The steamer track upriver from the northwest part of the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence was essentially free of ice on 1 April, but navigation on 

 the track from Bird Rocks to Cabot Strait was hampered to a con- 

 siderable degree by large masses of drifting ice until the end of the 

 month. A belt of field ice about 60 miles wide encumbered the entire 

 east coast of Cape Breton Island during all of April. The first ship to 

 make passage from Cabot Strait to Montreal arrived on 1 April. 



The distribution of ice reported in April is shown graphically in figure 

 14. 



MAY 



Heavy field ice persisted in that part of the Grand Banks north of 

 47° N. and west of 48° W. during most of May. The most southerly 

 extension of the pack during this month occurred in the third week on 

 the northeast slope of the Grand Banks and reached to latitude 46°15' N. 

 Thereafter, the limits of field ice steadily receded northwestward. 



The breakup of the pack to the north of the Grand Banks released a 

 large number of bergs, 265 of which drifted south across the 48th parallel 

 during the month. Heavy concentrations of bergs developed off the 

 east coast of the Avalon Peninsula and along the east slope of the Grand 

 Banks as far south as the 45th parallel during the latter half of May. 

 The Labrador Current carried about 10 bergs down the east slope of the 

 Grand Banks south of latitude 44° N. The most southerly position 

 attained by any of this ice was on 24 May in 41 °14' N., 49 °47' W. Only 

 six or so bergs entered the Flemish Cap sector during May. 



The east coast of Cape Breton Island was encumbered by a belt of 

 heavy pack averaging about 40 miles wide during the first 2 weeks of 

 the month, but by the 19th this pack had disappeared except for scattered 

 strings and patches. 



The Strait of Belle Isle and the eastern approaches thereto were blocked 

 by heavy pack throughout May. 



The distribution of ice reported in May is shown graphically in figure 

 15. 



JUNE 



The southern limits of field ice in the Grand Banks area continued to 

 recede northwestward throughout the month of June. On the 8th they 

 approximated a line from 47°40' N., 52 °30' W. to 48°10' N., 49 °30' W. 

 to 49 W N., 50°30' W. and on the 23d a line from Baccalieu Island to 

 48°40' N., 50 W W. to 49° N., 50° W. By the end of the month the 

 Grand Banks area was clear of field ice. 



A total of 288 bergs crossed the 48th parallel in June, the largest 

 number for any month of the season. Throughout the month heavy 

 concentrations of bergs and growlers covered the entire northern portion 

 of the Grand Banks outside the 50-fathom curve and the eastern slope 



