The Forests of Canada. 5 



example, we have asimilarity in these conditions from New- 

 foundland to Alaska, and hence throughout the great dis- 

 tance of 4,000 miles we find the same group of trees. Again 

 in the great triangular area of the Northwest, between tha 

 United States boundary, the Rocky Mountains, and the Lau- 

 rent ian region, embracing over 600,000 square miles, very 

 little difference could be observed in the climate, the soil, or 

 the general level of the country, and hence the same group 

 of trees — onlv about half a dozen in all — is found through- 

 out this immense tract. In striking contrast with this is 

 the fact that on the same farm lot in the south-western part 

 of the Province of Ontario one may often count as many as 

 fifty different kinds of trees. The richness in variety of the 

 native ti-ees of Ontario and the adjacent States is owing to 

 the fertile soil and the favoura1)le conditions as to summer 

 temperature, constant moisture, and the absence of intense 

 cold in the winter. 



The writer exhilnted a map showing the northern and 

 western limits of the principal forest trees of the Dominion 

 east of the Eocky Mountains. From this it appears that 

 the range of species is not according to the mean annual 

 temperatui-e or precipitation, but rather to the absence 

 of extremes of heat and cold, and of great dryness. For 

 these reasons a number of the trees of the Province of 

 Quebec and northern Ontaiio do not range west into Mani- 

 toba, although the annual means of teraperatui-e and preci- 

 pitation are nearly the same in both. This map also shows 

 in a stj'iking manner that the northei-n limits of our various 

 forest trees are by no means parallel to one another, 

 although locally some groups may be nearly so foi* a certain 

 distance. Some of them pursue cxtraordinarj' or eccentric 

 courses, which are difficult to account for. The most 

 remarkable of these is the white cedar, which in the central 

 part of its trend reaches James Bay, but drops suddenly to 

 the south at the Grulf of St. Lawrence in the east, and on 

 reaching the longitude of the head of Lake Superior in the 

 west. Yet the climate and other conditions appear to be 

 the same for some distance both east and west of these 

 lateral boundaries. An outlying colony of the white cedar 



