February, 1919] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



139 



over the prairie on our arrival our drner pointed to 

 the grass just appearing through the dead mat of 

 last season's growth and remarked that it should 

 be from 8 to 10 inches high. The poplars were just 

 coming into leaf and the few oaks in the big woods 

 behind the camp were still bare and gaunt. Though 

 the day of our arrival was oppressively hot a change 

 came before we had pitched camp and thereafter 

 we had raw, cold weather during most of our stay, 

 with ice forming in the pails of water at night and 

 towards the middle of June we were glad to have 

 our stove in the working tent even throughout the 

 warmth of the day. 



The lake is subject to sudden cyclonic squalls 

 and high winds. The former burst suddenly out of 

 clear skies, whirl a cloud of dust and debris high 

 in the air, and subside as quickly as they rise. On 

 one occasion we saw where a boulder of consider- 



lake, but evidently are becoming fewer each year. 

 Waders ftill visited the shores, and birds were fairly 

 numerous. We had no difficuhy in obtaining as many 

 specimens as we were able to prepare. Unfortun- 

 ately in shipping our collections to the Museum one 

 box, containing the majori:y cf cur small birds, was 

 lost in transit. Manitoba is the most eastern of the 

 prairie provinces and one of the most important sub- 

 jects of geographical distribution in Canada is the 

 location of the meeting points of prairie forms with 

 those of the eastern woodlands. As the determina- 

 tion of these fine subspecific points musc hi based 

 directly upon specimens the loss of them was serious 

 and it was largely to replace them that Mr. Young 

 returned to Shoal Lake the spring of 1918, spend- 

 ing from April 23 to October 2 on the same grounds 

 we had occupied the previous spring. 



He arrived just after the ice had broken up on 



The shores of ShoHl lake hi 1917-18: view ne-^r r'a:r.;:. 

 The sliores were of this cliaracter evervwliere. 



able size had been rolled over and over on the mud 

 shores by a particularly vicious twister. The squalls 

 do not last long but they try tent material and pegs. 

 The steadier wind storms are violent and sustained 

 and during our stay several of them tested the 

 texture of our canvas and raised anxiety for our 

 specimens and effects. I would advise all future 

 campers to select sheltered spots for their quarters. 



In the fall the writer spent from September 1 7 

 to 26 in the same neighbourhood to obtain an idea 

 of the autumnal conditions and to fill some of the 

 gaps of the spring work. It was after the first frosts 

 and while the days were warm and pleasant, the 

 nights verged on freezing. 



We were disappointed in not finding any great 

 breeding ground for water birds; a few ducks still 

 remained in spite of the altered conditions of the 



the lake and the ducks and geese, after being con- 

 fined to the narrow strip of open water between 

 the shore and the main ice field, had repaired to 

 mid-lake where they could be occasionally seen and 

 even recognized but seldom collected. He found 

 the land slightly if any wetter than it had been 

 the previous fall, and where we had waded 

 thigh-deep in the spring was dry and grow- 

 ing hay. April and May were very dry, the re- 

 striction of marshy areas increased apace and 

 heavy rains in July failed to replenish them even 

 temporarily. Consequently, the ducks and water 

 birds that remained in 1917 deserted the vicinity 

 and very few bred in 1918. 



Mr. Young worked all the adjoining country in 

 the neighbourhood of the Ward homestead as far 

 as it was possible on foot and made several 



