NATURE IN ACADIE. 5 



towards the woods lying in its rear, and found every- 

 where much of interest. The land here is mostly under 

 cultivation, but it is very poor, the most noticeable pro- 

 duction being stones, which cover the fields and are 

 heaped up on the roadsides, while all the walls and 

 boundaries are made of slabs and pieces of stone piled 

 one upon the other, and all the farmhouses and buildings 

 are either made of wood or stone. The stone is mostly 

 sedimentary deposits of various kinds. 



There were very few birds about here, but I noticed a 

 sparrow in a little plantation which may have been the 

 chipping sparrow so well known in the States. I ob- 

 served several small parties of the American robin or 

 migratory thrush ; they flew high and were rather wary, 

 settling in the thick fir plantations where they appeared 

 to feed. I also noticed here a few American crows 

 flying overhead. Walking back in the direction of the 

 sea I came on a small lake by the side of which I dis- 

 turbed a spotted sandpiper, which allowed a very near 

 approach before taking to flight, when it darted off 

 uttering a shrill peet, peet, and settled again at the water's 

 edge at some distance. The day had now turned out 

 cloudy, but so mild was it that I caught several small 

 moths here, including a " vapourer," exactly resembling 

 the species (0. antiqua) which is to be seen so commonly 

 in the streets of London. Up in the hills near by I dis- 

 turbed a single fox sparrow, a large handsome species, 

 having the lower part of the back and the tail of a 

 reddish colour. 



The next day I made my way on to the hills stretching 

 away along the coast to the southward. There is a 

 very extensive tract of rocky and mountainous land here, 

 which presents much resemblance to the Highlands of 

 Scotland, both as regards its flora and its picturesque 

 appearance — hills and dales, covered with great boulders 

 and protruding rocks, alternating with peaty bogs, stag- 

 nant swamps or clear quiet mountain lakes, with here 

 and there a rushing stream or miniature waterfall ; and 

 this extending as far as the eye can reach, the only sign 

 of the proximity of man being yon hillside on which the 



