A LABRADOR SPRING 
June rst in a bog near the Natashquan River 
I found ice everywhere about eight inches 
below the surface of the moss. Ina space where 
there was no moss, and the dark brown, almost 
black surface of the peaty mud attracted the 
sun’s rays, the ice was ten inches down. On the 
same day in the lee of a bank a hundred feet 
above the sea, the sun felt hot and the thermom- 
eter registered 76° when exposed directly to its 
rays. In the shade the temperature was 47°, 
and at a depth of eleven inches in sandy, 
peaty soil, all was hard frozen, and the ther- 
mometer registered 32° No wonder vegeta- 
tion, with such a cold region about its roots, 
was tardy in its appearance. 
On June 11th near the Romaine River back 
of Esquimaux Point I found the ice surface 
ten inches beneath the moss in the bogs where 
the surface was dry, while in wet places the 
ice was sometimes twice as far away from the 
surface, and in the mudholes and ponds, with 
the sticks at hand I could find no hard ice 
bottom at all. My friend remarked, in a mildly 
sarcastic manner, as we were resting in one 
of these endless Labrador bogs, that when 
there were no birds in sight, and I had col- 
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