20 PROTECTIONS OF PLANTS, 1917-18 



natural history, thanks to a certain book deaUng incidentally with botany which 

 fell into his hands. But when he tried to recognize in living flowers the various 

 parts referred to in the book, he found himself stranded, and could not find anyone 

 amongst the college staff to help him out of his difficulties. There were amongst 

 them men of talent, and the college had a high standing in those days just as it 

 has now, but at that time, nearly three-quarters of a century ago, very little 

 attention was given to natural science. 



Young Provancher finished his course of study in 1840, and took up theology 

 at the same college. After finishing this course he was made professor of oratory, 

 succeeding Abbe Lafleche, who was in the future to be appointed to the episcopal 

 see of Three Rivers. Nicolet at that time being still part of the diocese of 

 Quebec, young Provancher, in company with four others, was ordained a priest 

 in the Cathedral of Quebec on September 12th, 1844. Of the five candidates 

 two were later made bishops, Mgr. J. Langevin, bishop of Rimouski, and Mgr. 

 A. Racine, bishop of Sherbrooke. 



From 1844 to 1847 Provancher was priest of Becancourt, his native parish, 

 St. Francis de Beauce and Ste. Marie de Beauce. In 1847 he was one of the 

 forty-two priests (among w^hom was the future Cardinal Taschereau) who went to 

 Grosse-Ile to look after Irish immigrants who were suffering from an epidemic of 

 typhus. Nearly half of the missionaries contracted the disease and four of 

 them die<^. 



After acting for a year as assistant parish priest at St. Gervais, Provancher 

 was given charge of the new curacy of St. Victor de Tring, where he took up the 

 study of horticulture, particularly grafting, indeed with no success. Four years 

 later he was transferred to the cure of He- Vert, and two years later, in 1854, to 

 that of St. Joachim (Montmorency), where he spent eight years, 1854 to 1862. 

 He extended the church there, and introduced during his first winter the use of 

 stoves. For we know that our fathers up to that time had not imagined it 

 possible to heat their churches at all. 



It was at St. Joachim that Provancher began his career as a naturalist and 

 writer by the publication of his "Traite Elementaire de Botanique" in 1858 and 

 "Un Tableau Chronologique at Synoptique de I'Histoire du Canada" in 1859. 

 From 1862 to 1869 he was parish priest of Portneuf, and while there he managed to 

 reduce the parish debt; introduced music into the church in the form of a harmon- 

 ium, which he went to Boston himself to purchase; established a system of church- 

 wardens; founded in 1866 the first brotherhood of Franciscan Third-Order 

 in the country, and took steps to bring back the monks of St. Francis 

 d'Assise, which was not, however, accomplished until some time later. In addi- 

 tion he organized a navigation company with boats between Quebec, Portneuf 

 and other points. 



