90 bulletin of the natural history society. 



The Word "Lepreau." 



Prof. W. F. Ganong has sent the following note respecting 

 the origin of this word : 



'The ultimate origin not known with certainty; but doubtless 

 it is French of same period with " L'Etang," etc. But our word 

 is unquestionably a lineal descendant of the Point la Proe of the 

 English maps of the early part of the last century — those of 

 8outhack and others, and it can be traced all through maps of 

 ths last century. Our Lepreau may be only an effort to 

 restore the French form. Upon grounds both historical and 

 philological the word should be " Lepreau " and not " Lepreaux." 

 If the " X " is put at the end it should be written " Lespreaux," 

 but there is no historical basis for this. I therefore think 

 " Lepreau " should be the form used. 



'Modern dictionaries give "Preau" as meaning a flat or mea 

 dow, which is not very appropriate to the place, and we are 

 not sure that it was the original word. Another puzzle about 

 it is that cei'tain French maps of 1744-55 have " Napreaux " ; 

 but earlier English ones call it " la Proe." I cannot find any 

 meaning for the word " Napreaux," and it is possibly a misprint 

 for something else — misprints are very common on old maps. 

 The "x" may have some significance in explaining where the 

 " x" in our form Lepreaux came from.' 



Topography. 



The district where we spent our week consists of two essen- 

 tially different tracts of land separated by the main arm and 

 outer part of Lepreau Basin. 



To the north of the basin is a low lying tract extending north- 

 ward to Lepreau harbor and river, diversified with alternations 

 of heath covered clay flats, low rocky ridges with gravelly slopes 

 clothed with straggling forest and copses ; and in the wettest 

 parts peat bogs of considerable extent. 



To the south of the basin the land is higher and carries on 

 its higher ridges tracts of hardwood forest, and on the slope 

 toward Mace's Bay has a range of fai-ms in a good state of culti- 

 vation, extending nearly to Point Lepreau. 



Around Lepreau Basin itself there are clay flats where the 

 soil has been turned into meadow land, but these are of no great 

 extent. 



