TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 723 



changes have been accompanied by large relative alterations in the gradient of 

 temperature between the equator and the poles. But this diiVereuce of temperature 

 is the primary cause of the whole ]5lanetary circulation of the atmosphere, the 

 form and intensity of which must have varied with it, both absolutely and rela- 

 tively to the modifications produced at the earth's surface by the distribution of 

 land and sea. The general conditions lead to the conclusion that a lowering of 

 mean temperature would bo accompanied by an increase of the equator-poleward 

 gradient, and a rise by a diminution of it. Ferrel's theory of atmnspheric circu- 

 lation would then suggest that in the former case the planetary circulation would 

 become more active, the tropical high pressure belts would be displaced to lower 

 latitudes, aad the modifying influence of great continental areas would be rela- 

 tively diminished ; while in the latter case the circulation would be less energetic, 

 the tropical belts would be farther from the equator, and the contrast between 

 oceanic and continental climates would be more sharply defined. 



The probable effects of such changes on the distribution of precipitation, and 

 especially on the position and direction of the great cyclone tracks, are examined, 

 and it is suggested that the greater proportion of rainfall received with easterly 

 winds on the polar sides of cyclones, in lower latitudes than at present, may ex- 

 plain some peculiar features of glacial phenomena. In any case, the aspects of the 

 problem to which attention is drawn deserve fuller recognition than they have 

 received ; they indicate that the variations of temperature required to account for 

 climatic changes are of smaller range than has been supposed, and they may, bv the 

 exclusion of some surviving theories, assist in determining the true cause. 



4. Report on a Survey of British Protectorates. — See Reports, p. 396. 



5. Northern Ontario : Its Geography and Resources. By Robert Bell 

 M.D., D.Sc, LL.D., F.R.S., Director of the Geological Survy of 

 Canada. 



Northern Ontario, now also called New Ontario, comprises more than half of 

 the whole province, or all that portion lying north-west of the line of Lake Nipis- 

 sing and the French River. It has a length of fully 800 miles from Mattawa, on 

 the Ottawa, to the eastern line of Manitoba, near the junction of the Winnipeo- 

 and English Rivers, and a breadth of 400 miles from the outlet of Lake Superio'r 

 to its most northern part, which is at the mouth of the Albany River on James 

 Bay. The eastern boundary, which follows the Ottawa River and the meridian 

 line from Lake Temiscaming, on that stream to James Bay, is also nearly 400 miles 

 in length ; but the western half of the region has an average breadth of only 200 

 miles. Taking the eastern boundary as a base, Northern Ontario is roughly tri- 

 angular in form, the apex beinar at the western extremity. The southern boundary 

 is formed by Lakes Huron and Superior and the northern line of the State of 

 Minnesota, while the northern boundary is defined by the English and Albany 

 Rivers and part of the shore of James Bay. The last-named circumstance "■ives 

 Ontario a claim to be considered a maritime province, with a seaport at Moose 

 Factory and possibly others at Fort Albany and Hannah Bay. The total area of 

 Northern Ontario is estimated at 72,000,000 acres, or about one and one-third times 

 that of Southern Ontario. Its position lies between lat. 46° N. and lat. 52° N.,and 

 the climate is about normal for those degrees of latitude. The paper o-ives a 

 general geographical description of the relief, geology, and hydrograpiiy of Northern 

 Ontario, and deals especially with its resources in the way of minerals aoricultural 

 land, fisheries, and forests. 



The principal rivers and lakes of what is now Northern Ontario were surveyed 

 topographically and geologically by myself in the thirty-one years from 1869 to 1900 

 inclusive, and they have been described in various summary arid detailed reports of the 

 Geological Survey. Maps have been published showing Lake Nipigon, the country 

 around Thunder JBay, the whole of the basin of Moose River, the s'lidbury district 



