40 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



IVOL. XXXVI 



was a recognized authority on Canadian plants. 

 He was chosen by Mr. Sanford Fleming to be 

 botanist to the expedition which crossed Western 

 Canada to the Pacific Coast in 1872, searching for 

 a route for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The 

 party was divided at Edmonton, and Mr. Macoun 

 proceeded north-west to the Peace River, then 

 across the mountains to the coast. The account 

 of this expedition with its far reaching results 

 was published in Ocean to Ocean by the late 

 Principal Grant. 



In 1875 he crossed the mountains again from 

 the west, eventually reaching the Peace River, 

 and from Fort St. John, with one companion, 

 paddled down the Peace for 700 miles in a dugout 

 canoe, and after great hardships continued east 

 via the Athabasca River and various lakes and 

 smaller rivers, then across country to Winnipeg, 

 and on to Ontario. He travelled on this trip 

 alone about 8,000 miles. His report on the 

 country traversed was published in the Railway 

 Report for 1877, and created much interest 

 throughout Canada and was notably influential 

 in the settlement of the North- West. 



In 1879, he made a further extensive exploration 

 of the prairies, and his glowing reports on the 

 value of the North-West for wheat raising and his 

 numerous lectures on this subject did much to 

 awaken an interest in the west and to set emigra- 

 tion in that direction. He also corrected many 

 erroneous opinions in regard to the climate and 

 soil of the prairies. He continued his explorations 

 on the prairies in 1880, 1881 and later, and in his 

 book "Manitoba and the Great North-West," 

 published in 1881, he brought together a vast 

 amount of information in regard to the country. 



In every succeeding year down to 1911 he was 

 exploring and collecting in some part of Canada, 

 and his knowledge of the Dominion became very 

 great. 



On his appointment to the Geological Survey, 

 in 1882, he severed his connection with Albert 

 College and moved to Ottawa; from that time 

 until his death he was continuously in the service 

 of the Dominion Government. In 1887, he was 

 appointed Assistant Director and Naturalist to 

 the Geological Survey, which position he held 

 until his death. Prof. Macoun was an all round 

 naturalist and became a first authority on 

 Canadian plant and animal life. 



His explorations and expeditions were filled 

 with incidents and episodes of a varied nature'. 

 Some of his reminiscences were of hardships 

 some of mishaps and some of a very amusin 

 nature, and their narration in his autobiograph 

 affords extremely interesting reading. 



Professor Macoun, because of the time of his 

 principal exploration on the prairies, was in close 

 touch with the men who had most to do with 

 deciding on the route of the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway, and his comments on the different routes 

 proposed and the men connected with the enter- 

 prise both from the standpoint of the Government 

 and the Railway are very interesting. 



He was a very wide reader, and was well posted 

 on the principal events taking place in the world, 

 but he was particularly interested in the political 

 life of Canada, though taking little active part in 

 politics. Incidentally his views on many public 

 questions of the day are to be found in this 

 volume. 



Mr. Arthur Gibson, Dominion Entomologist 

 (Treasurer). 



Dr. Frank T. Shutt, Assistant Director of 

 Experimental Farms and Dominion. Chemist. 



Mr. William T. Macoun, Dominion Horti- 

 culturist. 



The John Macoun Memorial Committee of the 

 Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, Ottawa, Canada" 



BOOK REVIEW 



Nantucket Wild Flowers, by Alice O. Albertson, Curator of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell 

 Association; illustrated by Anne Hinchman; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London. 



This is a volume of 442 pages of a size to fit the 

 pocket. It was prepared specially for those who 

 desire a more intimate knowledge of the wild 

 flowers of Nantucket. The island of Nantucket, 

 thirty miles at sea, is a happy hunting ground for 

 botanists. The book has been written to describe 

 with all possible accuracy and few technicalities 

 the representative trees and flowers. It will be 

 found of course of particular interest to residents 

 of Nantucket, but students of distribution will also 



find it of value. Keys at the beginning of the 

 book will assist in the identification of unknown 

 specimens. The volume is well illustrated, 

 showing character of leaves, etc. Coloured plates 

 are interspersed throughout the volume. Al- 

 together the book is an interesting one and should 

 be much appreciated by those who have an oppor- 

 tunity of studying the flora of the locality for 

 which it is specially intended. 



A. G. 



