26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1893. 



the best agricultural valley of the Province. Sicamous overlooks 

 Shuswap Lake, into which it is nearly crowded by the surrounding 

 mountains that here flank the western slopes of. the Gold Range. 

 The mountains are rugged, densely wooded, and those above 5,000 

 feet are topped with snow. We begin here to have a reproduction of 

 the climatic conditions which, in the more easterly Selkirk Range, 

 correspond so nearly to those of the west slopes of the Cascades. 



12. Vernon, B. C, July 21-August 11. 



Terminus of Okanagan and Shuswap railway, in the midst of the 

 famous Spulamacheen Valley. Rainfall is sufficient to mature sta- 

 ple crops without irrigation. Vernon is surrounded by a rolling, 

 open, mountainous country with wooded elevations. The variety 

 and abundance of its fauna and flora are astonishing. Mean eleva- 

 tion of the valley is 1,100 feet, that of the surrounding mountains 

 2,500 to 3,000 feet. Climate, that of northern Pennsylvania, with 

 less rainfall. 



13. Nelson, B. C, August 16-23. 



A mining town in the southern Selkirks on the west shore of 

 Kootenay Lake. Situated among rugged, cliff-like mountains at 

 1,200 feet. While its climate is less moist than that of the west 

 slope, the abundant vegetation is characteristic of the Selkirks. 



14. Field, B. C, August 27-September 3. 



In the central Rocky Mountains, 5,000 feet above the sea and on 

 the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, through Kicking Horse 

 Pass, eight miles west of the eastern boundary of British Columbia 

 and thirty miles east of the Columbia River. The scenery around 

 Field is a fitting climax to that which greets the eye from every 

 point of vantage in the mountain-burdened Province of British 

 Columbia. From boreal to alpine is a comparatively short step in 

 the natural history of Field. 



In general, the faunal position of those parts of Puget Sound, 

 South Vancouver Island and Lulu Island visited by me is simple, 

 but in British Columbia, as a whole, it is quite complex. The for- 

 mer localities are included in the typical northwest coast region of 

 excessive rainfall which varies from sixty to one hundred inches 

 yearly in the localities where collections were made. The coast 

 region, while essentially boreal in character, possesses many ele- 

 ments peculiar to itself, due to moisture, cloudy skies, temperate and 

 equable climate and the density of the resulting vegetation. It also 

 affords shelter for some species which have been considered repre- 



