72 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



feet above the ground. The wooden post was carved with the letters que on 

 the east side, ont on the west side and the number of the mile on the south 

 side, the number in Arabic numerals. 



Every third mile starting at and including Mile 140 was marked by a 

 standard iron post with special wording on the bronze cap to indicate that it 

 marked the Ontario-Quebec boundary. At these miles the iron post was planted 

 at the exact position of the mile and the wooden post exactly one foot north 

 of it. At the other miles the wooden post was put at the exact mile. 



Short rock posts were planted at salient points of rock in place. No mile 

 post fell at such a point. Such points between the miles were numbered with 

 the mile to the south and lettered alphabetically from A till the next mile. A 

 stone mound was made beside each post. 



Two pits and two mounds were made at every mile and witness post. 

 These were due north and south of the post and therefore lay directly on the 

 boundary. 



An aluminum plate stamped with special wording to show that it marked 

 the boundary line was nailed to a live tree at every mile as nearly opposite as 

 possible to the true corner. This plate was also put on a suitable tree at shores 

 of all lakes, rivers and large creeks crossed by the line and chainage noted. 



The Country 



The country through which the line passed is generally flat or slightly 

 undulating and for the most part covered with some kind of bush. Areas of 

 muskeg varying from a few chains to three or four miles across lie interspersed 

 in this bush but of far less total area than the bush. This muskeg varies all 

 the way from fairly dry to very wet but in only one or two places of small area 

 was any floating muskeg encountered. The wet muskeg makes very difficult 

 walking, not so much on account of the depth to which one sinks in it but to 

 the fact of the strong suction on one's feet. A great deal of the muskeg has 

 dwarf spruce and tamarac growing on it. The rings of some specimens of these 

 dwarf trees were counted and were as follows: Spruce, 1%" diam., 56 rings; 

 spruce, %" diam., 50 rings; dwarf tamarac, 1" diam., 150 rings. 



Vegetation and Soil 



Moss forms the general surface covering of the country with the shrub 

 Labrador Tea in the bush and scrub forming a very thick low undergrowth. 

 In the muskeg the moss extends down to at least 3 feet in places. In some places 

 after a few inches down, the moss is found turning to a black muck and in others 

 the brown mossy characteristics continue down considerably farther. In the 

 bush the moss is of a more open and looser texture for a depth of from 6" to 

 18" and generally lies on a firm soil of black loam, sand, clay or gumbo. This 

 exceedingly tough gumbo underlies a large area of the country. 



The top 4 to 6 inches of this mantle of moss becomes in summer time a 

 veritable hotbed particularly in the bush area. Small shrubs and flowers requiring 

 only shallow roots grow in profusion in this moss in the bush areas. Many 

 kinds of small fruits were found and though not in any quantity yet they were 

 well formed and of good quality. These were strawberries, raspberries, saska- 

 toons, red and black currants, gooseberries, high bush cranberries, dew berries 

 and partridge berries. Blueberries were a splendid crop on the rocky ridges at 

 Mile 207. The shrub Labrador Tea is an interesting plant although not peculiar 

 to this area. The family has a very large distribution through its many species 



