2 Dwir.HT, Summer Birds of Prince Edward hlatid. \]-\n 



birds whose acquaintance I had aheady made in other parts of 

 Canada, I nevertheless devoted a couple of weeks last simimer 

 to exploring the island, and am now able to say what species are 

 characteristic summer residents; and a few words about them 

 mav not come amiss to those of us who may be familiar with 

 them only during the migration seasons. 



The length of my stay was from June 23 to Jidv 9, and l)y 

 means of the narrow-gauge railroad, supplemented by horse 

 power, I visited both extremities of the island, making Tignish 

 and Souris my head(|uarters. The remarkable feat of connecting 

 these places by 167 miles of railroad has been accomplished 

 (the air line distance is less than 100 miles), the promoters of 

 the road being desirous no doubt that each feature of the land- 

 scape should be viewed by the travelling public fiom at least 

 three ditlerent points of the compass. I also stopped at inter- 

 mediate points. The weather was favorable, mostly bright, the 

 raw winds from the northeast and the brief rainstorms peculiar 

 to the Gr.lf l)eing the only disagreeable features, and tliese were 

 less pronoimced as July advanced and the sun gained jiower. 

 What the climate mu.>>t be in the winter time, wlien a bell of ice 

 extending as far as the eye can reach surrouiuls the island, and 

 binds it to the maiidand bv ever shifting iloes, can only be 

 inferred from the chiUing breath of the northeriv bree/es tliat in 

 summer sweep over the frigid water of the Gulf. The ice is 

 said to disappear in April and spring opens, but the summer is 

 i)rief and chiefly conlined to tiie months ol" July and August. 

 Brant regularly remain till the Sth of June. With sncli a back- 

 ward spring and such a cool and brief sunnner it is not surpris- 

 ing that agriculture, beyond the production of hay, potatoes and 

 oats, does not (lourish. Corn is rarely attempted, and us'ially 

 sutlers by early frost. 



Prince Etlward Island has the form of an irregular crescent, 

 the concavity to the northward. It embraces an area of 2133 

 square miles. Its extreme length from East I'oint to West I'oint 

 is about one hundred and twenty miles, and its width would 

 probably average about twenty miles, for the coast line is verv 

 much indenteil by bays. By means of them it is, roughly speak- 

 ing, cut into three sections. The westernmost is the nar- 

 rowest, the width increasing eastward to nearly forty miles, 

 the island tapering oil' again to a point at its eastern extremity. 



