252 Natural History of the 



ARTICLE XIX. — Observations on the Natural History of the 

 Valley of the River Rouge, and surrounding Townships in 

 the Counties of Argenteuil and Ottawa. By W. S. M. 

 D'Urban. 



On the 13th May, 1858, I left Montreal for Grenville on the 

 Ottawa, to accompany a Geological Surveying party, under the 

 immediate direction of Sir W. E. Logan, Provincial Geologist, 

 with whom I remained in the field until the middle of October. 

 Having received instructions to collect specimens, and make ob- 

 servations in Natural History, as far as possible without interfering 

 with the primary objects of the expedition, I did so, and the 

 following notes are the results of my labours. They include lists 

 of the Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles, Fish, Insects, Mollusks and 

 Plants, observed in the Townships of Grenville, Chatham, Went- 

 worth, Harrington, Montcalm, Arundel, De Salaberry and Gran- 

 dison, in the County of Argenteuil, and some unsurveyed parts 

 of the County of Ottawa. With the exception of the immediate 

 neighbourhood of the town of Grenville, which stands on the 

 Chazy Limestone, the whole country traversed lies on the Lauren- 

 tian formation, and these lists, confessedly imperfect, however, 

 from the limited means at my command, may be considered as a 

 fair illustration of the Fauna and Flora, of a part of the Lauren- 

 tian region of Canada. There is no correct map of the above 

 named Townships yet published, excepting a portion including 

 the first four, which are accurately laid down in the " Plan, show- 

 ing the distribution of the Crystalline Limestone of the Laurentian 

 series in various townships between Grenville and Rawdon," pub- 

 lished in the Report of the Geological Survey for 1853-56, but 

 the general position of the remainder and the course of the Rouge 

 may be seen by consulting the map prepared by Mr. Keefer, C.E., 

 for the " Canada Directory," for 1857-8. 



Our route lay, on leaving Grenville, in a north easterly direc- 

 tion through the Townships of Grenville, Harrington and 

 Wentworth, till we reached a fine sheet of water, named, 

 from the number of the islands on it, " Sixteen Island 

 Lake." It is about eighteen miles in a straight line N. 

 13°E. from Grenville, and lies in the Townships of Went- 

 worth and Montcalm. Here we were camped for several weeks, 

 making numerous excursions through the neighbouring country. 

 About the middle of June we commenced following a chain of 



