292 B. N. A. BOUNDARY COMMISSION. 
plain, Last year, this region was passed over during the last days of 
September and first of October, and had then a general green tint, the 
grass being fresh and good. The short prairie grass, however, even 
when dry, proves nourishing food for animals, and is preferred by them 
to that of the swamps and hollows. 
683. West of Turtle Mountain, the country is unquestionably Phe 
than before. The short buffalo-grass (Bouteloua oligostachya) becomes 
abundant, and it would appear at least doubtful, whether the rainfall over 
much of this region is sufficient for the maturing of crops, with a soil 
and subsoil too light to retain much moisture. Irrigation, though much 
talked of as a remedy for the deficient rainfall of many western regions, 
is only applicable over those comparatively small districts, where water 
can be obtained at a sufficientelevation. Most of the western rivers fow 
in vallies much depressed below the general level of the plains, and hay- 
ing a very small rate of descent, cannot be used in this way. It would 
appear that vast areas of the western plains, south of the Fertile Belt 
of the Saskatchewan region, and west of the Missouri Coteau, must 
remain as pasture grounds, for which they are in great part well fitted. 
684. The precipitation during the summer months, on these great 
plains, appears to be almost wholly of the nature of local showers, accom- 
panied by discharge of electricity. The extreme uniformity of the sur- 
face of the country,—when the weather is settled—allows a well marked 
meteorological cycle to recur. The mornings are generally clear and 
often completely cloudless, but as soon as the sun’s heat begins to he 
felt, small cumulus and cirro-cumulus clouds appear, produced by local 
ascending currents from the heated surface of the ground. These grow- 
ing continually larger, and more numerous, drift with the prevailing 
wind—which is generally westerly—and about three or four o’clock in the 
afternoon, small local thunder storms are developed. Several of these 
may often be seen at one time, and though occasionally the clouds coa- 
lesce to form larger storms, this is comparatively rare. During the night 
the storms generally dissipate, and equilibrium is restored before dawn. 
685. It would seem that the character of the second prairie plateau 
where crossed by the forty-ninth parallel, is that of much of the north- 
ern part of this great steppe. While its more fertile eastern border rapidly 
expands northward, its south-western edge appears to become in the vicin- 
ity of the Qu’ Appelle, and South Saskatchewan Rivers, even drier and 
Jess inviting. 

