266 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. viii. 



the Esquinio and residents on the coast, are permanent ; some 

 years appearing larger in August than during other seasons, but 

 always there. In a stretch of a hundred miles one sees perhaps 

 the same number of permanent snow patches, until Cape Mokko- 

 vik or Aillik is past, when they become more frequent, and 

 reach much lower down the hill sides, in fact actually descend 

 to the shore on the range which terminates at Cape Hurricane 

 (lat. 55° 50'). 



The snow drifts on the coast line — some of them covering 

 many hundred acres in area — maintain themselves without much 

 apparent diminution in size during August and part of Septem- 

 ber, even when their base is but a few feet above the sea level. 

 Farther in the interior the bases appear to rise in vertical alti- 

 tude above the sea with the increase of temperature, and probably 

 they may disappear altogether farther inland, below an elevation 

 which is still very considerably lower than the snow line, espe- 

 cially if the country should be wooded, or no surface features 

 exist which would permit of the growth of drifts. 



The coast climate, deriving its severity and humidity from 

 the Labrador current, reduces the mean temperature to such an 

 extent as to permit snow drifts of certain dimensions to remain 

 throughout the year on exposed fronts facing the south-east or 

 east, which is generally the lea side on the Labrador. There is 

 thus a zone existing for hundreds of miles on this coast through- 

 out which permanent snow drifts in valleys and ravines prevail 

 to a large extent, and the aggregate area they occupy in August 

 gradually increases as we progress towards the north-west. 



The breadth of this zone varies with the mountainous character 

 of the country, and is especially dependent upon forest growth. 

 Where there are unbroken forests, however stunted, there are 

 no permanent drifts. Hence conflagrations, destroying forests, 

 tend to foster the growth of snow drafts and their disintegrating 

 and polishing work. 



V. — Influence of Winds. 



Apart from the reduction of temperature on and near the 

 coast line, due to the constant presence of the cold current, 

 there is superadded the prevalence of strong north-westerly 

 winds for a considerable part of the year, which not only occa- 

 sion the snow drifts, but from their low temperature and moisture 

 preserve them. 



