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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



unwary traveller by surprise. Tests 

 made in the vicinity of these isolated 

 pioneers, showed a depth of 22 ft. of 

 muck with blue clay underlying. 



In the spring, the bogs are ablaze 

 with the flowers of the laurel and Labra- 

 dor tea, the latter being considered by 

 apiarists as a useful bee plant. Later 

 in the year such bogs yield great crops 

 of cranberries, blueberries (Vaccinium 

 canadensis, V. uliginosum being the most 

 common species here), and cloud berries 

 (Rubus chamcemorus) . 



Although bog land is generally clas- 

 sified as agricultural land, little has 

 been done in this Province to raise crops 

 suited for cultivation on this type of 

 soil. Promising results have been ob- 

 tained by ranchers on Queen Charlotte 

 Islands where experimental plantations 

 of spearmint and peppermint have 

 yielded luxuriant crops, but the absence 

 of an oil distillation outfit to handle the 

 crop hinders the development of what 

 might prove a profitable industry. 



Mammals and birds. While the peat 

 bogs, usually referred to in the north as 

 muskegs, offer advantageous habitats 

 for many species of mammals and birds, 

 no species inhabit them to the exclusion 

 of other areas. The moose finds in the 

 willow thickets which border many of 

 them a favorite food, and the bears 

 feast in autumn on the berries which 

 grow in their drier parts. Within its 

 range the Dall lemming-vole (Synapto- 

 mys borealis dalli) is perhaps as charac- 

 teristic as any species. Long-tailed 

 shrews (Sorex obscurus and S. personatus) 

 also find congenial homes in such bogs. 



The birds which especially favor 

 muskegs as breeding places include the 

 lesser yellow legs, and in south-central 

 British Columbia the greater yellow 

 legs; Holboell's grebe northerly; pied- 

 billed grebe southerly; and the Virginia 

 rail southerly. In places where ponds 

 of sufficient size occur the loon often 

 nests on their borders. 



2. Seashores 



It has been estimated that British 

 Columbia has approximately 7000 ffii, 



of coast line, most of this is rocky but 

 there are a few good stretches of beauti- 

 ful sandy sea-shore the most note- 

 worthy being found near Barkley Sound 

 on the west coast of Vancouver Island, 

 at Qualicum on the east coast, and at 

 Savary Island. Smaller beaches are 

 scattered here and there along the coast 

 but from an ecological point of view, 

 the above offer the best facilities for 

 the study of the sandy sea-shore 

 vegetation. 



A. Sand areas. Sand-dune regions, 

 such as occur on the eastern part of 

 the continent, are rare here; but where 

 they do exist, Lyme grass (Elymus 

 mollis\ and the large headed sedge 

 (Car ex macrocephala) , associated with 

 sea purslane (Arenaria peploides var. 

 major), and sea pea- vine (Lathyrus 

 maritimus) are the pioneers; lupine 

 (L. littoralis] } wormwood (Artemisia 

 canadensis}] and sand-bur (Franseria 

 bipinnatifida) , often take a conspicuous 

 place in the sandy sea-shore association. 



Amongst the noteworthy pants of the 

 Sandy Sea-Shores here, may be found 

 the beautiful sand Convolvulus (Con- 

 volvulus soldanella] ; the yellow and pink 

 Abronias (A. latifolia, and umbellata), 

 with their sweet scented flowers. The 

 Abronias frequently have large mangel- 

 like roots whose food store is protected 

 by cells containing needle shaped crys- 

 tals or raphides. When a small portion 

 of the root is chewed, these raphides 

 painlessly pierce the mucous membranes 

 of the mouth and produce the same 

 numbness or loss of sensation as is pro- 

 duced by several members of the Aracese 

 which possess similar raphides. 



A species of broom-rape (Orobanche 

 fasciculata) is often found parasitic on 

 the roots of the wormwood. This is 

 also found on roots of Artemisia on sand 

 hills in the interior of British Columbia. 



6. Rocky shores. The Madrona tree 

 (Arbutus Menziesii) reaches its northern 

 limit in this Province and many beauti- 

 ful specimens may be seen on the margin 

 of the sand dune areas, as well as on the 

 rocky bluffs of the southern part of the 

 mainland and on the adjacent islands. 



