Vol i90? IV ] Bent, Summer Birds of Southivesteni Saskatchewan. 409 



They exhibited three distinct types of soil, supporting three different 

 kinds of vegetation and were more or less distinct faunally. For 

 convenience I shall designate them as the prairies, the sandhills 

 and the alkaline plains. 



The prairies were practically devoid of all vegetation except 

 a sparse, short growth of grass, which grew most sparingly on the 

 hills and more luxuriantly in the hollows. A few scattered small 

 rose bushes, stunted bits of sage-brush and two species of low- 

 growing cacti, occasionally met with, were all that we found to 

 relieve the monotony. The soil was hardly rich enough for culti- 

 vation, though wheat and flax were being successfully raised in 

 many places with the aid of a little fertilizing; but for grazing 

 purposes these portions of the plains, which comprised by far the 

 greater part of the whole region, were well adapted and large 

 scattered herds of horses, cattle and sheep roamed at will over 

 vast areas. Thirty years ago the last of the buffalos disappeared, 

 but their trails were still visible in many places — narrow, deeply 

 worn pathways where countless herds had passed along in single 

 file. Many of their wallows were also recognizable, but their bones 

 had long since been picked up and sold; only an occasional skull 

 or horn was to be found. Antelopes had been frequently seen in 

 recent years but they were fast disappearing. Prairie wolves 

 were not yet rare and we obtained several shots at them, at long 

 range, but succeeded in killing only one. Badgers were fairly 

 common and gophers were only too numerous. Birds were scarce 

 on the prairies or so widely scattered that they appeared so. Long- 

 billed Curlews and Bartramian Sandpipers found congenial homes 

 in the grassy hollows; gulls were occasionally seen, particularly 

 near the lakes; hawks were frequently seen sailing overhead or 

 perched on fence posts or telegraph poles along the railroad, and 

 if one had sharp ears he could often hear the flight song of Sprague's 

 Pipit or more rarely see one soaring way up in the sky, a mere 

 speck against the clouds. But the characteristic birds of the 

 prairies were the Longspurs, Lark Buntings, Vesper Sparrows 

 and Meadowlarks, and their delightful songs added much charm 

 to a drive across the grassy plains. 



Among the sandhills, though the soil was poorer and the ground 

 often bare and sandy, there was sufficient nourishment to support 



