dentition, muscular impressions, and pallial line unknown. Approximate dimensions of the specimen figured : — Maximum length, sixty-eight millimetres ; greatest height, thirty-seven millimetres ; maximum breadth or thickness, twenty-four millimetres. The slight distortion and somewhat slickensided movement to which the specimen has been subjected has so displaced the normal position of the valves that the marginal outline is not as distinctly defined as might be desired, and the beaks are no longer quite opposite As compared with U. Nanainioensis, U. Hiibbardi'xs a much more convex shell, with distinctly angular or subangular posterior umbonal slopes, and it is much more attenuate posteriorly. For the two drawings which are reproduced in this paper, the writer is indebted to his friend and colleague, Mr. ].. M. Lambe, F.G.S. Ottawa, December 4th, 1900. BOTANY. Mr. C. Guillet, whose paper "On the Late-flowering of Native Plants," is announced for February 12th, in the Programme of the Club's Winter Soirees, would be glad to receive notes and records of observation on the same subject by other members of the Club. This notice should have been announced at the last meeting of the Club but was inadvertently omitted. H. M. A. i8o The Ottawa Naturalist. [January A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON AN AMYGDALOIDAL TRAP ROCK IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, By John A. Dresser, Richmond, Que. A few years ago Mr. J. C. Sutherland called the writer's atten- tion to an apparently peculiar occurrence of feldspar in sedimentary slates in the vicinity of the old St. Francis copper mine, near Richmond, and on subsequent reference to the following descrip- tion of the occurrence by Sir William Log-an (Geology of Canada, 1863, pp. 606-607), suggested a microscopic examination which it has not yet been found possible to carry out. But from several observations made at various times, it is evident that the rock is one of considerable scientific interest and economic importance. It was thus described by Logan, " Orthoclase is found under remarkable conditions among the argillaceous rocks at the St. Francis copper mine in Cleveland. Here beds of a soft, fine- grained, somewhat schistose dark bluish-gray argilllte enclose small ovoidal or elongated masses of crystalline feldspar, which have a general parallelism, and are oblique to the divisional planes of the rock. The laminae of this conform to the feldspathic masses which give a knotted surface to the exterior of the rock. These are in some portions from one eighth to one-tenth of an inch in diameter, and are nearly spherical, or elongated two or three diameters. In other portions of the rock they are an inch or more in length, and more irregular, though always rounded in outline. The exterior ot the nodules is a white or pinkish feldspar. In some parts the feldspar is seen to extend from the nodules, in thin layers among the laminae of the slate, giving to such portions a gneissoid aspect. In most cases, however, the rock has com- pletely the aspect of an amygdaloid : especially in sections which exhibit the feldspar surrounding the quartz in the ovoidal masses." Epidote also forms the cores of some of these masses, while the material of others, though not certainly distinguished from orthoclase by its physical properties, yields much water when heated in the closed tube, and hence is probably a zeolite in part at least. Veins of calcite as well as masses of chlorite, specular iQoi] Dresser — Note on an Amygdaloidal Trap Rock. i8i iron, and various ores of copper, especially chalcocite, bornite, and chalcopyrite are of frequent occurrence. The examination of four thin sections under the microscope suffices to show that the rock is of volcanic origin, and hence is a true amygdaloid instead of an argillite. Although it is much altered, crystals of primary plagioclase can be distinguished in it with certainty. In arrangement they suggest the structure of diabase, but as the interstitial material is wholly secondary, chlorite, iron ore, leucoxene, &c., further evidence is needed to determine its precise original character. This was probably variable, as fibrous hornblende occurs in some quantity at a point about three miles west of the St. Francis river. Also near the same place the rock contains nodular masses three or four inches in diameter, which are composed chiefly of concentric layers of quartz and epidote. The copper ores, as far as seen, occur in connection with either calcite or quartz, in which cases the latter minerals do not appear to form veins having either uniform width or well defined edges, although they frequently do so in other cases when the veins are much smaller in size. The copper-bearing masses of calcite and quartz, however, seem rather to occupy crevices and fissures, such as might have been produced by the intense dynamic metamorphism by which the entire region has been greatly dis- turbed, and as the copper, from its position, must have been deposited contemporaneously with these gangue materials, it must like them be regarded as of secondary nature, probably deposited by infiltration. In its mode of occurrence this rock seems to conform to the stratification of the region, and shares in the foliation which the adjacent rocks have suff'ered. It lies in the pre-Cambrian, as recently divided by Dr. Ells (Annual Report Geological Survey of Canada, Vol. VII, N. S., Part J, 1894), appearing, wherever it has been observed, between the Cambrian on the northwest ard pre-Cambrian strata, generally dolomite or quarzite, on the southeast. As it has resisted denudation better than most of the asso- ciated rocks, it usually forms a rather conspicuous feature of the landscape. The width varies from one to two miles, and the extent along the strike has not been ascertained.. 1 82 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January It has been crossed in four different places* viz., about a mile east of the St. Francis River in the township of Cleveland ; along- the west bank of the St. Francis, and also about three miles further west, in the township of Melbourne ; and near Foster Junction on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the county of Brome. The last mentioned locality is about forty miles from the first, yet the stratigraphical relations seem to be the same, it being the most northwesterly member of the pre-Cambrian exposed along the Sutton Mountain anticline. The economic importance of this rock is due to the copper deposits which are contained in, or are associated with, it. As far as it has been possible to ascertain, all the copper localities of any known importance that are mentioned in the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1866 (pp. 310 — 314) in connection with the rocks of the Sutton Mountain fold, occur in association with this amygdaloidal trap. Amongst these are the St. Francis, Balrath and Coldspring mine?, as well as others which have been more or less minutely described (op. cit. pp. 38-39). From the descriptions of other localities given in the Geology of Canada, 1863, (pp. 606-607) it appears that rocks of this type may have a wide distribution in the Eastern Townships, especially in the copper-bearing districts. The occurrence of similar rocks also of cupriferous f character in the Appalachians of Pennsylvania**and elsewhere is well known, and the separation of these from the sedimentary strata of the Eastern Townships would be an important step towards a scientific determination of the economic possibilities of this part of the pro- vince, as well as towards a more detailed elucidation of its complex geological structure than the progress of scientific investigation in Canada has yet permitted. * The examination in Melbourne was made with the assistance of Mr. F, W. Major of Bishop's CoHege, Lennoxville, and that at Foster by the aid of Mr. H. A. Honeyman of Knowlton. **Bulletin U. S. Geol Survey, No. 136, pp. 25 — 27. " Ancient Volcanic Rocks of South Mountain, Pennsylvania." F. Bascom. t The line of copper deposits in the State of Vermont, from Berkshire and Richford along the boundary line southward as far as Waterbury, may also indicate the extension of this rock to the south. Vide " Geology of Ver- mont," 1861, pp. 850 et. seq., by Edward Hitchcock, and " The Report of the State Geologist on the Mineral Resources of Vermont," 1899-1900 pp. 7 &: 12, by G. H. Perkins. igoij Saunders — Cerulean Warbler. 183 THE NESTING OF THE CERULEAN WARBLER. By W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. Among: the rarer small birds of the Great Lakes region, none have attracted me more than the Cerulean Warbler. Perhaps this has been on account of the difficulties encountered in watching it, and the almost prohibitive heights at which it conducts its matrirnonial affairs, or perhaps on account of its dainty colours, pure white beneath and blue above; but from whatever cause, the attraction has certainly existed. Except in the period of nest building, it seldom comes to the ground, and as a rule the song comes from such a height that it takes some minutes to locate the singer. In Ontario, this Warbler is fairly well distributed, and is common from the west end, by the Detroit River, at least as far east as St. Thomas, but as the distance north from Lake Erie grows greater, it becomes less common and more local. Near London it is rare and very local ; five males, in widely scattered woods being noted within seven miles of the city this year, while at Bryanston, fifteen miles northeast, there are some woods in which it is fairly common. Its summer distribution on the whole continent is from the Alleghanies west to the plains, and from Tennessee, Kansas, and Missouri north to Central New York, Southern Ontario, Michigan and Minnesota. Throughout this range there are many points ot abundance, but its habit of living so high up in the trees makes the finding of its nest so difficult that its eggs are rare in collections, and its intimate acquaint- ances are few among men ; and indeed until I was equipped with a good field glass I accomplished little in the solving of their nesting problem, but this year, encouraged by the experience of Robert Elliott, who found one inaccessible nest in May, 1899, near Bryanston, Ont, I determined to really do some work on this interesting bird. As its nearest centre of abundance is near the west end of the Ontario peninsula, where I had already met with it in great numbers in a previous year, a preliminary trip was made some miles below Chatham, which resulted in finding two woods where 184 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January they were abundant, but there appeared to be no sign of nesting as yet. On June 5th, Mr. Harry Gould went with me for a day with these elusive creatures, and it was well that he did, for in the morning's hunt, which we sp3nt apirt from 5 a.m. till ten, he found one nest building, and I none, but in the afternoon, work- ing together, we found five, one of which was building, one with one egg, and the other three with sets of four in each. After failing in the morning we were much disheartened, but during our lunch time, a female was seen working around in the tree-tops beside us, and, watching her while we ate, we were first cheered and then made suspicious, and, as suspicion deepened, we separated, and by dint of the most intent watching, with constant remark from the other person when she was out of the sight of one of us, we at length found the nest with one egg. After that, the operation was more simple, as a single example will show. Hearing a male singing, we approached, and at length spied him preening his feathers and singing between whiles. As this occu- pation might last for some time, one of us wandered on while the other waited and watched. After perhaps ten minutes, he ceased preening and began to feed. The other hunter was then called in, and establishing himself in a favorable position, both kept our eyes on him, so that when he became invisible to one, the other would inform him of his movements. Soon he made a quick short flight after another bird, and as soon as they alighted we saw it was his mate. Then, with every sense on the alert we left him entirely, and watched her alone, and after feeding for about five minutes she left the feeding tree, flew past me, and right out through an open glade to the nest, 60 yards away in plain sight on the limb of a basswood tree, 50 feet up and 6 feet out from the trunk. This nest, which is a typical one, is supported almost entirely by its contact with the main limb, which is one inch in diameter. It is built of grasses and bark-strips covered exter- nally with silvery gray bark-strips, in the same manner as the Redstarts, and lined with black horsehairs on the bottom and on one side, the other side being less heavily built and lacking the lining. It measures on the outside 2 inches high and 3 inches wide, and on che inside i5-i6ths of an inch deep by ij/g inches wide. iqoi] Winter Soirees. 185 These are about average measurements, and this extreme shallow- ness is only rendered safe by the heavy limbs on which the nests are built, the least diameter of the supporting limb among the eight nests I examined this year being /^ inch. The eggs, 4 in number, closely resemble some sets of the Yellow Warbler, but the spots are more brownish. Near London I found two more nests this year, which were both made by the same birds, but for some unexplained cause the first was never occupied. The second yielded me a set of four eggs, larger, more creamy, and handsomer than those from our western trip, of which I have two sets. All these were taken with thenest attachedtothe limb as placed by the birds. Of the eight nests found this year four were in basswood, two in maple, and two in oak. To show how much an acquaintance with the birds affects one's ability to find their nests I may mention that of three species whose nests I never found before, I took three sets of each, viz., the Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Sharpshinned Hawk ; in fact, the latter bird rather bewildered the three active oologists of London, who had searched a great deal without find- ing any nests in previous years, but this year we took between us six sets, comprising 27 eggs, the most distant nest being less than four miles from the city limits. • WINTER SOIREES. The inaugural meeting of the winter lectures took place on the I ith December in the large Assembly Hall of the Normal School. The proceedings were opened by the delivery of an Address of Welcome by Mr. J. H. Putman, the Science Master of the Normal School. This was followed by the Inaugural Address of the President, Dr. H. M. Ami, F.R.S.C, etc. An interesting feature of the evening was the presentation of a fine portrait of the late Elkanah Billings to the Government of Canada for deposition in the museum of the Geological Survey Department. This por- trait was painted by Mr. C. E. Moss, from a painting in the posses- sion of the Natural History Society of Montreal, and was received. 1 86 The Ottawa Naturalist, [January by Dr. Geo. M. Dawson, F.R.S., etc., the Deputy Minister of that Department, with a suitable acknowledgrnent. Dr. Rohert Bell, F.R.S., etc., delivered a lecture on " Various Phases of the Forests of Canada," illustrated with beautiful lantern slides showing typical forms of the more important forest trees of Canada. The president's address, as well as those of Dr. Dawson and Dr. Bell will appear in later numbers of the Ottawa Naturalist. The following is the Address of Welcome. By J. H. Putman, B.A., Science Master, Ottawa Normal School. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — I desire in the first place, on behalf of Principal MacCabe who is unavoidably absent, to extend a cordial welcome to the Field Naturalists' Club and to their friends. I also desire to bear personal testimony to the many kindnesses shown the Ottawa Normal School by the Field Naturalists' Club. The President of the Club and several of its officers have given us much valuable assistance and have shown the deepest interest in our work in science. I am certain that among the happiest memories carried away from Ottawa by our students will be those of pleasant out- ings with your Club. May I be permitted for a few moments to touch upon one or two aspects of the work of such an organization as this, as it pre- sents itself to a teacher interested in Nature study. While all of us know that man's intellectual life is a growth from sensation, perhaps we are all prone to underestimate the advantages of hav- ing this early sensory training as definite and varied as possible. And yet nothing can be more certain than that, other things being equal, the man who has had his senses well trained, will have a fuller, richer, happier and healthier intellectual life than the man whose contact with things, and especially with the things ot Nature, has been limited. He who has seen but never tasted a strawberry has a poor and very vague idea of that fruit, and he who sees the rose but misses its fragrance, has at most only half the reality. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in speaking of the little power vthat some have to observe, says : "Yet there are multitudes 1901] Winter Soirees. 187 who are present at as many as threescore and ten of Nature's twelve-act performances and never see the scenery, listen to the music or observe the actors," If I understand aright the aims of such a society as the Field Naturalists' Club, they are to help us to hear and interpret the music of Nature's orchestra, the birds, the bees, the winds, the brooks, to aid in our study of the scenery and to encourag-e us to learn whatever may be known of the actors. It is true there is a utilitarian aspect to Nature study, and this aspect is of great national importance, but, in my opinion, the purely utilitarian aspect need concern us very little. If we. as a nation, can learn to love Nature and to interpret Nature, we shall be certain to make the most of natural resources. It is really wonderful how much "seeing" is a matter of training, how little may be seen by some and how much can be seen by others ; and this training in observation, to be effective, must begin very early in the life of the child. This Society can hope to do very little in gaining the real interest of those who have reached middle life or passed it. This class may be interested for an even- ing or for a day in some special and very interesting feature of Nature study ; they may be amused at any time if the lecturer be interesting, but, unless they have learned to see for themselves and toenjoy the companyof Nature, any interest on their part in Nature's wonders is likely to be spasmodic and short-lived. The hope of every society for the encouragement of Nature study lies in the young, and I firmly believe that, were it possible to interest every Canadian child in Nature study, the problem of elementary education would be practically solved. There is something good in every boy or girl. The problem is how to turn the impulses in the right direction. Many children already take a deep interest in the field excursions of this Society, and its officers are to be com- mended for encouraging them. The inclination towards a study of science has often been received at an early age and sometimes from a beginning apparently trivial. Wm. Hamilton Gibson, the great American exponent of Nature study, whose death a few years ago removed a man ot great promise, relates as follows concerning his own beginning: "I was very young and playing in the woods. I tossed over the fallen leaves and came across a chrysalis. There was nothing remarkable in that, for I knew v\hat 1 88 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January it was. But wonderful to relate — providentially I deem it — as I held the object in my hand, a butterfly slowly emerg-ed, then fluttered in my fingers." "You were pleased with its beauty," said a friend. "Oh, it was more than that. I do not know whether I was or was not a child with an imagination, but sud- denly the spiritual view of a new or of another life struck me. I saw in this jewel born from an unadorned casket, some inkling of immortality. Yes, that butterfly breaking from its chrysalis in my hand shaped my future." And who can tell how many young people may have received during excursions of this Club an impetus or a spiritual insight into some of Nature's mysteries that has given a permanent bent to the whole life ! One of the saddest sights of these closing days of the 19th century, and particularly sad because it seems to be a picture that must grow still darker during the coming century, is the sight of hundreds of thousands of little children growing up in tenement houses, shut away from Nature, denied access to wholesome and pure sights, sounds and odours. "When one thinks of the Greeks," says Ouida, "playing, praying, labouring, lecturing, dreaming, sculpturing, training, living everlastingly in the free wind and under the pure heavens, and then reflects that the chief issue of civilization is to pack human beings like salt herrings in a barrel, with never a sight of leaf or cloud, never a whisper of breeze or bird. Oh, the blessed blind men who talk of progress '" Fortunately, as yet, our Canadian cities are comparatively free and open and the difficulties of bringing the child into contact with Nature are not great. I wish for a moment to direct attention to another phase of Nature study and to emphasize another feature of the good work that is done by every society such as this. We pride ourselves upon our 19th century advancement in education and general in- telligence. We quote with an air of satisfaction, figures to show that illiteracy is almost unknown among us. This is well, and perhaps there is some justification for our complacency, but I ask you, does the mere ability to read and write necessarily make men and women better ? It is true that the mastery of those elements is an essential condition of turther progress. But, whether a man is to be a better man because he can read, must in the end depend igoi] Winter Soirees. 189 on wha^he reads, and, unless we teach "-cv/iaf as well as /i07v, we have made little real progress. Even if we take the most optimis- tic view, we can get little satisfaction out of statistics bearing on this question. The mass of the people read gossip or thrashy fiction and consider their tastes are above the ordinary if they can appreciate light magazine articles. It is extremely doubtful if the percentage of English-speaking people who really enjoy Chaucer, Shakspere, Milton, Wordsworth or Tennyson, is any greater than it was a quarter or even a half century ago. What has this to do with Nature study ? In my opinion it has everything to do with it. In Fra Lippo Lippi, Browning says, "We're so made that we love them first when we see them painted, things we have passed perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see " Here we have a great truth, and it makes no difference whether the artist has painted with colour or with words. Unless his work means something to us, we cannot interpret it. Every great poet from Homer to Tennyson has been a lover of Nature. Indeed we may almost say that he has been a great poet because he was first a lover of Nature. Every lover of Nature knows something of the poet's thoughts, even though he lacks the power to convey them to others. It is quite impossible, however, to teach either child or man to appreciate the beauties of poetry, unless he has had the necessary training in Nature study, because the subjects of Nature study are the raw material out of which the poet forms his pictures. Prof. Halleck, of Yale, has, after a careful study, found internal evidence to prove that Shakspere knew the names, notes, habits, eggs and plumage of at least forty birds. Note the following from Shakspere : " I know a bank where the wild thyme blows. Where oxlips and the nodding- violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine." Try if you can to leave out of this picture the wild-thyme, the oxlips, the violet, the woodbine, the roses and the eglantine. Really nothing is left that could convey any intelligible meaning. May we not say then that, not only is a knowledge of nature a joy within itself and an ample reward to a diligent student, but also igo The Ottawa Naturalist. [January that it is absolutely necessary as a touchstone for the interpret- ation of the hig-hest and best in literature ? Lecture Night. Tiie next Evening Meeting- of the Club will be held on January 8th, in the lecture room of the Young- Men's Christian Association on O'Connor Street, when two most interesting papers, by Prof. John Macoun, and Mr. James McEvoy, both of the Geological Survey Department, will be delivered upon the Crow's Nest Pass. The meeting will be opened punctually at 8 o'clock, and the audi- ence is requested to be in time to take their seats before that hour, so as not to disturb the lecturers and listeners after the meeting has begun. On the same evening the Report of the Botanical Branch will be read, which always elicits a lively dis- cussion. Among other interesting- exhibits their will be on view a beautiful collection of paintings of Manitoban plants, by Mr Norman Criddle, of Aweme, Man. — Acting Editor. PAL/EONTOLOGICAL NOTES. Observations on and Descriptions of Arctic Fossils. By R. P. Whit- field. Extracted from Bulletin of the Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 13, Article 2, pp. 19 — 22, Plates I and II. New York, April, 6, 1900. The above is the title of an interesting paper by Prof. Whit- field, the able palaeontologist of the Central Park Museum of Natural History. In it he describes a few fossils new to science, and records others of much interest, from collections sent to that Museum by the Peary Arctic Club of New York. Some of these were collected by the expedition of 1898 at " Cape Harrison, on Princess M?rie Bay and Summit, Cape d'Urville, in the Arctic Resrions," whilst others came from " near the head of Frobishtjr Bay," and were obtained from Eskimos by G. Cromer, Esq., ot Boston, who sent them to Prof. Franz Boas of the Amer. Mus. igoi] Ami — Book Notice, 191 of Nat. History. These latter include fourteen species of fossils belong^ing to the Trenton formation. The new species described are : i. Receptacitlites Pearyi, Whitfield, Cape Bay, Princess Marie Bay, 1898. 2. Halysites agglotneratiformis, Whitfield, Cape Harrison, Princess Marie Bay, 1898. 3. Calapoecia borealis, Whitfield, Cape Harrison, Princess Marie Bay, 1898. 4. Helioliles perelegans, Whitfield, Cape Harri- son, Princess Marie Bay, 1898. Of the above, R. Pearyi resembles R. 07veni, Hall, from the Trenton (Galena) of Manitoba, and of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa ; Halysites agglomeratiformis resembles H. agglomeratus Hall, and Heliolites perelegans is related to H pyriformis. Prof. Whitfield adds : " These specimens would indicate a geolog'ical horizon about the same as that of the New York, Niagara or Clinton group." H. M. A. BOOK NOTICE. The Paleozoic Faunas of Para, Brazil, i . The Silurian Fauna of the Rio Trombetas. 2. The Devonian Mollusca of Para. By J. M. Clarke, Archives do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 10, 127 pp., 1899. Author's English edition, 1900. I. The discovery of these fossils "was one of the results of an expedition made under the direction ot the late Prof. Ch. Fred. Hartt while Director of the Commissao Geologica do Brazil," and they now form part of the palaeontological collections in the Museu Nacional. Silurian rocks occupy a belt of country border- ing the metamorphic region of Guiana, and are about 1,000 feet in thickness. Amongst the interesting fossils described we note : 1. Arthrophycus Harlani, Conrad, a very characteristic form in the Medina (Silurian) of Grimsby and St. Catherines, Ontario. 2. Lingula, cf. L. oblata. Hall, the latter a Clinton species found in Ontario and also in New York State. 3. Lingulops Derbyi, Clarke, a form related in many respects to Lingulops Granti, Hall & Clarke, from the Niagara of Hamii- 192 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January ton, Ontario, and L. Whitfieldi, Hall, from the Maquoketa (Ordo- vician) ot Iowa, U.S.A. /). Orbiculoidea Hartti^ Clarke, a form probably more nearly related to O. ienuilamellata, Hall, than to any other species. Discina Clara, Spencer, from Hamilton, Ont., is placed here as a synonym of Orbiculoidea tenuilamellata, Hall. Schuchert places Discina Clara, Spencer, as a syn. und^r Schizotreta tenuilaynellata. 5. PJioUdops Trombetana, Clarke. This form recalls to mind the Pholidops implicata, Sowerby. 6. Or/his ( Dahnanella) Freitana, Clarke, a form resembling Orthis (Dahnanella) eftiacerata, a variation of Orthis testudinaria, Dalman. 7. Chonefes, sp. cf. C. Nova-Scotica, Hall. 8. Anoplotheca ( Anabaia ) Paraia, Clarke. 9. Anabaia Anticostiensis, Clarke. Of this Dr. Clarke writes : " By a fortunate incident I have discovered a species from the middle Silurian of Cape East, on the Island of Anticosti, which is very similar to A. Paraia, It possesses valves of the same con- tour lacking the reflection of the margins, which may be accident- ally absent, as the specimens are preserved in limestone ; the peculiar plication of the brachial valves is quite the same, the opposite valve differing only in the presence of a single median plication in the sinus. These specimens have shown a trace of everted oblique internal spires The species is without a name, as far as I can ascertain, un- less it be that identified by Mr. Billings as LeptoccBlia hemispherica ( Atrypa hemispherica, Sowerby). That it is not the British species, nor that member of the Clinton fauna of New York, pass- ing under the name of A. hemispherica (Sowerby) Hall, I am con- fident. In order to determine whether it was the form referred to by Mr. Billings, I asked Mr. H. M. Ami, of the Geological Survey of Canada to compare it with the types of the Anticosti species in the collections of the Survey, and this he has kindly done, without finding anything that can be regarded as identical or closely similar. I have given a figure of the Anticosti shell on account of its interesting relations to the Brazilian species, and it may be igoi] Ami — Book Notice. 193 designated Anahaia Anticostiaiia (see plate I, figs. 26, 27, 28); also more properly called A. Anticostiensis, p. 23. 10. Clidophorus Brazilianiis, Clarke — a form related to C. planulatus, Conrad, and to forms from the Silurian of Arisaig. 11. Bucaniella trilobata, Conrad, var. vira. ?7iuvdo, Clarke. This is esteemed a variety of B, trilobata, a form of which occurs also in the Silurian of Arisaig. Besides the above there are species of Conularia and Tentacu- lites, &c. , which, taken with pieceding and other species des- cribed and recorded, form an assemblage bearing affinities to Silurian and Ordovician, and would constitute a Middle Silurian fauna with a different association (as Dr. Clarke states) from the Anlicosti Middle Silurian. II. The Devonian fossils described in Part 2 of this memoir were mainly derived from material collected in the Devonian strata about the little village ot Erer^ and along the banks of the rivers Maecuru and Curua — obtained by Prof. Chas. Fred. Hart when director of the now extinct Commisno Geologica do Brazil. Messrs. Hartt and Rathbun had described Devonian fossils from the Erer^-Monte-Alegre District. The Geol. Survey collections of Brachiopoda (24 species) were reported upon by Mr. Rathbun and the trilobites by Dr. Clarke. In this memoir Dr. Clarke des- cribes the Molluscan fossils. It forms an elaborate publication describing and illustrating (as all faunas should be illustrated, from various portions of the continent) all the discovered species of fossils in the Para Devonian not previously treated. They in- clude seven species of Platyceras ; three of Diapharostoma, one Pleurotomaria, two o'i Belle rophon, om Bucania, two oi Bucaniella, two of Plecfotwlus, one Tropidocyclus ; Plomatis, a new genus of Bellerophontes of type of B. palulus, from Corniferous and Hamil- ton faunas, besides three Tentaculites. Of Pelecypoda, two species oi Actinopteria, on^oi Liopteria, \.\\xq.q.o{ Modiomorpha, one Goniophora, a new sub-genus (Toechomya) of Schizodus, of authors, and two species of this new type ; two of Sphe?totus, two of Cimitaria, one Guerangeria or Nyassa, two of Cypricardella, six Graniinpice, one Pholadella, one Edmondia, two of Nncu,la, four of NuculiteSy five of Pattsoneilo, and one Leda. 194 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January Dr. Clarke then discusses "the inter-relations of the faunas of the Rios Maecurd and Curua and the Erer^-Monte-Alegre dis- trict ; and their deg'ree of equivalence with faunas of other regions." The peculiar association of fossils in the sandstones of the Rio Mje::uru leads the author to state: "There is no similar association of trilobitic species in the North American faunas," yet there are distinct Lower Devonian (Hercynian) traits. There are no CephalopoJi in all the Para Devonian faunas so far as known. A " Lower Devonian" facies is indicated by the Gasteropoda. The Pelecypoda outnumber the Brachiopoda and indicate an eminently Devonian facies in part about Upper Helder- berg with " Spiriferen-sandstein " affinities, also inclination towards Middle Devonian or Hamilton. The Brachiopoda indi- cate Upper Helderberg and Hamilton affinities, many forms hav- ing a Hercynian and Lower Devonian aspect. Then follow discussions on the " Sandstones of Erer6," the " Sandstone of the Rio Curua." &c., in which the author cites the conclusions of Sir William Dawson on the two Sporangites ( Pro- tosalvinia Braziliensis and P. bilobata), and closes with a table showing the vertical and geographical distribution of the same or allied specific types. H. M. Ami. MINING STATISTICS. The Report of the Ontario Bureau of Mines shows that dur- ing the first half of 1900 the yield of gold was $156,269 ; silver, $51,000; arsenic, $8,980: zinc, $900; iron, $19,532. Two blast furnaces smelted $511,209 worth of ore. The open heartti steel produced was valued at $25,515 ; nickel, at $413,771 ; copper ore, $169,986. The total value of metal products for six months was $1,353,287, or tuo-thirds as much as for the whole of last year. In 1899 Ontario produced forty per cent, of the world's nickel. igoi] Craig— Book Notice. 195 Botany : An elementary text book. By L. H. Bailey. i2mo. Half leather. 500 illustrations. Pages XIV — 335. The Mac- millan Company, N.Y. Price $1.10. The amount of literature relating to the study of plants which has appeared during the last five years is truly astonishing. For a quarter of a century or more Gray's Lessons with plants was the standard class-room botany. About the time his "New Manual" was published, in 1887, there appeared also other books presenting the study of botany in quite a different manner. Since that time, each year has marked divergences ot opinion among botanists regarding teaching methods. Gray's Lessons did not take up the subject from the present day point of view of botanical science. It is a question with many whether the botanical science standpoint is best for the pupil — the average pupil. There are many text-books for the student of botany. The admirable works of Coulter, Barnes, Atkinson and Canong are written for the college student. There are a few text-books for the pupil. In the present day botany, individuals of the plant kingdom illustrating its lowest and simplest forms are studied first. More complete forms are examined in natural order and regular sequence. This is the logical, scientific method, the one approved by those versed in pedagogy. Bailey's Botany " is made for the pupil," so its author an- nounces. "There are four general subjects in the book; The nature of the plant itself; the relation of the plant to its surround- ings; histological studies; determination of the kinds of plants." The author's position on the teaching of botany in the secondary school has no doubt been much influenced by his intimate asso- ciation with the Nature study movement in New York, which in itself has been a great training school, is as follows: "In the secondary schools botany should be taught for the purpose of bringing the pupil closer to the things with which he lives, of widening his horizon, of intensifying his hold on lite. It should begin with familiar plant forms and phenomena. It should be related to the experiences of the daily life. It should not be taught for the purpose of making the pupil a specialist; that effort should be retained for the few who develop a taste for special knowledge. 196 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January It is often said that the high-school pupil should begin the study of botany with the lowest and simplest forms of life. This is wrong. The microscope is not an introduction to Nature. It is said that the physiology of plants can be best understood by be- ginning with the lower forms. This may be true : but technical plant physiology is not a subject for the beginner. Other subjects are more important Good botanical teaching for the young is replete with human interest. It is connected with the common associations When beginning to teach about plants, one should think more of the pupil than ot botany. The pupil's mind and sympathies are to be expanded ; not the science of botany to be extended. The teacher who thinks first of his subject teaches science ; he who thinks first ot his subject teaches nature study. . . . The old way of teaching botany was to teach the forms and the names of plants. It is now proposed that only function be taught. But one cannot study function intelligently without some knowledge of plant forms and names. He must know the language of the subject. The study of form and func- tion should therefore go together. Correlate what a plant is with what it does. What is this plant ? What is its office, or how did it come to be? It were a pity to teach phyllotaxy without teaching light relation* It were an equal pity to teach light relation without teaching phyllotaxy." Of the book itself there is little need to speak. The subject matter is excellently edited ; the illustrations are ela' orately pro- fuse— perhaps unnecessarily so — mostly half-tones ; the paper and binding are of the best It is an exceedingly attractive volume, and there is not a dull page between its handsome covers. Wa shall watch the success of this book, which in a measure is a reversion to former botanical teaching ideals, with a great deal of interest. There is unquestionably a tendency on the part of the advanced teacher of botany to cater to the specialist in scientific botany rather than to the student who wishes to study plants. I think this book has a distinct mission and will find a large constituency awaiting. J. CRAIG, ^^Sh. L ^ ^ In common with all the sorrowing subjects of }\IS IMPERIAL MAJESTY KING EDWARD the SEVENTH the members of THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' CLUB desire to record their deep sense of sorrow and loss at the demise of their beloved Sovereign Lady, QUEEN VICTORIA, during whose most glorious reign of sixty-four years, scientific work and original research, such as our Club aims to ac- complish, have received unprecedented impetus. wy THE OTTAWA f(ATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, FEBRUARY, 1901. No. 11. ANNUAL ADDRESS OF TH?. PRESIDENT OF THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' CLUB. (Delivered December 11, 1900.) /.adzes and Gentlemen : Another year has passed since we met to inaugurate our last course of winter soirfees. As a g-eneral statement of the condi- tion of the Ottawa Field-NaturaHsts' Club to-day, I have no hesitation in stating that we are in a healthy and vigorous condition. The membership has possibly never been higher; the finances are, I am informed by our worthy Treasurer, very encour- aging ; the excursions or sub-excursions or outings, held by the Club last season, have been unusually well attended; and, as far as we can see by the programme of winter soir6es which the soiree committee has prepared for us, there is in store many a treat in various branches of the Club's work during the coming season, I take this as an earnest of the good work done and results ob- tained by the members of the Club at the outings. Excursions and Sub-Excursions. These were held at regular intervals last spring and during the summer months. Beechwood, Britannia, Hemlock Lake, Beaver Meadow, Kirk's Ferry, Montebello, Cumberland, are some of the localities visited. Notices of these outings have appeared from time to time in The Ottawa Naturalist. The Ottawa Naturalist. The official organ of the Club, The Ottawa Naturalist, is fast 198 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February becomingf the most rapid medium of publication in Canada for notes on the Natural History of our various Provinces. There is much to be done yet in the way of publication, and it is to be noted that considerable time and labour would be spared the editor, if the associate editors appointed by the Council and responsible for several most important departments of research in Canadian science would co-operate with him and form a committee of supply which would not only prove most interesting- but make The Naturalist less one-sided perhaps — a phase which at different times it may appear to assume owing to circumstances over which none but the Associated Editors can have control. The Ross Prize. Nearly a year ago, during his visit to Ottawa, the Hon. G. W. Ross, then Minister of Education for Ontario, now the Premier of that Province, met a number of the officers of our Club and, noticing'the educational work which we were trying to do in our midst, proposed of his own accord to grant a prize or medal for the student of the Normal School doing the best work in con- nection with our Club. Competition was keen, and as a result the following com- munication was prepared by the committee of judges. Mr. J. H. Putman, Ottawa, June 12th, 1900. Science Master, etc., Ottawa Normal School. On behalf of the Judges appointed by the Council of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club to examine the collections of plants sent in for competition, I have the honour and pleasure to report that after a very careful and critical examination of said collections we have come to the conclusion that owing to the excellence of the collections and large number of specimens sent in and correct identifications of species, the first prize, presented by the Hon. Dr. Ross (Premier of Ontario) falls to Miss Elma Cannon, and the second prize, presented by the President of the Club (proxime accessit) to Miss Mary E. Robson. The collections of ATessrs. J. A. Graham, H. F. Breckenridge and Elmer Bolton, comprising the exact number of twenty-five igoi] Ami — Annual Address, 199 species each, are worthy ot" special mention, a« also the collections of Miss L. Mabel Graham, Miss Van Alstyne, and Miss M. M. Mackenzie. The Judg-es report that it was no ordinary task of awarding^ the prizes, as the all-round excellence of the collections demanded critical comparison of specimens with specimens throug-hout, before decision could be arrived at. P. S. — The Judges appointed by the Club were : — Dr. James Fletcher, Prof John Macoun, and the President of the Club, Dr. H. M. Ami. The National Museum. I am not one of those whose motto is " despair." In fact it is with considerable satisfaction and reasonable hope that we look forward to the early meeting- of the Canadian Parliament when the realization of the promises made by our worthy representatives are to be fulfilled. We expect a National Museum — a building- com- mensurate with the needs of the times, adapted for the specific purposes for which it is designated — as a repository of authentic and representative specimens illustrating the immense wealth and natural resources of our great Dominion. We hear from all sides the cry that the present building on Sussex street, the building on O'Connor street and other repos-itories of Canadian collections are '* too small," " very inadequate," "totally unfit," " dangerous- ly situated" and running the daily risk of being destroyed by fire, although they contain probably more "types" and typical series of collections illustrating the mineral wealth, forest products, pro- ducts of earth, sea and sky of Canada than would take a half century to acquire and replace. The fact is, ladies and gentlemen, if the types now displayed, say, in the Geological Museum on Sussex street, were ever destroyed, they could never be replaced and an irreparable loss to Canada as well as to science (or exact knowledge) would be the result. The people of Canada, all the Natural History Societies of the Dominion, the Council of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, and its members will hail with special delight the first tangible proof of the erection of a National Museum at the capital. Royal Society Meeting. In May of this year, the Royal Society of Canada again met 200 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February in Ottawa, and, as delegate of the Club, I had the honour to lay before that body, with which we have been affiliated since 1882, the results of the previous year's work. This 1 eport has been pub- lished and a number of extra copies have been issued. These give a fairly comprehensive view of the aims and methods of work carried on by our Club. Summer School of Science. The Club has heard of the possibility of a Summer School of Science being organized in this portion of Ontario. From the results achieved by a similar organization in the Maritime Pro- vinces, a vast amount of most useful information has been gathered not only by the teaching fraternity for whom these schools of science are generally organized, but also by all who may come into contact with their workings and any of their pub- lished results. The Club heartily welcomes such an organisation in the Ottawa Valley, and trusts that not only the teachers of the Ontario side of the Ottawa River will constitute its membership, but also teachers from the Quebec side. Schools of science for the purpose of becoming better acquainted with the natural resources of our country might well be established in every part of the Dominion, so that, instead of scattering our forces during the holiday season, we might acquire much useful knowledge, in a pleasant and profitable way — never as a task, but as a delightful pastime in the broad field of Nature. I feel confident that I echo the sentiments of every member of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club when I say that the Club is willing to do all in its power to assist such a Summer School of Science whenever established in our midst. Membership. It had been my purpose, when selected by you to fill the responsible position to which you have once more re-elected me, to organise a rnemhership coynviittee of the Club. I am convinced that the Club does not count within its membership one-half, nor one-third of the citizens of this City who are anxious to join us. On all sides I meet with such questions and statements as these : igoi] Ami — Annual Address. 201 "Oh ! may I join your club ? " " I'm not scientific enoug^h to join your Club ! " " Can I really join your Club?" Certainly you can join the Club ; any lover of Nature or student of the Natural Sciences ought to join our Club, and the sooner we see our membership roll increased, and the readers of The Ottawa Naturalist also increase in their interest in its pages, the sooner will our city awaken to the fact that we are in the midst of a most charming locality, full of attractions and use- ful studies in all branches of natural history and geology. There is plenty of work for the Club on all sides, whether we concen- trate on our special locality, Ottawa, or whether we deal with notes and observations on other parts of Canada. The work carried on by the Royal Society of Canada in our midst, by the Ottaiva Literary and Scientific Society, by the French Canadian Institute, by the St Patrick's Literary and Scientific Society, by the Scientific Society 0/ Ottawa University, possibly the youngest of our sister societies, has its place, and Ottawa is all the better for these organizations. We are all trying to plant thoughts. May they grow and multiply. It is not my purpose to detain you very long this evening. I have not prepared any elaborate address such as I would have wished for, on an occasion of this kind. In its stead I have brought together a few words regarding two persons, one, a great Canadian scientist, twenty-four years gone to his rest ; the other a member of our Club, but a few months, gone, whose loss we oft- times feel, for we miss him at our excursions and his familiar face is no longer with us, Archibald Lampman. The issue of that simple, chaste but excellent volume of poems from the pen of Archibald Lampman, recalls a duty unaccomplish- ed by us at our last annual inaugural meeting. I refer to the too early demise of our friend and fellow member, the sweet poet of Ottawa, Archibald Lampman. It was on the loth day of February, 1899, that he was taken from us, the result of too severe a strain upon his delicate con- stitution some three years previous, followed by a severe attack of pneumonia two^days prior to his death. His ardent love of Nature 202 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February and all she teaches in lake, in forest, in autumn, in winter, in sorrow, in comfort, led him into those numberless nooks and se- questered spots which enchant the eye, please the mind and en- trance the soul. In him the Club has lost one of its best friends and sympa- thizers. His was an observant as well as a contemplative soul. We have caught him many a time fairly revelling in the beauties of Nature-scenes surrounding our city, especially in those least frequented spots in the wilds of Nature where the ruthless hands of man hath not yet laid everything low. How he loved to pore over the harmonies of Nature as his pure true spirit saw them in their virgin beauty and grandeur with which his soul communed ! His poems ought to be in the hands of every field-naturalist. The seasons, the flowers, the birds, the forest, the storm, were so many voices to him which the tender and responsive chords of his delicate nature and temperament understood and with which he was intensely enamoured. In the volume edited by our fellow townsman, Mr. Duncan Campbell Scott, his descriptions reveal a heart that has tasted and seen the lovelinesses and beauties of the favourite haunts of our Club about Ottawa, where Lampman used to drink in those lovely sights that our eyes have witnessed and which his pen has so happily traced. We mourn his loss, but cherish and revere his memory. Billings Memorial. The late Elkanah Billings, who for twenty years was palaeon- tologist to the Geological Survey of Canada and was the founder of the "Canadian Naturalist and Geologist," was born in the township of Gloucester, along the right bank of the Rideau River in the old, and now demolished Billings homestead situated a few yards be- low the present bridge which spans that river at the little village of Billings Bridge. He was the second son of Mr. Bradish Billings whose ancestors came from England while those on his mother's side came from Wales. His grandfather was a Brock- ville physician. Dr. Elkanah Billings, after whom the subject of this sketch was named. Both his parents, however, were born in the United States, his father in Massachussets and his mother in New York State. [Qoi] Ami — Aj*nual Address. 20 o From Dr. Whiteaves's obituary notice of Elkanah Billings the following extracts are made : "Elkanah Billings, our esteemed associate for so many years, was born at the family homestead on the 8th of May, 1820. His first teacher was a governess, Miss Burritt, his next a family tutor named Maitland, and he afterwards went to three small schools in the neighborhood kept respectively by Messrs. Colquhoun, Collins and Fairfield. In 1832 the youth was placed at Rev. D. Turner's school in Bytown as a day pupil, and after four years' interval during which he remained at home on the farm, his parents sent him in 1837 to the St. Lawrence Academy at Potsdam, in the State of New York, of which the Rev. Asa Brainerd was Principal. "On leaving this institution, Mr. Billings entered the Law So- ciety of Upper Canada as a student in 1839 and was articled to Mr. James Mcintosh, a Barrister in Bytown. Mr. Mcintosh died in the same year and was succeeded by Mr. Augustus Keefer, with whom Mr. Billings remained for nearly four years ; and it appears that he was for a short time also in the oflRce of the late Mr. George Byron Lyon Fellovves in the same town. In 1843 he went to Toronto and studied for a twelvemonth longer with the legal firm of Baldwin & Wilson, and was admitted to practice as an attorney in the fall of 1844. Soon after this he returned to Bytown and entered into partnership with Mr. Christopher Arm- strong, who was then one of the judges of the County Court, but, a law having been passed prohibiting judges from pleading, the partnership was dissolved after having lasted only six months." In 1845 Mr. Billings married a Toronto lady, a sister of the Hon. Judge Adam Wilson. Between 1845 ^"<^ 1848 he practised law in Bytown, having been called to the Bar in 1845. In 1849, however, he removed to Renfrew, where he practised his profession until June, 1852, when he returned to Bytown where most of his time was engaged in journalistic and scientific pursuits. He occupied the editorial chair of " The Citizen" from the fall of 1852 until late in 1855. Many of Mr. Billings's leading articles in "The Citizen" of those days comprised popular disquisitions on geologi- cal topics and natural history subjects, which served , to. Jo^icate 204 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February the trend of thought of the man whose subsequent life led him into enquiries of the highest scientific type, whose writings are now held in the highest esteem and well known the whole scientific world over. It was during these years of residence in Bytown that he began the systematic study of the fossiliferous rocks which are so extensively developed along the banks of the Ottawa River in the vicinity of our city. Probably at first entered upon more as a pastime and relaxation from his journalistic duties, these researches culminated in his final adoption of geological studies, especially in the department of fossil organic remains, for the remainder of his life. The magnificent collections of crinoids, cystideans and star-fishes from the Trenton limestone of Ottawa that are now exhibited in the Museum of the Geological Survey of Canada, testify to his remarkable success and energies in these researches, for it must be remarked that these organisms are ex- tremely rare and great diligence as well as patience must be exercised if satisfactory results are to be expected. Early in 1856 Mr. Billings issued the first number of the " Canadian Naturalist," of which and the succeeding numbers of the first volume he was practically the sole contributor. The pro- duction of this number marks an epoch in the history of the pro- gress of scientific research and discussion in Canada. The articles contained in the first volume of the " Canadian Naturalist and Geologist" at once stamp Mr. Billings as a master in the descrip- tion of fossil organic remains as well as of recent natural history objects. Previous to the issue of this magazine, Mr. Billings had been brought into direct communication with Sir William Logan, then Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, and it was not long, yea, but few months elapse i, before tha latter with his usual c'ear- sightedness engaged the services of Mr. Billings, his friend, as Palaeontologist to the Geological Survey of Canada. It was in August, 1856, that Mr, Billings entered upon his duties as Govern- ment Palaeontologist, and until his death which took place June 14, 1876, a period of nearly twenty years elapsed in which he worked ceaselessly in the domain of palaeontology and in assist- ing his chief and director in assigning geological horizons to the [goij Ami — Annual Address. 20: various geological formations of eastern Canada, involving numer- ous and difficult problems which made it a task of no mean im- portance, but fraught with results th:it the world of to-day can, not only appreciate, but esteem, as amongst the best parformed work it has to consult. His first geological paper was published in April, 1854, and was entitled " On Some New Genera and "Species of Cystidea from the Trenton Limestone." It was published in the "Canadian Journal," Toronto, page 215. On removing to Montreal in 1856, Mr. Billings removed also the headquarters of his Magazine — *' The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist"; from that date on the same was published in Montreal under the same designation and under the name of " Canadian Naturalist and Quarterly Jour- nal of Science." until 1883, when it was superceded by the " Cana- dian Record of Science," and became the recognized official organ of the Natural History Society of Montreal. Of this Society he was regularly elected a Vice-president for 14 years, having declined the office of President proffered to him on many occasions. In 1858 Mr. Billings paid a visit to Europe, where he came in contact with leading geologists of the time and examined the various collections in geology throughout Great Britain. These he studied most zealously and made a comparative study of the Silur- ian (including both the lower and the upper Silurian of Murchison) and Devonian fossils of Western Europe with those of Canada and arrived at the conclusion that there were but few species iden- tical with those of Canada. In April 1858, when in London he was elected a F. G. S. (Fellow of the Geological Society of London); Sir Roderick Murchison, Professor A. Ramsay, and Prof. T. H. Huxley, having nominated him. He visited Paris where he met a • number oi distinguished men, amongst others the great Bohemian palaeontologist, the Abb6 Joachim Barrande, with whom, and in conjunction with Sir William Logan a most interesting discussion arose regarding the age of several rock formations occurring in the Province of Quebec, to which Sir William Logan gave the name "Quebec Group" — a controversy which included many dif- ficult problemsand in which the "Taconic Question" was a conspicu- ous factor. The term "Quebec Group" will invariably be associated with 2o6 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February the excellent work performed by Sir William Logan and Mr. E. Billings. Notwithstanding all the attacks that had been made upon the validity of that term and the discussions on its significance, it is as truly a natural group or division in the succession of pal- aeozoic sediments in Eastern Canada to-day as it was in the 50's and 6o's, and the chapters devoted to this most important study in the "Geology of Canada" for 1863, are replete with wisdom and forethought. On several occasions Mr. Billings made extensive collections in the Silurian as well as in the Devonian formations of Ontario and in the vicinity of Montreal, as can be seen from the collections now in the Geological Department, but the bulk of his time was devoted to the determination of geological horizons for mapping purposes and the description of new genera and species brought into the Department by the various field-geologists. Of genera new to science, Mr. Billings described no less than sixty-one and in all described 1065 new species of fossil organic remains from various horizons in the Palaeozoic of Canada. He also contributed many papers on natural history and zoology. He did much in assisting Sir William Logan to establish and build up the Geological Museum ; for, besides the large number of type species which he described, he identified as many more again, species from Canada with forms previously described by Conrad, Hall, Emmons, Vanuxem, Sowerby, and other palaeon- tologists of America and Europe. His writings indicate a clear and precise mind, coupled with a rare judgment, couched in a phraseology simple and to the point. He published upwards of 170 distinct papers, memoirs, or reports, many of which are now very difficult to obtain or entirely out of print. The bulk of his writings are embodied in the reports of the Geological Survey of Canada, comprising the figures and descriptions of Canadian fossil organic remains, or "Decades I, HI, and IV, the Palaeozoic Fossils, vol. i., parts I to 5 ; Pal. Fos. vol. iii, parti"; part 3of which isstill unpublished. While residing in Montreal he was a constant contributor to the *' Canadian Naturalist" ; he also wrote important papers in the igoi] Ami — Annual Address. 207 "American Journal of Science and Arts," New Haven, the "Geo- logical Magazine," London, and the "Journal of the Canadian Institute," Toronto. He was an indefatigable worker. From early morning till late at night he was at his desk, and later on at home into the hours of night he carried on his studies, and thus accomplished much in those twenty years of official connection with the Geological Survey of Canada. Billings left behind him a large amount of unfinished work, numerous and important lists of organic remains bearing upon the geology ot the older Provinces of our Dominion. Many of these lists would form most important contributions to Canadian Geologi- cal Science, should they ever be published. As noted by Dr. Whit- eaves in his obituary noticeandin Memoriam paper Can., Nat. and Q.J.S., vol. iii., No. 5, p. 261, "Mr. Billings died before he could describe the whole of the material he had studied and care- fully examined, including collections by Sir Wm. E. Logan and Prof, (now Dr.) Robert Bell, at Gasp^ ; Mr. T. C. Weston, at Arisaig; T. Curry, at Port Daniel and Bay of Chaleurs. The whole of the material from these localities had been carefully examined> and it only remained to write the " descriptions of the different species, but this, alas, he was not destined to accomplish." Those who had the pleasure and privilege to know Mr. Billings state that he was characterized " by great firmness and decision and an unswerving love of truth and justice, by an un- affected and winning modesty of demeanor;" To do him honour and tell the world of science what Billings did for Canadian Geological Science many a palaeontologist in America and Europe has named genera and species after him. The genera Billingsia, Billingsites, Billingsella, Elkania, have been erected by Walcott, Hall, Ford and Hyatt, whilst upwards of thirty species of corals, crinoids, brachiopods, lamellibranchiata, gasteropods, cephalopods, ostracods, trilobites and other fossil organic remains have his name affixed as their specific names. The Bibliography of Mr. E. Billings, prepared from my card catalogue of contributions to Canadian palaeontology of some years' standing, which last year was withdrawn for a season, will it is hoped, form an appendix to this already too long address. 2o8 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February Such Bibliog-raphies are a necessity nowadays. During- his lifetime Mr. Billing-s received many tokens of ap- preciation. In 1867 the Natural History Society ot Montreal voted him its silver medal for " his life-long- efforts for the promotion of science in Canada." He was awarded a bronze medal (in Class I) by the Jurors of the International Exhibition ot London in .862 and a similar one at the Paris Exposition of 1867. In connection with this evening's programme comes the pre- sentation of the portrait of the late Mr. E. Billings to the Geologi- cal Survey of Canada, and after these few remarks by your President on the career and work of that eminent Canadian, it may not be out of place for me to read three or four extracts of notes and communications received from a number of well-known palaeontologists and others whose words appear to me to show the eminently high esteem in which Billings is held to-day after a lapse of twenty-four years since he died. These communications include letters from the Hon. C. D. Walcott, Director of the United States Geological Survey ; Prof. R. P. Whitfield, Curator of the Geological Department of the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, New York City ; Prof. Charles Schuchert of the U. S. National Museum and Smithsonian Institution; Prof. J. M. Clarke, N. Y. State Palaeontologist at Albany, and the suc- cessor of the late Prof. James Hall. Prof. J. M. Clarke writes: "I sincerely regret that circum- stances do not permit me to tQsUiy propria persotia, on the occasion of the presentation of the Billings memorial portrait, to my profound appreciation of the great work accomplished by Mr. Billings for his elect science of palaeontolog-y. My admiration for his keen- ness of observation and correctness of orientation grows with the continued study of his results. At one time and another I have had occasion to study some part of his work with critical care, and no instance occurs to me in which any ot his determinations appeared open to question. In this day we often seem to be build- ing for others to pull down, and one works with the ever present consciousness of a multitude of critical witnesses, but Billings's tenacious adherence to facts and his ability to recognize the truth, have rendered his work stable and enduring. Mr. Billings was in 1901] Ami— Annual Address. 209 these respects an ideal palaeontologist, and iiis contributions to the palaeozoic faunas of America are of tremendous value. There was a large element in his results which his contemporaries in American palaeontology did not infringe upon nor compete with, the faunas of the early Siluric ; and had he not lived and laboured, or were our knowledge of these faunas debillingsed, the science would be thrown backward a generation. There is little danger of future palaeontologists forgetting their obligations to Elkanah Billings, father of a thousand palaeozoic children. His name will always remain familiar to, and honoured by the workers in the science to which he devoted his life." Prof. R. P. Whitfield thus writes: " 1 never met Mr. E. Billings but twice, once at Albany, N.V., and again at Montreal while looking through the Survey Museum with a class of students from the Troy Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Billings was sick at the time but came into the Collec- tion and spent some time with us and interested us all much with the collections then under his charge. I have been familiar with his work in Palaeontology and also with some of his more popular articles in the magazines and have admired his keen appreciation of the nature of the objects with which he was deal- ing. He must have been a close student of Nature and have fully appreciated and understood the bearings of the objects with which he was dealing. " His Palaeontological work is very well known and thoroughly appreciated among all workers in that line of investigation and will stand as a lasting Monument to his credit." The Hon. C. D. Walcott, Director of the U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., has sent the following communica- tion : — " I am very much pleased to learn that it is intended to present a memorial portrait of the late Mr, E. Billings to the Geological Survey Museum, It will be a fitting tribute to the man who did so much to assist Sir William Logan in un- ravelling the stratigraphic geology of the Paleeozoic rocks in Canada. I have always regretted that I was not personally acquainted with Mr. Billings, as I was impressed, when study- 2IO The Ottawa Naturalist. [February ing his descriptions and correlations, with the fact that he was a man of unusual ability, and possessed of a keen appreciation of the value of thorough palaeontological work." Dr. Charles Schuchert, Assistant Curator of the U.S. Nation- al Museum at Washington also writes : — " When in Ottawa last summer I was much pleased to see the splendid portrait of Elkanah Billings and delighted to know that it was to be shown amongst the many Canadian fossils which he immortalized. His short but brilliant descriptions hit off the salient characteristics of the species, proof positive ot a distin- guished palteontologist. In short, Elkanah Billings's name stands high amongst North American Invertebrate paleontologists and is one of that great triumvirate of pioneers in our sciences : Hall, Billings and Meek.'' Besides these brief but genuine appreciations of the man whom we seek to honour this evening, I feel constrained to add another tribute paid 'to the memory of Mr. Billings by one who formed the main theme and subject of our address last year, viz., Sir William Dawson. In his volume entitled " Salient points in the History of the Earth," Sir William dedicates Chapter XII " to the Memory of Elkanah Billings, first Palaeontologist of the Geological Survey of Canada, who laid the foundations of our knowledge ot the invertebrate fossils of Canada." I shall not attempt to give you any further details of his life works or writings, suffice it to say that " though dead he still lives" and his name stands unusually high in the estimation of all who have had anything to do with the unravelling of the Geological problems of Canada, especially as they present themselves to us in the older Provinces of our Dominion. In 1876 Billings died, and to fill his position the department engaged the services of the present distinguished occupant of the position of PalEeontologist and Zoologist, Dr. J. F. Whiteaves, a member of our Club since 1883. I regret exceedingly that Dr. Whiteaves is not present on this occasion. He has requested me to present his sincere regrets to this audience. We expected some words from him, but he is unfortunately prevented from being here "by an indisposition, and igoi[ Ami — Annum. Address. 211 we can only say that in Dr. Whiteaves, the Government has had an earnest and painstaking officer as successor to the eminent name of Billings. The Portrait. The portrait before us is the result of the work of our fellow townsman, Mr. Charles E. Moss, R.C.A., whom we are pleased to see with us this evening.' It is a faithful reproduction of that ex- cellent likeness of Mr. Billings, now hanging in the Lecture Hall of the Natural History Society of Montreal by W. Raphael, Esq., painted in 1876, from a photograph by Notman in 1861. It is the intention of the Committee to have a tablet prepared for the portrait with the following inscription : — ELKANAH BILLINGS, Esq., F.G.S., Palaeontologist from 1856 to 1876. Presented to the Geol. Survey of Canada by a Committee of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, Dec. nth, 1900, on behalf of his friends and admirers. I will now formally present this memento of Mr. Billings to the Dominion Government as represented here this evening by Dr. Geo. M. Dawson, the Director and Deputy Minister of the Geological Survey Department. The following is a synopsis of Dr. Dawson's apt remarks when accepting the portrait : My duty this evening is an easy and a very pleasing one, con- sisting as it does in receiving, on the part of the Geological Survey Department, this excellent portrait of Elkanah Billings, who for many years was Palaeontologist to the Survey. I can promise it a place of honour near the collections to which his labours were devoted, and I trust a still more conspicuous position may be found for it in the new and spacious Museum in which we hope, before long, to see these collections adequately housed. In thus honouring Billings's memory the Ottawa Field- Naturalists' Club, have, I feel, equally done themselves honour. It is particularly appropriate that a Committee of members of this organization has been instrumental in arranging for the production * The excellent frontispiece to this number is reproduced from the portrait by the Grip Printing & Publishing Co., Toronto. J. F., A'g Ed. 212 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February of this portrait, for all Mr. Billings's early associations were con- nected with Ottawa, the fossils contained in its rocks were the first objects of his scientific study, and, although much of his work was afterwards done in Montreal, the collections to which his time was devoted have come ba.ck to be preserved here. Billing-s was one of a remarkable triumvirate connected with its initiation and early work of the Canadian Geological Survey, all well in the van of scientific progress at the time, but each working along his own lines. Logan and Hunt were his asso- ciates, but his scientific eminence was less recognised in Canada because his work was less obviously connected with the economic problems that the Survey had set itself to solve. His audience was not so much in the little Canada of that day as in the studies and laboratories of Europe and the United States. The accuracy of his observations is evidenced by the per- manence of his reputation among those palaeontologists of a later generation that has arisen since his day. It is not often that, nearlv twenty-five years after the death of a man whose time was devoted to purely scientific pursuits, interest in his life and work have been maintained in such a way as to render a memorial like this possible, and I may therefore close by again congratulating both those who initiated and those who have aided by subscribing towards the production of this portrait. POWERS OF ADAPTATION IN FISHES. By Professor Edward E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries. Ottawa. Fishes are frequently classed as fresh-water species and marine species, but there are many which occupy a kind of neutral position, and have the habit of spending part of their time in fresh water and part in the sea. The salmon, sea-trout, smelt, striped bass, sturgeon, shad, &c., are familiar examples, many of them being anadromous, and ascending into fresh water for spawning purposes, while a few are catadromous, like the eel, and deposit their spawn in the sea. The power of adaptation igoi] Prince— Adaptation in Fishes. 213 implied in this chang^e of environment is most remarkable, and appears, in many instances at least, to be acquired during the life of the individual. Thus, a newly-hatched salmon soon dies if placed in sea-water, and the eggs of that species are also fatally " affected by the same treatment ; yet later in life the salmon lives indifferently in salt water and in river water. Further, many species, which normally migrate, have lost the habit and, like the land-locked salmon, smelt, flounder, or herring, may pass their days without ever tasting salt water. Some curious instances of extreme changes of habitat in certain moUusks are on record, as, for instance, the bed of cockles {Cardium edule) which was des- cribed before the Wernerian Society in Edinburgh in 1825 as existing in a Yorkshire peat moss 40 miles trom the sea. These shell-fish lived in a sandy channel, communicating with the river Tees, and were precisely like those distributed over the vast beds, eight or ten square miles in extent, at the estuary of that river. To the taste, however, they were distinctly less salt in flavour. A Mr. Brand, more than a hundred years earlier, had described, in an account of the Orkney Isles, a bed of cockles in the fields a mile from the sea. They were in a deep furrow to which salt water might have had access during an exceptional storm. Specimens of the sea-whelk [Buccinum iindatum) have been found in a fresh-water lake on the island of Yell, a mile and a half from the sea, and as the apex or tip was fractured it was thought that sea-birds or crows had carried them to their new location. Yet, the shell being somewhat thinner in texture, and more distinctly banded, it seems more probable that they had lived tor a long period in their fresh-water environment, and thus differed from the marine forms. Oysters, as is well known, flourish in brackish water, and can endure transference to water almost destitute of salinity ; but the}' do not appear to breed or maintain a healthy state, they merely fatten and increase in size. Many fishes in the same way are unfavourably affected if pre- vented from performing their usual migrations from or to salt water. Dr. Barfurth discovered that the ovaries become diseased, and the eggs degenerate in fishes which are prevented from normally migrating. The same observer has recorded the fact 2 14 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February that the ill-effects reappear in the following' season, the eggs and brood of the fish, permitted after confinement to ascend to the spawning grounds, being very inferior and clearly affected detri- mentally. The eminent Scottish authority. Professor W. C. Mc- intosh, some years ago described flounders that became egg-bound and swollen while confined in salt-water tanks ; and ultimately they sickened and died. The results, in all cases, are not so unfavourable. Sir J. G. Maitland kept some sea-salmon fry from March, 1881, when they were hatched, until 1884, and took the eggs and mill, so that he secured young salmon fry of small parent fish (smolts) which had never been to sea. Dr. Francis Day has told us that some of the young brood had attained a length of c^}4 inches in 1886. The retention of sea-salmon in fresh water is found usually to retard their growth, and in one of the earliest experiments (at Lier, in Norway) the weight reached in five years was under two pounds, less than one-tenth of that normally reached by migratory salmon. Sea-sahnon planted in Lake Huron prior to 1883 were reported by the late Mr. Wilmot to be smaller than those found along the coast. The ouananiche of Lake St. John, P.Q., like their land- locked congeners in Lake Onawa and other waters in Maine, and the Chamcook Lakes in New Brunswick, are smaller than sea- salmon. In many cases access to the sea is possible ; but if from some geological or other natural cause the fish were originally prevented from descending to the sea, the catadromous habit appears not to have been resumed, partly no doubt owing to the abundance of food in their fresh-water habitat. Land-locked smelt are very often abundant in waters containing land-locked salmon, and they aflford an ample supply of food. Pacific salmon exhibit the same phenomenon, of which Kennerley's salmon is an example ; but the spring salmon artificially land-locked in California in 1875 or earlier, bred, and their progeny reached a weight of eight or ten pounds, though on account of scarcity of food, another series were found in nine years to barely reach a weight of two pounds. The spring salmon or quinnat is a large species ranging from 15 to 50 or 60 pounds or even more. The salmon retained at Tadousac, and in certain small lakes adjacent to the Restigouche proved to be I igoi] Prink:e— Adaptation in Fishes. 215 stunted, and weighed less than a quarter the weig^ht normally reached at the age of the specimens referred to. The adaptability of smelt (Osmerus mordax ) has long- been known. Nearly seventy years J'go Col. Meynell acclimatised smelt and bred them in a small sheet of water in England, and quite a number of lakes in New Brunswick, Lake Utopia and others contain land-locked smelt. Only one or two members of the cod family ( Gadidcc ) are indigenous to fresh water. All the rest are marine, the fresh- water species being the cusk or burbot, often called ling or lawyer. The tom-cod ( Microgadus), while it prefers saline or brackish, water can survive in a fresh-water environment, and occurs in abundance in Lake St. Peter, below Montreal. An allied form, the silver hake ( Merluccius bilmeansj is recorded as abundant in Darling's Lake, near Rothesay, N.B., attracted from the sea by the ascending schools of gaspereaux, which are their favourite food. In the Baltic Sea, the true cod, as well as the haddock, pollock, and other gadoids, occur, but reach only one-quarter of the size which these fishes attain in the sea. In the Bras d'Or Lakes cod are I stated to be large (sometimes 56 or 58 pounds), but the head is of disproportionate size, as though they were not well fed. They are caught through the ice at Whycocomagh, far inland and in water of low salinity. Of the herring tribe at least five species come up into fresh water annually, and some have become land-locked like the gas- pereaux or alewives ( Pomolobus pseudharengus ) of Lake Ontario and Lakes Cayuga and Seneca (N. Y. State) and other inland waters. They are often erroneously called shad or menhaden, and they die in immense numbers in early summer owing to some un- favourable circumstance connected, doubtless, with their non- sea-going habit. True sea-herring are not known to be land- locked in Canada ; but in Iceland and in the Baltic a fresh-water variety occurs. Some of the Baltic herring were kept for a long period in tanks by Professor Mcintosh in Scotland, the water sup- plied to them being perfectly fresh. They were somewhat stunted. Many fish when permanently shut off from the sea improve in size and table qualities. Dr. J. C. Mitchell, an authority on the 2i6 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Feb ruarv fishes of Egypt, affirms that three species of mullet reached a large size and were of finer flavour after retention in fresh water than those in salt or brackish water. In Florida red fish ( Pagnis) confined in a fresh-water lake were found 38 pounds in weight, and im- proved in delicacy of flavour, while numerous other marine species survived the change, but some sharks and sting-rays succumbed, owing, it was surmised, to the winter cold of 1885. The shark tribe are essentially marine, and ill-able to adapt themselves to non- marine surroundings. I know of one record only of a marine species found far from the ocean, viz., a questionable instance of a dogfish, which was stated to have followed the salmon schools for a distance of 1,500 miles from the Pacific shore. The fish was recorded to have been killed up the Bruno River, Nevada, by the wheel of a waggon crossing a ford. There are, it is true, some fresh-water sharks, like Carcharias gangetica in the Ganges, and the Senegal saw-fish, also Indian and South American rays {Narcine, Torpedo, &c.). Certain whales also are non-marine, such as the small Platanista gangetica in the Ganges, and Inia and Pontoporia, belonging to the Grampus and Porpoise family, and found in the Amazon and other South American rivers. The white beluga ascends the St. Lawrence for 150 miles, and goes up the Saguenay River for some distance. The carps, of which our suckers and mullets are examples, are credited with much plasticity. The German carp can not only endure but survive changes of a remarkable character, living in mud and existing far from lakes or streams for a long period. Certain suckers can endure alkaline and other chemical impurities, and an extraordinarily high temperature. In that wonderful volcanic geyser area, the Yellowstone Park, Professor Jordan found suckers and chubs in water of 85° F. and 88"^ F. and young trout in a temperature of about 75<^ F. The catfish and bull-heads are notoriously tenacious of life. Thoreau, indeed, said that Ameiurus nebulosus opens and shuts its mouth for half an hour after its head has been cut off; but there are only one or two questionable instances of their surviving removal from favourable surroundings. More experiments are, however, desirable. If, as Bloch stated, the delicate grayling {ThymalLus) can flourish in brackish water, contrary to Sir igoi] Prince — Adaptation in Fishes. 217 Humphrey Davy's dictum that salmon and trout will do so, but the fastidious g-rayling cannot do so, it is possible that the variety of fishes capable of acclimatisation in saline, alkaline or other waters may be considerable. The sticklebacks, while normally frequent - ino- fresh water, except G. spinachia, flourish in brackish water, and in shore pools reached by high tides. The marine flat-fishes, the flounder, &c., are found up rivers far from the sea, while the striped bass has been successfully retained for years in fresh water, but the climax is reached in that paradoxical fish, the blenny of Ceylon and the Celebes, which habitually lives on damp rocks, . leaping from one to the other, and shunning the water to avoid being drowned ! Periophthahnus, as it is called on account of its projecting eyes, leaps, when pursued, like a frog, and, as Dr. Gunther says, seems to '* prefer escaping in that way to swimming beneath the surface." The plasticity and adaptability of various fishes to new sur- roundings is not only a matter of peculiar biological interest, it is of eminent practical importance. Hence the brief sketch which I have prepared has been amplified and in a somewhat detailed form will appear as a special report in the forthcoming Blue Book of the Fisheries Department to be laid before Parliament at the approach- ing session. The liubject is one needing fuller investigation. If barren waters remote trom the sea, and unfavourable, from con- ditions of temperature, alkalinity, and the like, for indigenous inland species, can be stocked with fine species of fish, marine or brackish in their habitat, the possibility of conferring immense benefit upon the public becomes plainly apparent. From our present fragmentary knowledge it may be surmised that no small number of species have such powers of endurance as to facilitate the work of acclimatization. 2i8 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February NOTES ON THE ACADIAN OWL fNVCTALA ACAD/CAJ IN CAPTIVITY. By F. Norman Beattie, Guelph, Ont. On the fourth of November, 1899, while strolling through a small swale near this city, I noticed an Acadian Owl with a field mouse in its claws, perched on a small bush. Thinking I might capture him, I sent my companion around in front to engage his attention while I sneaked up behind to grab him. The dodge worked, and I soon had him sately stowed in the pocket of my coat. He did not seem to mind being caught in the least, not even snapping his bill, but he objected when I took his mouse away. We took him home and let him loose in a small room which is not used for anything in particular. He immediately took possession, and now he started to puff himself up and snap his bill at anyone who went near. This wore oft in a short time, though he always resented being handled. For some time he did not take readily to beef, leaving it strictly alone if he could get anything else, but sometimes I was forced to give it to him, and in the course of a few weeks he overcame his dislike to it and ate it freely. His favourite food was mice, which, unfortunately, I was not always able to give him. However, he was also fond of a squirrel or a small bird. His method of eating a bird was peculiar. First he would pounce down upon it as if it were alive and then, holding it down with one foot, would pull out a fist-full of feathers with the other. He would repeat this operation, changing feet each time, till most of the larger feathtrs were out; then he would pull off the head and swallow the body if small enough; if not, he would pull it apart, holding it with one foot and pulling with his beak. I never knew him to swallow a bird's head though he always did a mouse's. He invariably pounced down upon his food and seized it firmly in his claws as he evi- dently was in the habit of doing with live game. He could gulp a surprisingly large piece of beef, in fact, when several pieces were given him he always chose the largest first. If too large to swallow whole he would take a few bites and then put down the remainder. igoi] Beattie— Acadian Owl. 219 In the case of mice he always pulled off" the head and swallowed it first; in fact, the mouse he had when I caught him was minus the head. Before eating the body he gave it a couple of rolls about in his mouth and crushed the bones with his bill. He always waited a while after swallowing the head, before he attacked the body. In most cases he put his food down in short order, but sometimes when satisfied he would perch himself on a piece of beef and take an occasional nip at it. I never tried him with crickets or grasshoppers, but a Screech Owl which I kept the previous spring, ate them readily as it did earth worms also. The latter did not seem to contain much nourishment, for the Owl became very thin during the week I fed him on them. On the evening of the da\ I caught the Acadian Owl he threw up two pellets, one containing fur and bones, the other fur and the crushed skull of a mouse. All skulls which he ejected were crushed and covered with fur. I am unable to sny whether more pellets were thrown up after birds than after mice but I am. of the opinion that such was the case, as those ejected after mice were more compact. The bones contained in the pellets were in small pieces and badly splintered. I never saw him in the act of regurgi- tation, but I am of the opinion that more pellets were ejected during the morning and evening, as most new ones were found then, especially in the evening. For the first two weeks I had him, I never heard him make a sound beyond the snapping of his bill ; but after this he would favour us at night with a series of little squeals or shrieks, or he would often give vent to a single note. Each note certainly had some resemblance to the sound made by a file drawn once across a saw, but when several were uttered at once I failed to perceive the resemblance. Perhaps this was due to the proximity and my knowledge of the origin of the sound. His notes were generally heard in the evening and early morning, and never in the day- time. He frequently squealed just after attacking a piece of meat or any other article of food. I once caught him jerking away at the skinned body of a squirrel and squealing his best. During the day, when not disturbed or when not eating, he struck a very queer looking position to go to sleep. He would 2 20 The Ottawa Naturalist. [February draw himself up perfectly erect with his feathers close to his body, making himself look far taller and thinner than usual. He would then slowly close his eyelids in a funny crooked line and go to sleep. His whole appearance changed in the evening, as, with feathers fluffed out and body bent forward, he would move his head from side to side and peer with an anxious expression into all the nicks and crannies in the room. I was always conscious of his flight even when not watching him, owing to a slight breeze which his wings made in the room, but even when he flew close to my head I could not distinguish the faintest sound. Although I supplied him with a box of sand in which was sunk a dish of water, I never saw him either drink or bathe, and the water did not seem to decrease, but got dirty in a few days. His feathers never looked as if th y had been near water. But my pet came to a. tragic end at last in the following manner. I paid him a visit one morning, and, unnoticed by me, the cat followed me into the room but did not follow me out again. Shortly after there was a slight tussle, followed by a faint shriek and then all was still. Going into the room I saw the cat with my pet in her mouth. The cat had evidently got the owl in a corner, and I knew how he would back up and show fight, and so the tussle I heard is explained. One of the cat's fangs had penetrated its skull just over the eye and all one side of the head was smashed. When skinned the bird proved to be a male and was in fairly good condition, though not fat. During the few months 1 had him, he proved a most in eresting pet, and I was sorry indeed to lose him. Correction. — A most unfortunate error occurred in the Notice of Prof. Bailey's Botany on page 196 of the last number. In line 13 the word " subject" should read pupil. THE OTTAWA [(ATURALIST. Vol. XIV. OTTAWA, MARCH, 1901. No. 12. NOTES ON SOME LAND AND FRESH -WATER MOLLUSCA FROM FORT CHIMO, UNGAVA BAY, UNGAVA. By J. F". Whiteaves. In 1864 Dr. A. S. Packard made a small collection of land and fresh-water mollusca on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Labrador. The names of the species in this collection are included in his " V^iew of the Recent Invertebrate Fauna of Labrador," published in the first volume of Memoirs of the Boston Sojie y of Natural History. Omitting Alasmodonta arcuatUy which is included only on hearsay evidence, and Hyalina electrina and Zoogenetes harpa, which seem to have been found only on the Gulf coast, the species recognized from the Atlantic coast are as follows, the land shells having been determined by Prof. E. S. Morse. PisiDiUM Steenbuchii (Moller). = Cyclas Steenbuchii, Moller, 1842. " Abundant in fresh water streams and swampy lands at Square Island and Strawberry Harbor." IsTH.MiA (Pupa) Hoppii, Beck. "Common at Strawberry Harbor." CoNULus (Helix) Fabricii, Beck et Moller. " At Strawberry Harbor, July 26. Found under sticks in a retired and protected valley." 222 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March ViTRiNA ANGELICA, Beck et Moller. "Common, generally occurring with ' Hyalina electrina' Taken at Strawberry Harbor." LiMAX AGRESTis, Linn. " Not uncommon at Strawberry Harbor and at Square Island, under stones." In 1883 and 1884 Mr. Lucien M. Turner, of the Smithsonian Institution, collected a few specimens of land and fresh-water mollusca, still farther to the northward, at or near Fort Chimo. These specimens are referred to by Dr. W. H. Dall, on pages 202 and 203 of a paper published (in 1886) in the ninth volume of Proceedings of the United States National Museum, where they are identified with the following species. LiMN^A PALUSTRis, Muller, var. Vahlii. = LimiiEea Vahlii (Beck), Moller, 1842. LiMAX (Agriolimax) hyperboreus, Westerland. ZoNiTES (CoNULUs) CHERSiNA, var. EGENA, Say. = Helix Fabricii, Beck, 1837 ; Connlus Fabricii, Packard ; and probably the tame as the northern European shell now called Conulus fulviis or Petasia fulva. Pupa decora, Gould. Much more recently, in 1896, while assisting Mr. A. P. Low, of the Geological Survey of Canada, in his Labrador explorations, Mr. W. Spreadborough collected a small but interesting series of fresh water shells at Fort Chimo. In this little collection, also, there are four species represented, of which one is a Limncea that is evidently the same as that collected at the same place by Mr. Turner, and identified by Dr. Dall with Z. palustris, var. Vahlii. The others appear to be as follows : 190 1 ] WhITEAVES — UXGAVA INLAND MOLLUSCA. 223 PisiDiuM Steenbuchii (Mollcr). Eight perfect specimens, which, upon the whole, agree very well with the rather vngue description of this species, without any illustration, in the *' Index Molluscorum Groenlandiae." Valvata sincera, Say. • About thirty living specimens, in fine condition, with their opercula. Many years ago Canadian examples of this species were erroneously referred to Valvatd hiimcnilis. Say ; and Mr. W. G. Binney at one time thought that they should be regarded as a smodth form of Valvata tricarinata. As now understood, the true V. sincera appears to range over nearly the whole of the northern part of this continent. Living or recent specimens of it have been collected at the following localities. In the Province of Quebec, at three different lakes or rivers in the county of Rimouski ; in fresh water streams on the Island of Anticosti ; and in the Lachine Canal at Montreal. In Ontario, at Lake Nipigon ; in Assiniboia, 01 the east fork of Milk River ; and in British Columbia, at two localities in the East Kootenay district. Similar specimens have been found at Great Slave Lake ; at Sturgeon Lake, Athabasca ; and on the Peace and Upper Mackenzie rivers. The species is also knovt'n to occur in great abundance, in a semi- fossil state, in many shell marl deposits in Quebec and Ontario, from Anticosti to Owen Sound. Planorbis arcticus (Beck) Moller, 1842. Seven specimens, which seem to be referable to this species, though P. arcticus may be only a synonym of P. parvus. Say (1816) which Binney says is found as far to the northward as Moose Factory in James Bay, and Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River. Ottawa, January iith, 1901. 224 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March • A NEW SONG FOR A COMMON BIRD. By W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. On Mav 3rd ot the present year Mr. H. Gould and I spent the day twenty-five miles west of London, seeking- with some success the nests of the larger hawks. Near the close of the day there lay a few miles between us and the railway-station, and we chose the longer of two ways " for a walk," to see the country and to hear the birds. When the light had grown so dim that we could no longer see a bird at any distance, our attention was arrested by a harsh nasal "gaap," delivered in a tone midway between that of a snipe and a night-hawk, to the latter of which we were at first inclined to refer it. Sitting down to listen, we were in a few minutes startled to hear the bird evidently flying our way, and uttering all the time a most peculiar set of twitterings, which we could not accurately describe. When over our heads we caught a glimpse of it, still rising, then turning, and in a few seconds more the twitterings ceased and then the monotonous, reg-ular *' gaap " reached us again, from about the locality of his former perch. While awaiting further developments we speculated on the identity of the singer, and what we considered our best guess was the snipe, for the notes appeared to have some characters which fulfilled our ideas of the kind of song a snipe might sing — }f he could. Continuing our vigil, we were favoured with several repetitions of the flight song, the "gaap" being continuously rendered at intervals of say five seconds during all the time when the bird was on the ground. It was too dark to see to shoot the bird, and much too dark to have found it, it we had shot it, and, besides, we had no gun; so we were compelled to leave it, and for some months were in ignorance of its identity, no one to whom the problem was referred being able to throw the least light on the matter. Recently, however, in reviewing the pages of the "Nidologist" I read an interesting article (Page 6, vol. IV.) by Mr. R. B. Mc- Lain, of Elm Grove, W. Va., on the twilight song ot the Meadow- lark which seems to parallel our own exactly, and as this opens up igoi] Saunders— New Song for a Common Bird. 225 an almost unknown chapter of this common bird's hfe I quote his article at length : " In 1895, the writer, chancing to be in close proximity to a field, observed a bird perched in a tree-top. Its position and actions proclaimed it a Meadowlark at the first glance. As I approached, it took wing and flew swiftly upward, its wings vibrating rapidly as the bird ascended spirally into the air, uttering a hushed but penetrating, chattering noise resembling somewhat the notes of the Chcetura pelagica. Suddenly these chattering noises are interrupted by loud ' chirps' or ' cheeps' like those of a Canary uttered in quick succession. The bird flew in almost a circle, slowly descending to the ground again It seemed to have great power of ventriloquism (or else the damp air caused a mis- leading influence in determining its position by hearing), for the notes appeared to come out of the tree — near which I stood — but every twig was visible and no bird was to be seen : and, as I had lost sight of it in its flight, I knew not where it could be. The notes grew louder and louder. I was positive the bird was in the tree. But it was not, for I was still gazing upward, above and partially through it. I was puzzled. The bird was certainly coming nearer, for the notes continued to grow louder, until I almost imagined it would end by lighting on my head. But the misleading notes did not end here. The noise ceased for a moment, then a sharp and harsh grating ' cheep ' came from a point in the field above, 80 or 100 feet distant. I was vexed the first time this occurred, but realized that either the bird was deceiving me or the air had a hand in the deception. The loud, hoarse call was repeated at intervals, and I could easily determine its position. A few moments later it again took wing, and the chattering began, broken in upon occasionally by the chirping, until it again seemed almost upon me. Then a repetition of the intervals of silence and once more the tell-tale ' cheep' from the field. On one occasion while gazing up, the bird flew directly over my head only about thirty feet above ; his voice had so be- wildered me that I could not ascertain his whereabouts until 1 saw him sail smoothly over. Whether the dampness, the clear moist air, or the bird itself caused this ventriloquial effect I do not know, but I rather favour the latter supposition." 226 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March This experience was ours exactly; the ventriloquial qualiiv was not so marked, but it was present : the height of the flight was about the same, and our bird also described a circle when near the end of its song. I do not know any more satisfying occurrence in the experience of a bird student, than to open a new page in the life history of a common bird, and this is a chapter that is certainly rarely entered upon by anyone. The time of day at which the song occurs, usually finds us wheeling homewards, if not already at home, and the season for this song is doubtless very short, so that it may be counted among one's rarest ornithological recollections. The Ovenbird has a similar song, fairly well known in the aggregate, but which has been well heard by but few persons. And why not? How many persons know the call of the Sawwhet Owl, which is to be heard near most cedar swamps in March and April ? Is it not true that we miss these and many other novel phases of bird lite by spending the evening and early night under cover ? NOTES TAKEN IN THE PEACE RIVER, ATHABASKA, AND ADJACENT COUNTRY. The following interesting letter from Mr. J. A. Macrae, Commissioner to deal with Indians and Half breeds in the Atha- baska districts in 1900, has been kindly placed at the disposal of the Ottawa Naturalist by Dr. Otto J. Klotz, Astronomer to the Department of the Interior, at whose request the observations were made during Mr. Macrae's official visit to the far north last summer. " Ottawa, January 22nd, 1901. " My dear Dr. Klotz— I have already lold you how sorry I am not to be able to bring you back more detailed and useful information from the North, but in case the few observations I am able to report m;iy be of use to you I give them here. The only thermometrical readings I can give you are as follows : — iqoi] Macrae — Notes in the Peace River. 227 April 18, 6 p.m. 3o\ 11 19, Carrot Creek : minimum 18', 6 a.m. 26°, noon 58°, 6 p.m. 3o\ ti 20, Pembina Valley : minimum 28% 6 a.m. 30 , noon 43°, 6 p.m. 41°. ir 21, Pembina Valley : minimum 26', 6 a.m. 30°, noon 57°, 6 p.m. 50°. II 22, Paddle River : minimum 33°, 6 a.m. 37% 6 p.m. 40'. M 23, Six miles north of Paddle River : minimum 33°, 6 a.m. 35°. 6 p.m. 42 . II 24, Six miles north of Paddle River : minimum 32", 6 p.m. 42°. II 25, Athabasca River : minimum 30°, 6 p.m. 40°. II 26, Six miles north of Athabasca River : minimum 32°, 6 a.m. 32", 6 p.m. 39°. II 27, Deep Creek : minimum 24', 6 a.m. 35% 6 p.m. 40°, It 27, Deep Creek : minimum 24°, 6 a.m. 35", 6 p.m. 40°. II 29, Deep Creek : minimum 18, 6 a.m. 22'. May I, Swan Hills : minimum 28, 6 a.m. 30°. I observe trom notes made in my diary that frogs were heard on April 21st for the first time, between Pembina River and Paddle River. The frost was already a foot out of ground on the roads. I find a note made on the 27th April that anemones were well up and plentiful at Deep Creek, and young grass was about three inches high. A caribou was seen, a fact which I mention as I think that it was rather far southwest. April 29. The frost is still in the ground. On the 28th the first mosquitoes were seen. Northern lights of great brilliancy on this date. No rustling or crackling noticeable. On »May ist I crossed the Swan Hills, finding very deep snow on the sum nit. The aneroid both in ascending and descending the hills showed that poor Chalmers's reading of i ,000 feet is about correct. Your instrument read 995 feet. The grass on the south slope of the hills was very much more advanced than any we had seen yet. On May 3rd we saw the first wild ducks. Upon leaving the high country on May 14th and going down into Peace River 228 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March Valley I was much surprised to note the difference in vegetation. It was at least two or three weeks ahead of that about Lesser Slave Lake, and this is said to be always the case. The poplars and tamaracks were all in leaf and mosquitoes plentiful. It is of interest to us who have so long- known the North West Territories, and I think have observed how frost does damage in valleys whilst high ground escapes, that in the Upper Peace River Valley the contrary is the case ; frost blights vegeta- tion on high ground but not in the valley. This is probably due in part to the great height of the table lands and in part to the enormous body of water contained in the river. On May 20th, south of Clear Hills on the road to Fort St. John, I noticed strawberries, raspberries, saskatoon, wild cherries, and snap-dragon in flower, anemones and wild flax in seed. At Peace River they informed me that the season was always a couple of weeks ahead of Lesser Slave Lake. The depth of Pine Valley I made out from the aneroid to be 725 feet. On the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of May we found the grass very much more in advance of what it had been elsewhere, and it appears that, as the moun- tains are neared in, going up the Peace River, the vegetation becomes more rapid and the season earlier. At Vermillion on the night of June 23rd at its darkest I was able to read print ouside of my tent, and night was only twilight on Slave River on July 14th. Strawberries, gooseberries, and saskatoon berries were ripe. The pelicans, which gather in great numbers at Pelican Rapids on Slave River, had gone north ten or twelve days before July i8th. At Fort Chipewyan, Fort Smith, and Fort Resolution I made close inquiries into the number of Wood Bjffalo remaining, hav- ing an opportunity to do this owing to meeting so many Indians fresh from their grounds — such as, I think, ao one else has en- joyed. Some of the Indians who came in to meet me at each place had lately been near the buffalo, and had counted the different herds, which are, generally speaking, three in number ; one rang- ing from Salt River to Peace Point on Peace River, one from Salt River north to Great Slave Lake, and one from Salt River east and west. They number I conclude from 500 to 575 head. You igoi] Macrajs — Notes in the Peace River. 229 will, of course, understand that errors in count may have occurred, few Indians counting reliably, but I think that it is quite safe to- say that about the number stated are lett. Some eight or nine were killed last winter, but as I tried and punished those who killed them it is thought in the country, and is hoped by me, that no more depredations will occur. I understand that there has been an increase, since the animals were protected, of perhaps a couple of hundred, and it would appear to be only necessary to continue vigorous protective measures in order to perpetuate the herd. It is noticeable that the fur of the Wood Buffalo, owing no doubt to climatic conditions, is longer and thicker than was that of its brother of the plains, and it has that straightness and thick- ness which characterizes that of the Musk Ox. I was informed that it was never safe to count upon Great Slave Lake being open before July 1st. On 23rd July we had exceedingly hot weather, but the nights continued pleasant and cool. Four tribes of Indians, representatives of which had never before entered into treaty relations with the Crown, were dealt with, namely, the Slave or Slavey Indians of Hay River, the Dog- ribs, the Yellowknives. and the Cariboo Eaters. The habitat of the Dogribs is to the north and south of the central portion of Great Slave Lake ; the Yellowknives come from Fond du Lac or Great Slave Lake near old Fort Reliance ; the Slaves inhabit the Hay River basin, and the Cariboo Eaters, the country east of Slave River. On September 6th we experienced frost, and on September 13th had a very cold storm of rain and sleet with some frost. The leaves along the Athabasca had changed colour and were falling from September 3rd. I do not understand the naming of the Great Slave Ri\;er. It is in fact identical with Peace River ; yet, after the waters from Lake Athabasca enter it, making no appreciable difference in its size or course, its name changes to the Great Slave. Locally it seems to be as often called the "Peace" as it is the "Great Slave." With my report in the blue book of the Department of Indian. Affairs will be published a map that may interest you showing 230 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March roug-hly the habitat of various Indian tribes. Please note the incursion of the Crees, who are of Algonquin stock, into the ■country of the Tinnie or Dhinnie family. Of the existence of the Iroquois about Jasper House you will have been long aware. J. A. Macrae. TWO WARBLERS NEW TO CANADA. By W. L. Kells, Listovvel, Ont. Among the most interesting ornithological events to the stu- dents of natural science in the season of 1900 was the securing of specimens of two species ol birds new to the avifaunian lists of Canada. Both of these birds belong to the family of the Warblers and the genus Detidroica, and both of the specimens obtained were of the male sex. The names of the new visitants are the Kirtland's Warbler [D. Kirtlandi) ya.r\d the Prairie Warbler D. discolor). The specimen of the latter was taken on the i ith of May and that of the former on the i6th of the same month, and the fortunate collector was Mr. J. H. Samuel, an ornithologist of Toronto, who reports his discovery of these as well as the discovery of other rare specimens to Mr. C. W. Nash, who edits the "Studies in Nature" department of The Fanning World. In introducing Mr. Samuel's report Mr. Nash says : — " These records will be of the greatest interest to naturalists, as they include two species of birds that have never before been found in Canada." The Kirtland's Warbler. Regarding the Kirtland's Warbler, Mr. Nash remarks : "The capture of the Kirtland's Warbler near Toronto is quite the most interesting event of the season. This warbler is one of the least known of North American birds, only seventy-five specimens being in American collections up to Jan. ist, 1899, and, of these, fifty-five were taken in the Bahamas, the other twenty having been taken in the United States. The rarity of this bird makes it improbable that we shall hear or see anything of it again for some time, I go I J Kells — Two Warblers New. 231 unless, like Cory's Bittern, the few that come northward should select this province for their future home." This member of the Warbler family received the nam.e of Kirtland from Dr. J. P. Kirtland, of Ohio, who appears to have been the first to introduce the species to the notice of American ornithologists, and add its name to the list of the warblers of North America, of which it is among the rarest. The male of this species is about five and a half inches in length, and the plumage on the upper parts is of a slaty blue colour, the front of the head being black and the crown streaked with lines of the same hue, the under parts yellow, whitening toward the extremities, and the wings and tail are each marked with spots and lines of a clear white. The female is a little smaller in size than the male and the marking of her plumage is much similar, but the colours are of a duller hue. The bill and feet are black. Of the nesting and general habits of this species but little is known, but in its migratory movements and food-seeking actions it does not appear to differ from the other members of its genus. Dr. Coues, in his " Key to North American Birds," gives a full description of the size and plumage of both sexes of this species, and after noting its habitations " Eastern United States," says that it is the rarest of all the warblers, and that up to 1884 only about a dozen specimens had been collected. In the general notes of the first volume of " The Auk," page 389, under the heading "Another Kirtland's Warbler from Michigan," Mr. Robert Ridgway, of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, contributes the following note regarding this species: — "The national museum has recently acquired a fully adult male of this species which, on the collector's label, bears the following legend : ' No. III. collection of N.Y. Green {Dcndroica pinus) Pine CreepingWarbler; Battle Creek, Mich., May nth, 1883.' This specimen, which was generously presented to the National Museum by Mr. J. H. Batty, of Parkville, LT., is in the highest state of plumage of the fully adult male, and has the yellow of the under parts entirely free from markings on the jugulum Which are • present in the type (an immature male changing to spring plu- mage) and in two of the three females in the collection. 232 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March The reader will note that though the collector of the above specimen labelled it as the Pine Warbler, yet Mr. Ridgway iden- tified it as a fully plumaged specimen of Kiitland's species. Referring to "The Birds of Michigan," by Prof. A. T. Cook, we find that author recording the Kirtland as a rare straggler in that State, mentions the specimen taken at Battle Creek in May, 1883, and identified by Mr. Ridgway, and speaks of another taken at Ann Arbor in May, 1888, and refers to another captured at the Straits of Mackinaw and identified by Dr. Merriam. Up to 1878 but nine specimens were known, the fifth and ninth of these hav- ing been taken by Mr. Covert at Washtenan, in that State. The Prairie Warbler. Referring to the taking of a specimen of a male Prairie Warbler, by Mr. Samuel, near Toronto, on the nth of May, 1900, Mr. Nash remarks : — " The Prairie Warbler, which has also made its appearance for the first time, is a much better known bird than the Kirtland Warbler, and as its summer range includes most of the States immediately south of our border, its occasional appearance here may be expected." Among the birds of New England the Prairk Warbler is re- corded as a rare summer visitant. In Florida it is also listed as a rare bird, but in that State it is met with in the winter season more commonly than in the summer months. In Virginia, it is a more common species, and in all the lists of the birds of the Northern States from New York to the great plains it is recorded as a summer visitant or resident and probably will be found as such in the southern parts of Manitoba. Mr. Goss, in his list of the birds of Kansas, records the Prairie W^arbler as a rare summer resident of that State, but says that it arrives there about the first week in May and begins to nest towards the end of that month. The nest is placed in bushes or on the lower branches of trees, in open or thickly-wooded lands, and at an elevation of from two to eight feet ofif the ground ; the site is in upright forks or among twig-like branches, and the nests are made of leaves, strips of plants, fibres, and lined with hair-like rootlets. The eggs are • four or five to the set, of an oval form, and average in size .67 x igol] Kells — Two Warblers New. 233 .49. These are of a white colour, thickly spotted with lilac, purple, and brown. In general appearance the plumag-e of both sexes of the Prairie Warbler is much alike, and the colour of the young differs chiefly in being of a duller hue. In length it is nearly five inches, and the extent across the wings about seven inches. The plumage on the upper parts is of a yellow olive hue, with dottings of brick- red on the back, the forehead, and a line on the head ; two wing- bars and the whole under parts are a fine yellow. On each side of the head is a three-pointed black mark, with marks of the same hue on the neck and other parts of the body. The places where it is found in the greatest abundance are the middle and southern States, and it passes the winter season on the borders of the Gulf of Mexico and the West India Islands. From this region it begins to move northward in February, and reaches the borders of tire Great Lakes in the fir?t week of May. Its general haunts and home is in the sparse low woods, cedar thickets, and old fields grown up with scrub pine. It is remarkable for its peculiar and curious song, and is an expert fly catcher, being constantly in hunt of winged insects after the manner of the redstart and all proper fly-catchers. The Prairie Warbler was tolerably well known in the time of Audubon, and Alexander Wilson, in his "American Ornithology," thus records his first impressions regarding the species : — " This pretty little species I first discovered in that singular tract of country in Kentucky, commonly called Barrens. I shot several afterwards in the open woods of the Chactaw-nation, where they were more numerous. They seem to prefer these open plains and thinly wooded tracts, and have this singularity in their manners, that they are not easily alarmed ; and they search among the leaves, the most leisurely of any of the tribe I have yet met with, seeming to examine every blade of grass and every leaf, uttering at short intervals a feeble chirr. I have observed one of these birds to sit on the lower branch of a tree for half an hour at a time, and allow me to come up nearly to the foot of the tree without seeming to be in the least disturbed, or to discontinue the regularity of its occasional note. It is slow in its movements and 234 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March rather a scarce bird in the countries where I found it. Its food consists principally of small caterpillars and winged insects." Prof. Cook, in " The Birds of Michigan, " records this species as a rare migrant, but otherwise relates that it is a summer resi- dent of that State, and has been found to nest as far north as Mackinaw Island. Prof. Davie, in his work on the nests and eggs of North American birds, gives the observations of many persons in regard to the nesting of this species. It is known to breed in various localities east of the Alleghanies, from the latitude of Massachusetts southwards. It is also known to nest in Ohio, but more commonly in Virginia. Dr. Coues found it nesting in great numbers within a small area near Washington, in the month of May. The nests were only a few feet from the ground and were placed preferably in hickory and dogwood bushes. It has also been found nesting in New York State in the latter part of May and first half of June. The nest is a very pretty, deep, cup- shaped fabric, composed of vegetable fibres and fine grass, closely matted and lined with hair. The set of eggs is usually four, rarely five; their colour is whitish, with a greenish tinge, and the mark- ings resemble specks of chestnut and burnt umber, and are usually in the form of wreaths about the larger end. THE HUDSONIAN CURLEW IN MIDDLESEX CO., Ont. A Hudsonian Curlew [IVumenius hudsonicus) was shot near Strathroy, Ont., on September 15th last by a sportsman from that town. The specimen fell into the hands of Mr. L. H. Smith, but was so much decomposed that it was buried. Urged by a telegram, however, he exhumed and skinned it. The specimen was exhibited at the September meeting of the Ornithological Section of the Entomological Society of Ontario at London. Mr. Smith apologized tor the condition of the skin, but, considering the C'rcumstances, it was thought by the members of the section that Mr. Smith's efforts deserved commendation rather than that an apology should be received. W. E. Saunders, London. [Qoi] Review. 2 >3 REVIEW. Geological Survey of Canada. General Index to the Reports OF Progress, 1863 to 18S4. By D. B. Dowling, B.A.Sc , Ottawa, 1900. 475 pages. In the terms of the prefatory note by the Director of the Geo- logical Survey, Dr. G. M. Dawson, "the present General Index begins with the volume of 1863 f- r which an entirely new index has been made, and embraces the succeeding reports to that of 1882-83-84 inclusive. It covers sixteen volumes and two short summaries, making in all 6,585 pages of text to which more than 31,000 entries are given. It thus provides a ready means of reference to practically the entire body of observations published by the Geological Survey up to the year 1884." From 1885 to the present time, "Annual Reports" have been issued by the Department, each of which is separately in- dexed. The "General Index "just issued forms publication No. 638 of the Geological Survey, and contains 475 pages of text divided into three parts, viz. : — Part I. Districts described in the several reports. Part 2. Special Examinations. Part 3. The General Index. These include : — (i.) The reports analysed geographically and arranged under Provinces, Counties, and Districts, so that under any county or district in a province, a list of references to reports, arranged in chronological order, is given. (2.) Rocks, ores, minerals, or fossils, that have been subjected to assay, analysis, miscroscopical examination, or were scientifically described. (3.) The general index, in which the arrangement under a reference to a place, is usually chronological, while under a subject, references will be found alphabetically arranged, or in case ot common occurrences, as of iron, fossils, &c., localities may be grouped under provinces. The " Reports ot Progress of the Geological Survey of of Canada," and the "Annual Reports" of the same, contain a 236 The Ottawa Naturalist. [March vast amount of useful and practical information on the mineral and other resources of the Dominion, as do also the maps which accompany these reports, giving in a graphic form the leading geological features of the territory included. This "General Index" is therefore hailed with delight, as a work which gives ready reference to the various economic products in a series of volumes containing 6585 pages of text, not only by all who are interested in the resources of our great Dominion but also by all stu- dents in science who may desire to carry on further researches in the various districts comprised in the reports indexed. The amount of time henceforth to be saved in searching for informa- tion on the thousand and one points referred to in each of the volumes indexed cannot be over-estimated, and all persons into whose hands this index may fall will bless its projector as well as its author. An index to all the Geological maps referred to in the Reports may be found under the word " Maps." Mr. Dowling's Index will also be of much value for biblio- graphic references on the work performed by the various officers of the Geological Survey from 1866 to 1885 under the name of each officer ; and, as the readers of The Ottawa Naturalist are aware, we were favoured by Mr. Dovvling, in vol. XIV., No. 6, of The Ottawa Naturalist for September last, with a chronological index to the field work done by the officers of the Survey from its commencement to 1865, so that there is now available for ready reference for geology and geological work in Canada a complete record from 1843 to the present time. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. We have received a General Index to the Reports of this im- portant Society, covering all of their annual Reports from the beginning in 1870, until the end of 1899. There is no series of reports on practical entomology of greater value to Canadian farmers, fruit-growers and gardeners, than these popular publica- tions. The present Index will be of inestimable value 10 the thousands of Ontario farmers u lio have frequent occasion to con- sult these reports, which now cover a period of thirty years. The work has been excellently well done by the Rev. Dr. Bethune, of London, who since the foundation of the Society, has always taken a most active part in advancing its interests. The price of the Index is 25 cents in paper, or 50 cents neatly bound in cloth. It is on sale by the Society at London, Ont. iisriDBix: TO THE OTTAWA NATURALIST, VOL, XIV, J900-L Adaptation in fishes, Power of . . 212 Address, Annual, of the President 197 Ami, H. M., note on the squid in St. John Harbour 55 Xote on British American Echinoderms 56 " Canadian Surveys and Mus- eums. By B. E. Walker. ".. 74 "Annual Report, Botanical Club of Canada 94 " Revision, American Voles of the g-enus Microtus.'^ 97 On the occurrence of a Whittle- seva in the Eo-Carboniferous, on Harring-ton River, N.S. . . 99 On the Devono-Carboniferous problem in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 121 A National Museum 151 Zoolog-ical note 1 73 Obituary notices of C. J. E. Brongniart and W. H. Waagen 1 74 ■" Observations on and Descrip- tions of Arctic Fossils" 190 '' The Palaeozoic Faunas of Para, Brazil" 191 Presidential Address 197 Anwctangitim cnnadense, Kindb., n. sp 86 Ants in a chimney 93 Arzama diffusa 17 Aster ptarmicoides, var. lutescens. 19 Barathra occidenta 17 Barlow, Alfred E., honoured w^th degree of Doctor of Laws . . 52 Beattie, F. N., Notes on the Aca- dian Owl 2i8 Bethune, Rev. C. J. S., Index to Ann. Reps, of Ent. Soc. On- tario, 1870-1899 236 Billings Memorial 91 Billing-s, Elkdnah, memorial notice of 202 portrait and memorial tablet of 211 Bird notes, by W. T. Macoun. .21, 72 asked for . 52 Birds, of Southern Saskatchewan. 24 Notes of rare, breeding' in On- tario 69 Blatchley, W. S., "Gleanings from Nature" 35 Book Notices- Canadian Palaeozoic Cornls, by L. M. Lambe 32 Stories of Insect Life, by Weed and Murtfeldt 34 Gleanings from Nature, by W. S. Blatchley 35 Botanical Club of Canada, An- nual Report 1898-99 94 Revision of American Voles of the gfenus Microtiis 97 A new physical Geography .... 175 Observations on and Descrip- tions of Arctic Fossils, by R. P. Whitfield '. . .. 190 The Palzeozoic Faunas of Para, Brazil, by J. M. Clarke .... 191 Botany: an elementary text- book, by L. H. Bailey 195 Botany— " Botany : an elementary text- book," by L. H. Bailey .... 195 Bryology, Additions to N. Am. and European 77 Jewel Weed, Inipatiens fiilva . . 120 Kentucky CoflFee Tree 118 Ottawa Normal School — Botan- ical competition for " the Ross" prize . 97 Manitoba's Wildflowers 19 55486 2^ The Ottawa Bron^niarl,C. J. K.,obit^ notice. i74 Z,'r«r/M'//uv//./« cyrtophyllw'h ^^ Kindberg ■ • • • • • ■ Bryology- Addif.ons to N. Am. and Furopean . . . • • • • • ■ • ■ Q Brynm microstegioides,^^^r^Ah.,x^.'i. Sb psendo-carnenm, Kindb.,n.s. »» CalUcrgon suhgiganteinn, Kindb., ^^ n- SP ,8 Catocala cerogama . Cnicus Dninimondtt ^ Colias Eury theme 3 Concliology— An addition to the Molluscan Fauna of Canada 94 SUig, a new Canadian 94. '5° Ungava inland mollusca 221 Cormorants and Gannets . . . - . ■ H*' Conbeaux, Eug.. The B.rds of Southern Saskatchewan .... 24 Council of the O. F.N.C.i 900-0. • 3 Report of, for 1899-1900 ■ • • • 7 Craig, John, Review of a New _ Physical Geography 1 /.-> " Botany : an elementary text- book, by L. H. Bailey." .... '95 Criddle, Norman. Paintmgs ot Manitoban flowers ■■ '9 Curlew, The Hudsonian, in iMid- dlesex Co., Ont 234 Dawson, Dr. G. M.. remarks when accepting E. Billings s por- . .. ^ 211 trait Dendroica discolor 230 Kirtlandi •• •• ■ ^30 Devono Carboniferous problem, the, inN.S. andN.B. ...... 121 Dowling, D. B., "A condensed summary of Field-work by officers of the Geological Sur- vey of Canada from its com- mencement to 1865" ■ ^^1 " General Index to Geological SurvevReports," 1863 to 1884 235 Dresser, John A., Preliminary note on an amygdaloidal trap rock in the Eastern Town- ship.s, Que '80 Elementary Lectures to City Schools 7 Entomological Society of On- tario, Index to reports, 1870 to 1899 236 Naturalist. Entomology— Ants in a chimney 93 Colias Kurytheiiie ' 3° Fauna Ottawaensis, Dipiera . . 1 27 Gardeners, a hint to • 20 Humble-bee's nest, Unusual site for 93 Insects as disease carriers 90 Moths, On collecting '4 Moths. Some inieresting Ot- tawa Epiglcea apiata Euprepia raja, L., var. Americana Excursion i . . . to Kirk's Ferry 13 '7 16 36 120 Fishes, Power of adaptation in. . Flamingo's nest. The finding of a Fletcher, James, Treasurer's Re- port • • • • On N. Griddle's paintings ' • Stories of Insect F.ife." ■••■•• "Gleanings from Nature." A hint to gardeners Jewel Weed {Itnpatiensfulya).. Work for the naturalist in winter 212 135 1 1 20 34 35 120 120 152 Gannets and Cormorants 146 Gastrodonta lamellidens 94 Geological Survey of Canada- Summary of Field-work ac- complished to 1865 • - ■ '07 " General Index to the Reports of progress 1863 to 1884" .. 235 Geology- _ ■ rr , Amygdaloidal Trap m Eastern Townships Devono-Carboniferous problem in Nova Scotia Mining Statistics ot Ontario . . Unio Nanaimoensis, n. sp.. On Whittlesevci in Nova Scotia . . . Gibson, Arthur, Note on Colias Eurvtheme Some' interesting moths taken at Ottawa Grimmia siihflaccida, Kindb., n.s. 180 121 194 177 9? 136 13 85 Gymnocladus ca nadensis • i' and Halkett, Andrew, Gannets Cormorants ' " " ' ' Harrington, W. Hague, Fauna Ottawaensis, D.ptera Hemphillia glandulosa . . . Howard, L. O., Lecture Royal Society before 146 127 150 89 Index. 239 » Humble-bee's nest, Unusual site for a . ... 93 Hyp)ium imponentiforme, Kindb., n. sp 83 pseudo-lycopodioides, Kindb. , n.sp 82 pscudo-circinnale , Kindb., n. sp. 83 Hypopteryffiunt canadense, Kindb. 78 Insects as carriers of disease. ... 90 Kells, W. L., Two warblers new to Canada 230 Kentucky Coffee Tree 118 Kindberg, N. Conr , Additions to the North American and European Bryology (Moss- Flora) // Kirk's Ferry, E.xcursion to 120 32 153 20 r Labrador Flyinjjf Squirrel 48 Lambe, L. M., Revision of Cana- dian Palaeozoic Corals Catalogue of the Recent Marine Sponges of Canada and Alaska Lampman, Archibald, memorial notice of Lark, Prairie Horned, Early nesting of 23 Macoun, \V. T., Bird notes for spring 21 Bird notes for July 72 Macrae, J. A., Notes taken in the Peace River country 226 Meadow-lark, A new song of the 224 Membersof the O.F.X.C., List of 4 Mining Statistics, Ontario ... . 194 Morrison, Rev. John, On the Ken- tucky Coffee Tree 118 Mosquitoes, Prize offered for col- lection of 76 Moss-Flora, Additions to the North American and Euro- pean Bryology 77 Mosses, new species described by Kindberg 77 Museum, A National 76, 151 The National 199 Nansen's Scientific results 137 Nature Study, Address on . . . . 186 Xumenius Jiudsonicits 234 Xyctala Acadica 218 Odell, W. S., On Two-lined Sala- mander ... 53 Oi)i>nafosf replies illccebrosa 51^ Ornithological incursion into Florida loi Ornitholog'y — Acadian Owl, Notes on 218 Bird notes, asked for 52 for spring 2J .. July 72 Birds, Rare, breeding in East- ern Ontario 69 of Southern Saskatchewan. . 24 Cormorants and Gannets 146 Flamingo's nest, Finding of a.. 135 Hudsonian Curlew, The. . . . 234 Meadowiark, New song of. . . . 224 Ornithological incursion into Florida loi Prairie Horned Lark, Early nesting of . ... z^, Warbler Cerulean, nesting of.. 183 Warblers, Two, new to Canada 230 Owl, Acadian, Notes on 218 Peace River country, Notes taken in 226 Perognathus Lordi 173 Pocket Mouse, A Canadian 173 Poole, Henry S., On ants in a chimney, and unusal site for a humble-bee's nest 93 Prairie Horned Lark, early nest- ing of 23 Prince, Prof. E. E., Dr. Nansen's Scientific results 137 Powei of adaptation in fishes. . 212 Prizes offered by the Club 8 Putman, J. H., Address of wel- come 186 Queen Victoria, in memoriam . . 197 Ross, Hon. G. W,, Donor of prize for Botanical competition ... 96 Ross Prize competition 198 Royal Society of Canada 89 Delegate to meeting of ... . 199 Saunders, W. E., An ornitholog- ical incursion into Florida . . loi The finding of a Flamingo's nest 135 The nesting of the Cerulean Warbler 183 A new song for .a common bird 224 Shutt, P\ T., Soils and the main- tenance of their fertility through the growth of legumes 37, 57 fc 240 The Ottawa Naturalist. Slug, new, to Canadian list 94, 150 Soils and mainlenanoe of their fertility by growing legumes, by F. T. «^hutt 37, 57 Sornborger, J. D., The Labrador Flying Squirrel 48 Sponges, Catalogue of the recent Marine, of Canada and Al- aska, by L. M. L'uiibe 153 Sub Excursion i 12 Sula bassana % . . . . 146 Summer School of Science, Pro- posed 200 Taylor, Geo. W., A Slug new to the Canadian list 150 Trap rock, amygdaloidal, A pre- liminary note on, in the East- ern Townships, Que 180 To'wnshendia scricea 20 Treasurer's Report for 1899-1900 1 i Two-lined Salamander, by W. S, Odell 53 Unio JVanaimoetisis, a new- Cre- taceous species, by J. F. Whiteaves 177 Waagen, W. H., Obit, notice .. 174 Waghorne, Arthur C,, memoriam notice 93 Walker, B. E., On Canadian Sur- veys and Museums 74 On L. M. Lambe's Revision of Canadian Palaeozoic Corals. 2i~ Walker, Bryant, An addition to MoUuscan Fauna of Canada. 94 Warbler, Cerulean, The nestingof 183 Warblers, Two, new to Canada. 230 Weed, C. M., and Murtfeldt, Mary E., Stories of Insect .Lite 34 Whiteaves, J. F., honoured with degree of Doctor of Laws . . 152 Description of a new species of Unio from the Cretaceous rocks, Nanaimo . . 177 Ungava inland molhisca 221 Whitfield, R. I'., "Observations on and Description of Arctic Fossils.'' 190 Whit/leseya, species in Eo-Car- fl boniferous, X,S 99 IP Winter lectures 145 work 152 soirees, 1 900-1 901 176 soiree, first 185 Young, C. H., On Prairie Horned Lark 23 Young, Rev. C. J., Notes on rare Birds occasionally breeding in Eastern Ontario 69 ^oology - British-American Echinoderms 56 Fishes, Powers of adaptation in 212 Labrador Flying Squirrel .... 48 Pocket-mouse, A Canadian.. . . 173 Sponges, Recent Canadian Marine 153 The Squid in St. John harbour. 55 Two-lined Salamander 53 THE APRIL-MAY, 1900. VOL. XIV, No. I OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Page 1. O. F. N. C. Officers for igoo-igoi .... .... 3 2. List of Members .... .... .... .... .... 4 3. Annual Report of O. F. N. C. Council 7 4. Report of the Treasurer ... .... 11 5. Some Interesting Moths Taken at Ottawa, by Arthur Gibson, Central Experimental Farm .... .... .... .... 13 6. Botany .... .... ... .... .... 19 7. Ornithology, by W. T. Macoun .... .... 21 8. Contributions to the Natural History of the Northwest Territories, by Eug. Coubeaux .... .... 24 9. Book Notices . . .... 32 10. Announcement .... .... .... .... 36 Sub-Excursion to Beaver Meadow, Hull, May 12, 3 p.m. First General Excursion to Chelsea, May 26. ^v .. . ^ OTTAWA, CANADA. / ^* At -«e-0-v' vn Ottawa Printing Company. (Limited) [^^ | I, | B R A R Y I 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. V^ V ''«:>'#''^'*«' / THE OTTrtWft FlELD-NftTURftLlSTS* GLUB, 1900-1901. patron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. iprcsiDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. lD(cesiprc6iJtent0 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Walter S. Odell. librarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A. ("Colleg-iate InstituteJ Secretary: tTrcasurer : W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. Dr. James Fletcher. (■Geological Survey Dept.j fCentral Experimental Farm.j Committee : E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanOlng Committees of Council : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. 3Lea5ers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archceology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. JEWtor : Bssociate JEOitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geologv- Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Palceotitology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. oi Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Co7ichology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department. —Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm.— Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissionerof Fisheries for Canada. — Dept. of^oo/og^. JMembership Fee to O.F.N.C., with " Ottawa Naturalist, " 81.00 per annam. J. ii Manufacturing Stationers, Booksellers, Bookbinders and Printers. Depository Ottawa Auxiliary Bible Society. 45, 47, 49 Sparks Importers of Winsor & Newton and 26 Elgin St., Ottawa, Artists' Materials. Cai R. A. Mccormick, Ppescpiption Dpugrgrist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. H. HAY. 54 Spapks Stpeet Shelf and General Hardware. J. G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. ■as no Eanal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. H. THORBURN, Books and Stationery, FOOTTAISr PEKS. Views of Ottawa. 80 Sparks St. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. English Blended Black Tea. J. & T. BALLANTYNE, Best Grades Hard and Soft Coal. OFFICE-^2 EI.«1N ST. Telephones 586 and 579. • ..Best Printing.. GO TO THE Ottawa Printing Co., 5 Mosgrove St. , 1 JAMES OGILVY, Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. 87 Sparks Street. THE JUNE, 1900. VOL. XIV, No. 3 (The last number should have been numbered No. i & 2.) OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Pagb 1. Soils and the Maintenance of their Fertility Through the Growth of Legumes, by Frank T. Shutt, Dominion Experi- mental Farms .... , . . . .... . . . , .... 37 2. The Labrador Flying Squirrel, by J. D. Sornborg-er, Cam- bddge, Mass., U.S. .... .... .... .... 48 3. The Two-Lined Salamander, Spelerpes Bilineatus (Green), by Walter S. Odell, Ottawa 53 4. Zoological Notes .... ... .... g^ (ISSUED JUNE 6, 7900. ; OTTAWA, CANADA. Ottawa Printing Company. (Limited) 3 & 5 MOSGROVE St. Entt?edat the Ottawa Post Office ai second class matter. 25 library! % i ^^siuas^.^ THE 2 MACS' Clothing in the Best by every Test. Cor. BAIMK 8c SP»ARKS Streets. NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Sparks St. A. G. PITTA WAY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. R. A. MeCORMICK, Ppeseription Druggist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. THE GATING AU — Ottawa and Gatineau Railway Company, For fishing- and hunting- unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. VT. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable rates . • . . AVM. STRACHAN, Importer and Dealer in Shelf and Heavy Hardware, Stoves, Tinware, Paint, Ac. Corner Queen and Bridge Streets, Ottawa. Phone 629. CO TO. Ottawa Printing Co., Ctd. 3 & 5 Mosgrove St., OTTAVrA. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. Eng-lish Blended Black Tea. T A Ti /f r^ O t~\i^ 1 I X/X/' Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. J AM t-O VJU 1 L- V I , 87 Sparks Street. THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. patron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. Ipresi^eiit : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. UiccsipresiCtents Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. librarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A. fColleg-iate InstituteJ Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. ("Geological Survey Dept. j E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. treasurer ; Dr. James Fletcher. ^Central Experimental Farm.) Committee ; Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. Standing Committees of Council : Publishing; : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D, A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs, Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. .Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. Headers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Eiitomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Oinithohgy : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archeology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. BDitor : associate JEOitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of /"afeow/o^g^. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. oi Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W^ H. HARRINC4TON, Post Office Department.— Dept. o{ Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macovn, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries for Canada. — Dept. ofZoo/og>/. Meiubership Fee to O.F.N.C., ynWk " Ottawa \atarallst, " $1.00 per aiiunra. J. G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has U(t Eqnal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 461. Presbyterian Ladies' College, OMawa. Hig-h Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information Apply to. . . . Rev. Dr, ARMSTRONG, Managing Director ' ' R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. 03 o o ARKS Streets. c c c r c NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on natui'e. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Libraiy. 80 Sparks St. A.IG. PITTA V/ AY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. R. A. Mccormick, Preseription Drug-gist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. THE GATING AU Ottawa and Gatineau Railway Company. For fishing and hunting unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. W^. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable rates .... CO TO .... Ottawa Priming Co., Dd. 3 & 5 MosgTove St., OTTAW^A. WM. STRACHAN, Importer and Dealer in Shelf ami Heavy Hard'»vare, Stoves, Tin^vare, I'aiiit, Ac. Corner Queen and Bridge Streets, Ottawa. Phone 629. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. English Blended Black Tea. JA 1\ /T CO /^/^ f I \ /\/ Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. A IVl t- O U U I L V I 5 87 Sparks Street PIANO, VIOLIN & FLETCHER METHOD SCHOOL. Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott. 374 Gilmour St, Miss. Laura McLaren. 209 Wellington St. OTTAWA. J. G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has uo Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 461. Presbyterian Ladles' College, Ottawa. High Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information Apply to Rev.:Dr. ARMSTRONG, Manag-ing- Director' R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ott.^wa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Algonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE The park is a remarkable reg-ion of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a larg-e game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source ot water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent irain ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. MANUFACrUBrMC BATH CABINETS Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American ..*^ Patterns. $3.5<> to $12.50 1.38 ItaiiK Street. Goal Best Grade. Clean and Dry. 3. $ C. B. Ballantyne, 42 Elgin St., Ottawa. '^epvQyt. James Hope & Sons, Booksellers, Stationers, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Book binders, Printers. THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, ]900-I901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. ipresiDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. Dice=ipresiCtent6 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. ILibrarian : Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. ('Geological Survey Dept J E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. AttwooJ. D. A. Campbell, B.A. fCollegr'ate InstituteJ C^reasurer ; Dr. James Fletcher. ^Central Experimental Farm.J Committee : Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StauDing Committees of Comicil : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Wh\'te. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaDers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entoynology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. ArchcEology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. jEWtor s Bssociate lEOitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Jie^ArimQnioi Paleontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. of Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Exper-ixvental Farm. — Department oi Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department. —Dept. oi Eiitomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. oi Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries for Canada. — Dept. oi Zoology. Meiuberslui) Fee to O.F.X.C, with " Ottawa Xatnrallst, " $1.00 per aunuui. il AUGUST^ 1900. VOL. XIV, No. 5 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Page 1. Additions to the North American and European Bryology (Moss Flora), by N. Conr. Kindberg- .... .... .... 77 2. Royal Society of Canada .... .... .... .... 89 3. The Billings Memorial . . .... .... .... .... 91 4. Notes on the Periodical Appearance of Ants, etc., by Henry S. Poole .... .... .... .... .... .... 93 5. In Memoriam .... .... .... .... .... 93 6. Conchology, by Bryant Walker .... .... .... .... 94 7. Botany .... .... .... .... .... .... 94 8. Ottawa Normal School — Botanical Competition .... 96 9. Book Notices . . .... .... .... .... 97 10. On the Occurrence of a Species of "Whittlesea in Nova Scotia, by H. M. Ami. .... .... .... .... 99 (ISSUED AUGUST 13, igoo.) _^ S^£^ OTTAWA, CANADA. /fO •^\V'V', Ottawa Printing Company. (Limited) , • / 1 ^^ 3 & 5 MOSGROVE St. -J2. I ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ " ^ J 5® Entered at the Ottawa Post Office as, second class maiier. \ ffl/ ^ ' « ^iV rt >> i- rt rt X = Xii rt b!°< rt n .-tu 0 U5 _r o S rt a 2" >-. ■J a -°.'£< •or* c 2 "■ P'C J Cf- W « c ZW V l-i ■ '3 m 0 E < 0 ^■^ b-M " c H a <;« H^ (/3« w o PS < ►J w H < m TJ aj H c w £ o o H ■J (4 !/! 1) -M <^ ;? 1) 01 o n1 tfi u o »« ;3 c «! G o XI ;) •a H c a; a H 3 P^ X H hJ u W (4 W >^ ^ ^ J/J 0 ^- MANUFACTIJRIM6 CA3/A/STS Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American Patterns. $3.-50 to $12,541 1.3.S Bank Street. Goal Best Grade. Clean and Dry. 3. § C. B. Baliantvne, 42 Elgin St., Ottawa. '"^^h^^t^* James Hope & Sons, Booksellers, Stationers, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Book binders, Printers. C/o e/o (2/5 e/5 o 00 o > > CO > 05 CO THE OTTAWA FIELD'-NATURAUSTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. IpresiOent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. \Dice=ipresiJ)ent0 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Walter S. Odell. ^Librarian : D. A, Campbell, B.A. f Collegiate Institute J Secretary: Ztensmev ; W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. Dr. James Fletcher. CGeological Survey Dept.^ ("Central Experimental Farm.^ Committee : E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StaiiDing Committees ot Council : Puhlishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. 5Lea^ers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany ■■ John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harring-ton, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archceology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. BDitor : Bssociate BDitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. — Department of Palceontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. of Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department of Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Cotichology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department.— Dept. of Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries for Canada. — Dept. of.2oo/c|g^. Membership Fee to O.F.N.C, witb " Ottatvn Natnrallst, " $1.00 per niinum. SEPTEMBER, 1900. ^ VOL. XIV, No. 6 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Page 1. An Ornithological Incursion into Florida by W. E. Saunders loi 2. A Condensed Summary of the Field-Work Annually Ac» complished by the Officers of the Geological Survey of Canada from its Commencement to 1865, by D. B. Dowling .... .... .... .... .... .... 107 3. The Kentucky Coffee Tree, by Rev. John Morrison, London. 118 4. Entomological Notes .... .... 120 5. Botanical Notes .... 120 (ISSUED SEPTEMBER ij, igoo.) Excursion to Kirk's Ferry, Saturday, Sept. 15th, via 6atineau Valley Ry. Train leaves Union Depot at 1.30 p.m. Return Ticket 25c. OTTAWA, CANADA, Ottawa Printing Company (Limited). 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. Entered at the Ottawa Post Office as second class matter S o- MM — s 3; cj '^ u.a < rt O tt-d H .S 3 § H u ►4 ^ ^-^ u to .5 S = o ^ M c — ' a ^ b o 'FUP Q IVIACS' Clothing in the Best by every f Oor. BANK & SP>ARKS Streets. CO < o T3 H cn M NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Sparks St. R. A. MeCORMICK, Prescription Druggist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. A. G. PITTA WAY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. Ottawa and Gatineau Rai way Company. For fishing and hunting unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. W^. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable rates .... CO TO... Ottawa Printing Co., Eta. 3 & 5 Mosgpove St., OTTAVTA. AVM. STRACHAN, Importer and Dealer in Shelf an«l Heavy Hardware, Stoves, Tinware, Paint, Ac, Corner Queen and Bridge Streets, Ottawa. Phone 629. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. English Blended Black Tea. T A 1\/f CO /^/^ I 1 \F\/ Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. J AM Ho UU 1 i- V I 5 87 Sparks Street. PIANO, VIOLIN & FLETCHER METHOD SCHOOL. Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott, 374 Gilmour St, Miss. Laura McLaren. 209 Wellington St OTTAWA. 01 J. G. BUTTERWORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Hits uo Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. CO A I. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 46 1 . Presbyterian L.-i«Iie.s* College, Ottawa. High Class School for Girls'|and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information y\ppiy to. . . . Rev. Dr.iARMSTRONG, Manag-ing Director- R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Algonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE. The park is a remarkable region of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a large game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source of water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent train ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. MANUFACTUIMMC no- ^ I eATH CABINETS Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American Patterns. $3.50 to $12.50 138 Bauk Street. .0? ^vN^MMttu!, Goal Best Grade. CleanlandlDry- 3. % C. B. Ballantync, 42 Elgin St., Ottawa. '^fR^Que James Hope & Sons, Booksellers, Stationers, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Book binders, Printers. THE OTTAWft FlELD-NftTURftLlSTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. IpresiDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. lt)tce»lpre6iDent6 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Xibrarian : Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. (■Geological Survey Dept.) D. A. Campbell, B.A. CColleg-iate Institute.^ Committee : C^reasurer ; Dr. James Fletcher. fCentral Experimental Farm.J E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. Standing Commtttees of Council : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss^Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaOers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young, A. Gibson. Conchology .• J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology: John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archceology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. JEOitor : associate EDitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada.— Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada.— Department of PalcEontohgy. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada.— Dept. oi Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford.— Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department.— Dept. oi Eyitomology. - Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm.— Dept. of OrnitJiology. 1^. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissionerof Fisheries for Canada.— Dept. ofZoo/Ojgy. Membership Fee to O.F.N.C, with "Ottawa Naturalist," $1.00 per annum. OCTOBER. 1900. VOL. XIV, No- 7 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Page 1. Notes Bearing on the Devono-Carboniferous Problem in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by H. M. Ami .... 121 2. Fauna Ottawaensis by W. Hague Harrington, F.R.S.C 127 3. The Finding of a Flamingo's Nest by W. E. Saunders .... 135 4. Entomological Notes .... .... .... .... 136 (ISSUED OCTOBER 75, igoo. ) ^ i OTTAWA, CANADA. a5^^!--1^^^\ Ottawa Printing Company (Limited). ,si y/"^?)* ''iSS/'lr'' 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. '-^ /S'-^fc^-fe. >'\^' iiilLIBRARYJasii Enteted at the Ottawa Post Office ai second class matter *^ \ *1ik©^»' / ^^jl & a ^ u 0) rt o ..fa i s = Q ■" Q, -§? = O U.- , o _ w^ - < o o < 5 4) O O H u hT - cj Clj J) H 3 u T^LJ P Q IVI A(^Q' Clothing- in the Best by every Cor. BAIMkC & SF>/\RKS Streets. o en < < NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Sparks St. R. A. Mccormick, Prescpiption Dpug-gist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. A. G. PITTA WAY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. THE GATINEAU — ^ Ottawa and Gatineau Rai way Company. For fishing and hunting unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. t P. W. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable rates .... CO xo. ... Ottawa Printing Co., Cta. 8 & 5 Mosg-pove St., OTTA^VA. Olmsted 0 Hurdman Empipe Watches Arc the best for the money. j 67 Spapks St. j TRY BATE & GO'S 38 c. English Blended Black Tea. T A 1\ /I C? O /^/^ I I \f\/ Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. JAM t-O WU I L, V Y 5 87 Sparks Street. ^ PIANO, VIOLIN & FL.3TCHER METHOD SCHOOL. > Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott. 374 Gilmour St, Miss. LauraJMcLaren. 209 Welling-ton St. OTTAWA. J. G. BUTTE RW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has no Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. 00 AX. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 461. Presbyterian La«lies' College, Ottawa. High Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For CatalogueVith full information Apply to. . . . Rev.lDr. ARMSTRONG, Managing- Director ■ R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Mgonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE The park is a remarkable reg-ion of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a large game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source of water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent train ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. "WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. isi^vi M)NC l c/i a/ A/srsW Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American Patterns. $3..'>0 to $12..50 138 Bank Street. vrt^^tf^ Goal Best Grade. Clean and Dry. 3. $ C. B. Ballantyne, 42 Elgin St., Ottawa. ^^eR,QiJE Zn Q/r> e/5 e/5 o CO o > > 03 > CO James Hope Si. Sons, Booksellers, Stationers, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Book binders, Printers. THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. ipresiDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. IDiceslPresiDents Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Xibrarian : D. A, Campbell, B.A, CColIeg^iate Institute.^ Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J, Wilson, Ph. B. CGeological Survey Dept J E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attvvood. G^reasurer : Dr. James Fletcher. fCentral Experimental Farm.^ Committee ; Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanOing Committees of Council : Piiblishi?ig : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S, Odell, W. J. Wilson,;fD. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, "J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell,; Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attvvood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. ILeaDers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. 0)nithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. ArchcEology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. JEOitor : Bsgociate ;iEC)itor6 : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada.— Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survej' of Canada. — 'Depa.rtment of Paleontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. o'i Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Bota7iy, Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department. — Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central .Experimental Farm. — Dept. o{ Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries for Canada. — T)e.p\..oi Zoology. Mciubersliip Fee to O.V.X.C, >vitb " Ottawa Naturalist, " $1.00 per auuniu. NOVEMBER, 1900. VOL. XIV, No. 8 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTE NTS. Page 1. Dr. Nansen's Scientific Results, by Professor Edward E. Prince 137 2. W^inter Lectures .... .... 145 3. Gannets and Cormorants, with Special Reference to Cana- dian Forms, by Arthur Halkett 146 4. Hemphillia Glandulosa, by Geo. W. Taylor 150 5. A National Museum 151 6. To Our Members 152 (ISSUED NOVEMBER 10, igoo.) OTTAWA, CANADA. Ottawa Printing Company (Limited) ^ 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. /*Io ^^^ Entered at the Ottawa Post Office at second class matter c -fc, "^ . 1- a •a :rc o o 2 , o W^ c ffi'Sg S re O < .J < s o o •a c o i4 4) 53 0) u (0 a; OS o ;:) H o THE 2 MACS' Clothlng in the Best by every Cor. BAIMkC & SP>ARKS Streets. NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Spabks St. R. A. Mccormick, Prescription Druggist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. A. G. PITTA V7 AY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa, THE GATINEAU— — . Ottawa and Gatineau Railway Company, For fishing and hunting unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. W^. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable raxes • • ■ ■ CO TO. Ottawa Printing €0., Ctd. 3 & 5 Mosg-rove St., OTTA"WA. Olmsted & Hurdman Empire Watches Are the l>est for tbe m«uey. 67 Sparks St. TRY BATE & GO'S 83 C. English Blended Black Tea. JAMES OGILVY, '°°'"''% IXsrer"'''''"- a PIANO, VIOLIN & FLSTCHSR METHOD SCHOOL. Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott, 374 Gilmour St, Miss. LauraJMcLaren. 209 Wellington St OTTAWA. J. G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has uo Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C.:raY:& Co. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 461. Presbyteriau Ladies' College, Ottawa. Hig-h Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information Apply to. .. . Rev. Dr. ARMSTRONG, Managing- Director • R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Mgonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE. The park is a remarkable region of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a large game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source of water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent train ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. "WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. MANUFACTURING £A TH ■ CABIN £TS\ Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American ,"^ Patterns, b* $3.50 to $12.50 138 Uaiik Street. Goal Best Grade. Clean and Dry. % $ C. B. Ballantyne, 42 Elgin St., Ottawa. '"^eR,clut James Hope &JSons, SPARKS St.,i;ottawa. Booksellers, Stationers, Book binders. Printers. 2/5 e/5 (2/0 O 00 H > CO \ THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. Ipresi&ent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. \Dice=ipre6i^cnt6 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. librarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A. fColleg-iate InstituteJ Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. fGeological Survey Dept.^ E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Q;reasurer ; Dr. James Fletcher. CCentral Experimental Farm.) Committee : Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanDing Committees of Council : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson.^'D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell,; Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soiries : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaDers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botajiy : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H, Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young, A, Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. ArchcEology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. ;eDitor : associate BDitors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Palceontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. oi Petrography. Dr. J AS. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department of ^o/«wy. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department.— Dept. ol Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissionerof Fisheries for Canada.— Dept. of Joo/cgy. Memhersliip Fee to O.F.N.C, -with *' Ottawa Naturalist, " $1.00 per annum. DECEMBER, 1900. VOL. XIV, No. 9 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS. Page 1. Catalogue of the Recent Marine Sponges of Canada and Alaska, by Lawrence M. Lambe, F.G.S. 153 2. Zoological Notes 173 J. Obituary .... .... .... .... .... .... 174 4. Book Review X75 (ISSUED DECEMBER y, igoo.) OTTAWA, CANADA. Ottawa Printing Company (Limited). 3 & 5 MOSGROVE St. ntettd at the Ottawa Post Office as second class matUr LIBRARY "a, a rt eg rt •a i? c o o.Ji o fUJi a <;« W O « o M 0) CI « 0) u -a m c B o u in St., Ottawa. Zn Q/r> Q/r> James Hope & Sons, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Q/r> o 00 CO H > CO Booksellers, Stationers, Book binders, Printers. THE OTTftWft FlELD-NATURftLlSTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. IpreeiDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. lt)ice*ipresiDent0 Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Xibrartait : D. A. Campbell, B.A. fCollegfiate Institute.^ Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. f Geological Survey Dept J E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Dr. James Fletcher. fCentral Experimental FarmJ Committee : Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. Stan^fng Committees of Council : Ptiblishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirdes : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaDers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botany : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford, Thos. Whitley. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander, Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. Archceology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. BDitor : associate BWtors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — 'De-pa.rtmeni oi Palceontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. of Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Botany. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Depanment. — Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Fai m. — Dept. of Ortiithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries lor Canada. — Depi. oi Zoology. Meniberslup Fee O.F.N.C., vritli " Ottawa Naturalist, " $1.00 per anmun. JANUARY, 1901. VOL. XIV, No. 10 THE OTTAWA n NATURALIST. « Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CO NTE NTS. Page Description of a New Species of Unio from the Cretaceous Rocks of the Nanaimo Coal Field, V.I. , by J. F. Whiteaves 177 Botany .... .... • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ^79 A Preliminary Note on an Amygdaloidal Trap Rock in the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec, by John A. Dresser .... .... .... .... .... .... 180 The Nesting of the Cerulean ^Ai^arbler, by W. E. Saunders 183 "Winter Soirees ..... .... .... .... .... 185 Palaeontological Notes .... ... .... .... • • • . 190 Book Notice . . .... • . . • • • . • • • • • • • • « '9^ (ISSUED JANUARY 4, 1900.) OTTAWA, CANADA, Ottawa Printing Company (Limited). ^J/^ps35^C^N 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. ^ -/^ QX"^ Entered at the Ottawa Post Office as, second class matter o. (11 (A o^ m rt o 111 • a; 0) rt — •^"5< -o i> c o o " E'C'o o W^ c •< o ?«« w o ei ARKS Streets. NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Sparks St. A. G. PITTA WAY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. R. A. Mccormick, Prescpiption Druggist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. THE GATING AU Ottawa and Gatineau Railway Company. For fishing' and hunting unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. I For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. W^. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable raxes • • ■ » CO TO. Ottawa Printitid €o.» m, 3 & 5 Mosgpove St., OTTAW^A. Olsnsted & Hurdman Empire "Watehes Are tlie best for the money. 67 Spapks St. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. English Blended Black Tea. T A IVI P^ C^r^ I I X/Y ^oo^seller. Stationer and Publisher, i PIANO, VIOLIN & FLETCHER METHOD SCHOOL. Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott, 374 Gilmour St, Miss. LauraJMcLaren. 209 Wellington St. OTTAWA. II J. G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has no Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. Best quality lowest price. 53 Spakks St. Phone 461. Presbyterian Ladies' College, Ottawa. Hig-h Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information Apply to Rev. Dr. ARMSTRONG, Managing Director. R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Mgonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE The park is a remarkable reg-ion of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a large game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source of water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent train ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. ^I'NG MANiURftCTUfimejfi Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest designs. Best American ^ Patterns. V" $3.50 to $12.50 : 138 Bank Street. Goal 'Best Grade. Clean andZDry- % $f C. B. Ballantvne, 42 Elg^in St., Ottawa. James Hope & Sons, Booksellers, Stationers, SPARKS St., Ottawa. Book binders, Printers. e/5 e/5 o 00 o H H > > CO > CO CO THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. ipresiDent : Henrv M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. WlccsiprcslDents Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. ^Librarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A. ("Collegiate Institute.^ Walter S. Odell. Secretary: W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. (■Geological Survey Dept J ^Treasurer ; Dr. James Fletcher. ^Central Experimental Farm.J Commtttee : E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanOing Committees of Counctl : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson, D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell, Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirees : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaDers : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botaiiy : John Macoun, J. D. Conklin, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harring-ton, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. King-ston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. ArchcBology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. BDitor : Bssociate B&itors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M. Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Palceontology. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geolog-ical Survey of Canada. — Dept. of Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department o{ Bota7iy. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department oi Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department. — Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries tor Canada. — Dept. of^^oo/ogy. Uleniber.sldp Fee O.F.N.C, >vltb *' Ottawa Naturalist, " $1.00 per anniuu. FEBRUARY. 1901. VOL. XIV, No. II THE OTTAWA NATURALIST Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTENTS Page 1. Annual Address of the President of the Ottawa Field- Naturalists' Club .... ' , , . . .... 197 2. Po\vers of Adaptation in Fishes, by Professor Edward E. Prince .... ..... .... .... .... .... 212 3. Notes of the Acadian Owl (Nyctala Acadica) in captivity, by F. Norman Beattie .... .... .... .... 218 (ISSUED JANUARY 23, igoi.) i^ j'^ OTTAWA, CANADA. \c^ Ottawa Printing Company (Limited))s*^^ 3 & 5 MOSGROVE St. \^ll V Entered at the Ottawa Post Office ai second class inatier THE 2 MACS' ■&. a OB "^ W o "O ^ c O u 4) W u e (ir> o 00 o H H > > 05 "ID > C/3 THE OTTftWft FlELD-Nf\TUR/\LlSTS* GLUB, 1900-1901. Ipatron : THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL OF MINTO, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA. ipreslDent : Henry M. Ami, M.A., D. Sc, F.G.S., F.G.S.A. | D(ce=ipresiJ)ents Robert Bell, M.D., F.R.S., LL.D. Walter S. Odell. Xf brarian : D. A. Campbell, B.A, fCoUegiate Institute J Secretary: tTreasurer : W. J. Wilson, Ph. B. Dr. James Fletcher. ("Geological Survey Dept.^ ^Central Experimental Farm, j Committee : E. E. Prince. W. T. Macoun. A. E. Attwood. Mrs. A. E. Attwood. Miss G. Harmer. Miss Marion Whyte. StanDing Committees ot Council : Publishing : J. Fletcher, W. T. Macoun, W. S. Odell, W. J. Wilson.^D. A. Campbell. Excursions : D. A. Campbell, W. J. Wilson, J. Fletcher, W. S. Odell,J Mrs. Attwood, Miss Harmer, Miss Whyte. Soirdes : Dr. Bell, Prof. Prince, A. E. Attwood, W. J. Wilson, Miss Whyte, Miss Harmer. XeaDere : Geology : R. Bell, L. Lambe, W. J. Wilson, T. J. Pollock. Botmiy : John Macoun, J. D. Conkhn, D. A. Campbell, R. H. Cowley. Entomology : J. Fletcher, W. H. Harrington, C. H. Young-, A. Gibson. Conchology : J. F. Whiteaves, F. R. Latchford. Ornithology : W. T. Macoun, A. G. Kingston, Miss Harmer, L. H. Alexander. Zoology : John Macoun, W. S. Odell, E. E. Prince, A. E. Attwood. ArchcBology : T. W. E. Sowter, J. Ballantyne. THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. BOitor : associate ;e&itors : Dr. R. W. Ells, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of Geology. Dr. H. M, Ami, Geological Survey of Canada. — Department of /"ateow/o&^y. Mr. a. E. Barlow, Geological Survey of Canada. — Dept. of Petrography. Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Central Experimental Farm. — Department oi Botatiy. Hon. F. R. Latchford. — Department of Conchology. Mr. W. H. Harrington, Post Office Department. — Dept. oi Entomology. Mr. W. T. Macoun, Central Experimental Farm. — Dept. of Ornithology. Prof. E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries tor Canada. — T)e^i. oiZoology. Memberskip Fee O.F.N.C., with " Ottawa Naturalist, " $1.00 per annum. MARCH, 1901. VOL. XIV, No. 12 THE OTTAWA NATURALIST. Published by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. CONTE NTS. Page 1. Notes on Some Land and Fresh-Water Mollusca from Fort Chimo, Ungava Bay, Ungava, by J. F. Whiteaves... 221 2. A New Song for a Common Bird, by W. E. Saunders .... 224 3. Notes taken in the Peace River, Athabaska, and Adjacent Country, by J. A. Macrae .... .... .... 226 4. Two "Warblers New to Canada, by W. L. Kells .... 230 ^« xvc View •••• •■•• ••«• ••*> •••• ^^■^*\ w« XllLlCA •••« •••• •••• •••• •••• •••• ^l ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH 19, Y.M.G.A. ROOMS, 8 p.m- (ISSUED MARCH /, igoi.) OTTAWA, CANADA. Printing Company (1 3 & 5 MosGROVE St. Ottawa Printing Company (Limited). ^^y^^^f^S'it^ ^\. liifLISKARYja© Entered at the Ottaiua Post Officcoi second clots matttr 1**^ V ^ _ f jUbf a tt ft « rt rt o ^ o ARKS Streets. NATURE'S GARDEN, GAME BIRDS, BUTTERFLY BOOK, out door books on nature. C. H. THORBURN, Leading Library. 80 Sparks St. R. A. Mccormick, Prescription Druggist, 75 Sparks Street. Phone 159. Ottawa. A. G. PITTA WAY, ...PHOTOGRAPHER, 58 Sparks St. Ottawa. THE GATINEAU^ — ^ Ottawa and Gatineau Raiway Company. For fishing and hunting- unexcelled. For beautiful scenery and pure mountain air — the equal of any locality. The ideal and favorite route for Excur- sions and picnics. The popular route for summer residents. Hundreds of families from the City live up the Gatineau during summer months. For further information see Folders, or apply at Company's offices, 31 Central Chambers, Ottawa, Ont. P. W^. RESSEMAN, Gen'l. Sup't. For neat printing at reasonable rates .... CO xo... Ottawa Printing go., Ctd. 3 & 5 MosgTOve St., OTTAWA. Olmsted S Hurdman Empire Watches Arc the best for tlic money. 67 Sparks St. TRY BATE & GO'S 33 c. English Blended Black Tea. ¥ A 1\/I CO r^C^ f f \1\/ Bookseller, Stationer and Publisher. J AM E-O UU 1 L- V I 5 87 Sparks Street PIANO, VIOLIN & FLETCHER METHOD SCHOOL. Teachers: Mrs. E. M, Elliott, Aberdeen Chambers, 289 Sparks St. Miss. Laura McLaren 209 Well- ington St. OTTAWA. J- G. BUTTERW^ORTH & Co. All-Rail Scranton Coal. Has uo Equal. 86 SPARKS ST. C. C. RAY & Co. Best quality lowest price. 53 Sparks St. Phone 461. Presbyterian Ladies' College, Ottawa. Hig-h Class School for Girls' and young Ladies. For Catalogue with full information Apply to. . . . Rev. Dr. ARMSTRONG, Manag-ing Director- R. McGIFFIN, . . . MEN'S FURNISHINGS . . . 106 Sparks St. Ottawa. Canada Atlantic Railway. The Algonquin Park Route. The headquarters of this beautiful park are situated at CACHE LAKE. The park is a remarkable region of lake and stream primeval forest and rock. It is a large game preserve, a fisherman's paradise, a source of water supply, a natural sanitarium. Ask for map or guide. The popular route to the seaside. Excellent train ser- vice, fast trains modern equipment. J. E. WALSH, Assist. Gen'l. Pass. Agent. Turkish and Va- por Bath Cabi- nets. Newest design.s. Best American ^ Patterns. ^" $3.50 to $12.50 138 Bank Street. .^jg^^eiy ^Cr Goal Best Grade. Clean anCDry. 3. $ C. B. Ballantvnc, 42 Elgrin St., Ottawa. *^^^^^^£^;^m^' (in C2/0 C2>0 (2/> O 00 o H H > > James Hope & Sons, SPARKS St., Ottawa. C/D ■13 > CO Booksellers, Stationers, Book binders, Printers 4 V' APR. 1943 •^irfiH.l^HOI LIBRARY lilJlJ.fiJ^c 1