452 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGNICULTUNE, 
ash, and box-elder predominate) about half a mile wide along the river. During 
the high water the river rises nearly to the level of the prairie, but never overtiows. 
The water is slightly alkaline. The soil is clay, very stiff. The prairie is mostly 
under cultivation, the principal crops being wheat, oats, barley, and grass; they 
yield heavily. ; 
Animals that inhabit timber land seem to be most numerous, those of the prairie 
being rather scarce; probably owing to the low, damp ground, where water stands 
after heavy rains. Possibly alkali affects the distribution cf mammals, but I can 
tind no proof of it. 
Pembina, Pembina County, Dak. 
' 
The level of the prairie at Pembina is about 25 feet above low wa er in the Red 
River. The surface is everywhere undulating, with about 18 inches difference in 
the level. On the prairie the ridges and hollows are quite regular, and are plainly 
marked by a difference in vegetation, grass only growing in the hollows and va- 
rious plants and weeds on the ridges. Along the river the land is uneven and 
ridged by water. The soil is black, rich, and productive; subsoil very sticky, and 
when wet and worked, very hard clay. A rich growth of vegetation covers the 
prairie. A line of timber extends along each river, varying in width from 2 miles 
io less, and in most places full of thick underbrush. The principal trees are elm, 
box-elder, willow, cottonwood, and a few oak and basswood. The principal un- 
dergrowth consists of hazel (full of nuts), June-berry, choke-cherry (fuil of fruit), 
high-bush cranberry (full of fruit). black haws (fruit not ripe vet). thorn bush (full 
of fruit), raspberries, and other brush. The timber is generally smaller and more 
brushy than at Grand Forks. On the east side of the Red River there is very little 
except poplar and willow brush, and this, interspersed with cry, grassy marshes, 
extends about 4 miles east of the river, and is only separated from the great timber 
region of Minnesota by about 7 milesof prairie. {have seen but one slough (4 miles 
west of Pembina), and it is small and shallow, but surrounded by a large tract of 
coarse grass. The crops are generally good. I think wheat wil! be ready to cut 
about August 8 or 10, if not sooner. 
My observations have mostly been made in the timber and brush aiong the Pem- 
bina River, over the prairie west and north for a distance of 4 or 5 miles, and in the 
brush and meadow land on the east side of the Red River. 
The weather since I have been here has been clear, with pleasant days and cool 
nights. There was a light frost July 22, but no damage was noticeable. 
Devil's Lake, Ramsey County, Dak. 
Devil's Lake is a larresbody of water in Ramsey and Benson Counties, northeast 
Dakota. The surface @he surrounding country is variable. There are hills and 
gently rolling prairies, Later spersed with marshes, and near the lake are large areas 
of level, sandy, and sal-incrusted land, with scant vegetation. The lake is very 
crooked and irregular in outiine, with sandy or reedy shores. All the points, penin- 
sulas, and islands, besides some strips along shore, are covered with heavy timber 
and thick brush. There are some solid bodies of forest, many square miles in ex- 
tent. The timber is largely bur-oak, box-elder, and elm. Among the brush there 
is an abundance of June-berry bushes, choke-cherries, wild plums, wild currants, 
and raspberries. 
The soil is clayey and productive. Crops generally are good. No streams flow 
out of thelake. "The water is clear, but slightly salty, and a crust of salty matter is 
deposited on stones or whatever the water washes along shore, and on the sand that 
is near the level of the lake. The surrounding prairie is about half under cultivation, 
the principal crops being wheat and oats, probably three-fourths wheat and one- 
fourth oats. 
My observations have been made along the late shore, in the timber, and back 
over the prairie fora distance of 5 or 6 miles, inchiding as dierent physical features 
as possible. In physical features, plants, and animals there is a strong resemblance 
between this and the Fort Sisseton region. 
Bottineau, Bottineau County, Date. 
The little town of Bottineau is on a level prairie, about 2 miles from the Turtle 
Mountains, which rise with a slope of about a mile to a height of probably 1,000 feet 
above the surrounding prairie. They forma plateau that is moderately hilly on top 
and cut throuch by some deep ravines. The hills are.mostly covered with thick 
brush, and in places, especially in the ravines, there is straggling timber, mostly pop- 
