78 LABRADOR 



the land-wash. Most of the small bird visitors from the 

 south have arrived. Lean dogs wander about everywhere, 

 searching for meat, for they are no longer fed, and as yet 

 there are no fish heads and offal for them. 



July. Most of the ice and snow gone from the land. 

 The ground at the heads of the bays thaws out enough to 

 sow seed. The mail steamer now usually reaches her 

 northern limit at Nain, visiting all along as she goes. The 

 caplin are working into the land farther north and at- 

 tracting the codfish. Salmon in the river begin to take 

 the fly. The young ducks and other sea-birds are hatched 

 out. Pleasure schooners can get down among the Eskimo 

 who are now out at their summer fishing stations in skin 

 tents. The salmon fishing with nets in the inlets is going 

 on, and the cod-fishery begins with the caplin school. Mos- 

 quitoes hatch out and are troublesome. 



August. Southern cod-fishers reach their extreme north- 

 ern limit, and fish are taken as far as Cape Chidley. 

 Caplin begin to die or leave the shore, cod following them 

 out of the bays. The salmon-fishery in the sea is at an 

 end. The salmon and trout in the rivers rise to the fly 

 well. The best fiords and least-known northern bays are 

 accessible to pleasure yachts. Icebergs in greatest abun- 

 dance are now to be seen. They are continually driving 

 south with the Arctic current. The flappers of water-fowl 

 are big enough to shoot. Old ducks and divers are moulting, 

 and, being unable to fly, escape pursuit only by diving. 

 The first foreign vessels with dried fish leave the coast. 

 Cloudberries and other berries, e.g. bilberries, currants, 

 raspberries, begin to ripen. Formerly large flocks of 

 curlew came down to feed on these. The young geese in 

 the bays are beginning to fly. 



