Botanical Society of Canada* 397 



of the bison ; and the great fires which every year start from their 

 encampments and sweep the country have gradually carried the 

 limit of the "Thickwoods" eighty to a hundred miles north of 

 its original position, and thus there has been naturally prepared a 

 valuable and continuous fertile track stretching across the conti- 

 nent, and adapted for easy agricultural settlement. This region 

 is covered with luxuriant natural pasture abounding in vetches 

 and other nutritious plants, and having an undulating surface dot- 

 ted with groves and clumps of as few poplars, which though 

 worthless as building timber, are yet sufficient for firewood, and 

 add greatly to the beauty of the country. The northern province 

 and the arid tract being the second and third areas, the fourth is 

 that along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, where many of 

 the plants of the western slopes of the continent are first met with, 

 among which is the Douglas pine and a few others of the pine 

 group. The Alpine region in the Rocky Mountains is from 6500 

 to 9000 feet above the level of the sea, but it is very variable from 

 their abrupt and craggy aspects. Of fifty plants collected at 8500 

 feet, fifteen were common alpine forms of the Scotch mountain. 



Much of the paper was occupied by a description of the physi- 

 cal geography and meteorology of the region, with a view to show 

 the proper position which its flora occupies in relation to the other 

 botanical areas of the northern part of the continent, and Dr. 

 Hector's views on this subject were explained by reference to a 

 map on which the diff"ereat areas were coloured. The very marked 

 representative similarity was alluded to between the Canadian 

 flora and that of the Pacific coast, many of the forest trees having 

 no well marked specific difl"erences ; and as there are no trees of 

 any similar forest growth in the central part of the continent, ia- 

 termediate in character and position, the inference was drawn 

 that we must look for some other link between those two areas, 

 and which is probably to be found by taking into consideration 

 the oscillations in latitude of the vegetation at difterent periods? 

 as recently suggested by Dr. Hooker. g. l. 



