1884.] INFLUENCE OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. 107 



trees, when growing in the millstone grit, is very apt to be of 

 inferior quality, being shaky. 



On the shores of certain rivers and on certain beds of sand and 

 clay resting on the millstone grit, there were formerly extensive 

 tracts of large white pines of excellent quality. But generally the 

 pines growing on the Upper Silurian were much sounder. 



THE BOULDER DISTRICT. 



The last geological formation which will be alluded to, is " the 

 boulder district." Eunning north-east through New Brunswick for 

 about a hundred miles, it has an average width of ten miles. There 

 we find the surface of the country covered by masses of granite of all 

 sizes, from that of a block weighing a few hundredweight, to one 

 weighing many tons, lying so thickly together that, in some instances, 

 one can walk for a mile or more on them without so much as setting 

 foot on ground. Among these boulders many lakes occur, out of 

 vv'hich every here and there spring great grey granite rocks, 

 sometimes showing a large surface, at others reaching only a few 

 inches above the water, others perhaps lying but a few inches below 

 it ; so that great caution is required in navigating a canoe among 

 them, as these waters are often dark-coloured, owing to the peat 

 bogs which usually occupy some place in their vicinity, often either 

 the head or the foot of the lake. Upon the boulder district once 

 grew as magnificent a forest of white pines as ever clothed any part 

 of the St. John. The axe and fire have, however, now removed them. 

 The longest and largest-sized trees of black spruce also grew on the 

 boulder district, which was also the best locality for good hemlock 

 spruce ; indeed, the quality of all of the woods growing in this 

 apparently worthless district was excellent, and the sizes of the 

 different trees were large. The boulders of this district were usually 

 underlied by the granite belt which crosses New Brunswick at the 

 Meductic Falls. The character of rock here is frequently por- 

 phyritic, containing large crystals of orthoclase, sometimes an inch 

 in length. Occasionally albite is met with ; it is probably owing to 

 the decomposition of these felspars, and the resulting production of 

 potash and soda, that the trees grown over and among this mass of 

 loose rocks, owe the character and quality of their woods. 



To sum up these observations, the writer gives the habitat 

 of some of the otief woods of New Brunswick, in the following 

 statement : — 



Lower Silurian. — Conifers, beech, birch (largely white birch, 

 especially after fires). These are the most abundant woods, 

 although nearly all of the other woods, native to the province, 

 occur in favoured localities. Many peat bogs rest on this formation. 



