14 SECOND LETTER FROM М, E. BOURGEAU. 
had been trimmed. The ends of the branches are cut by the frost 
nearly every year, and the number of checks which they thus 
receive gives them a peculiar appearance. Near this place we 
crossed two wide spaces, where the hail had destroyed all the 
vegetation except the trees and the Salis. 
It is worth describing to you the inconvenience of some 
seasons ; for instance, the frosts which occurred this year, on the 
15th of May and the last week of July, destroyed all the seeds of 
the trees; and the catkins of the Populus and Salix fell to the 
ground without ripening. The same thing occurred with the 
eoniferous trees; and thus I have been unable this year to pro- 
cure the seeds of any trees. 
On the 10th of July we encamped on the shores of the river 
Battle, between the woods and rich prairies. The soil appears 
very fertile here; and I remarked some specimens of Abies alba 
and of Pinus Banksiana which had escaped the fire—the first 
observed since leaving Carlton. This river is insignificant in 
summer. Towards the boundary of the woods it is in some places 
sunk between high banks. Lat. 52° 28' N., long. 111? 17! W. 
from Greenwich. 
From the 18th to the 20th of July we encamped on the prairies 
and amid thickets near the Lake de Boeuf, which contains an 
abundance of a rather large fish of excellent quality. At this 
place we were about fifty miles from the superb river De la Biche, 
which is of sufficient size for the navigation of the ordinary boats 
of the country. Its shores are wooded for about 100 miles, par- 
ticularly with Abies alba and the two species of Populus, useful as 
timber. Vegetation also is vigorous, and the soil appears to be 
very fertile. The varietiés of herbaceous plants are not very 
numerous, but the quality of the species forms a good forage for 
horses. Fires appear to have been less frequent in this latitude 
—52° 1' N. 
On the 24th, 25th, and 26th July, we were in sight of the 
magnificent chain of the Rocky Mountains. I here observed a 
change in the vegetation. The first plants which attracted my 
attention were the Geum rivale, Polygonum viviparum, two species 
of Geranium, &c. Although still 100 miles from the mountains, 
I am each day in hopes of finding new plants. 
Near a large “ coulée” named the * Coulée of Coloured Stones,” 
the prairie is magnificent; the Astragali especially forming a great 
ornament to it. There are large patches of different colours, par- 
ticularly red; a yellow and a white Astragalus; a red, a white, 
