APPENDIX. 47 



APPENDIX. 



The Western Cascade District may be described as a 

 wooded country, noted for its gigantic coniferous trees, some 

 of which reach a height of three hundred feet, the under- 

 growth consisting of vine-maple, willow and alder, beneath 

 which a rank growth of moss, matted weeds and ferns, a 

 state of things exists admirably adapted to retain that 

 moisture which, during the winter months, is so character- 

 istic of this North- West Coast. Of course on some parts 

 of Vancouver Island and along the Valley of the Fraser 

 at the Delta, Pitt River, Langley, Sumas, and Chilliwhack 

 open stretches of land occur, and these places may be 

 mentioned as the resort of most of the species, in fact very 

 little of bird life is met with in the deep woods. So that, 

 considering that such species as the Canadian Buffed 

 Grouse, Western Horned Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy 

 Woodpecker, etc., species which are represented on the 

 Coast by the darker forms, are found throughout the 

 Rocky Mountain District and in the Cascade Mountains, 

 where the country is as thickly wooded and the foliage as 

 dense as that portion to the westward, it may be ques- 

 tioned whether sunlight and humidity are the chief factors 

 in bringing about this difference of plumage. 



The Eastern Cascade District is a dry open country of 

 rolling hills, having their higher summits sparsely clothed 

 with forests of coniferous trees, while such deciduous ones 

 as the aspen, dogwood, and willow are found skirting the 

 borders of rivers and small streams. Although there are 

 a few places where sagebush and alkali are the prevailing 

 features, still this open country is well supplied with 

 nutritious bunch grass, on which immense herds of cattle 

 graze the year round. 



