1895-96.] THE SEASONS, Hudson's strait. 107 



falling on the 17th. During this period, vegetation, and in fact all ani- 

 mate life appeared to make wonderful growth, twenty of the sixty-five 

 different plants collected being in full bloom by the end of the month, 

 and many birds had now settled down to their work of incubation. The 

 small lakes, too, were just open, and the loon with its melancholy call 

 could be seen industriously diving for fish, and on the last day of June 

 two different butterflies were taken. Over the sea the ice, though much 

 softer, has remained generally compact, but along the shore and in the 

 small bays it is fast giving way. At the eastern and western entrances of 

 the Strait the average temperature for June, which is about 32°, is 

 apparently slightly in excess of that in the central part, owing, doubtless, 

 to the contiguity of the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Hudson's 

 Bay, and it is about 30° less than the average at Toronto. 



Summer. — The first day of July may be considered the first day of 

 summer, and taking a survey of the month on the last day, some interest- 

 ing changes can be recorded. The temperature has fallen to the freezing 

 point on four or five days, but the frost has not been sufficient to endanger 

 vegetation, while it has often risen to between 50° and 60°, the highest 

 recorded being 68° on the i8th day, this being the maximum for the 

 month and year, and 31" the minimum for the month only. The sun for 

 sometime has been rising in the N.N. E. between 2 and 3 A.M., and setting 

 in the N.N.W. between 9 and 10 P.M., and the sky presents the same 

 appearance during the intervening night hours that it usually does in 

 lower latitudes just before sunrise, often glowing red and bright golden. 

 At all hours it is as light as it is in Ontario immediately after sunset, this 

 being an important factor in considering the navigability of the Strait. 



By the middle of July all the plants excepting two, Matricaria inodora 

 and Ranunculus hyperboreus, which were in bloom on the 28th, had 

 bloomed, and now, wherever there was sufficient earth to support plant 

 life, purple, blue, yellow and white flowers were to be seen in profusion. 



Early in June, by way of an experiment, some garden seeds were sown, 

 and on the 22nd of that month I find the following note in my journal : 

 "Of the peas, turnips and spinach sown in open ground the two former 

 are thriving whilst the latter does not seem inclined to grow, a few seeds 

 only having germinated. Of spinach and garden cress sown under glass, 

 the former is doing well whilst the latter, though half an inch in height, is 

 withering." On July 7th there is. also this note: "The peas, turnips, 

 spinach and cress have made no perceptible growth since June 22nd." 

 Excepting the cress which grew a little after this date there was no 

 perceptible growth, and towards the end of the month all the plants 

 withered. 



