Central Part of British North America. 237 
is very abrupt. When sailing down that river from the 
Dalles to Fort Vancouver, in a distance of forty miles, the 
traveller passes from a desert flora to a country clothed by an 
evergreen forest of unrivalled variety and vigour. The scenery 
is magnificent, precipices of basaltic rocks rising from the 
water’s edge tier above tier, to the height of several thousand 
feet, while in the distance occasional peeps are obtained of 
snow-capped peaks 10,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea-level. 
On the western declivity of this mountain range, and on 
the narrow strip of country that lies between it and the coast, 
are found the beautiful and stately species of Abies, Picea, and 
Pinus, which have been introduced into this country from 
Oregon and Washington territories since the time of Douglas. 
The collections of that traveller, and those of Jeffrey, have made 
us familiar with the flora of the forest land along the Pacific 
coast; and our knowledge will be rendered still more complete 
by the ample collections of Dr Lyall, who is at present 
labouring in that country, attached to the N. W. Boundary- 
line Commission. 
I am indebted to the kindness of Sir William Hooker for a 
memorandum which was left in his hands by M. Bourgeau, 
stating his opinion regarding the fitness of the Saskatchewan 
country for agricultural settlement, and a free translation of 
which I beg to append. 
Memorandum by M, Bourgeau. 
“T submit the following remarks on the advantages for 
agricultural settlement in Rupert’s Land and the Saska- 
tchewan prairies of British North America, having been ap- 
pointed by Sir William Hooker to accompany Captain Palli- 
ser’s Expedition as botanist. 
“JT had especially to collect the plants which grew naturally 
in the country traversed by the Expedition, and also their 
seeds. Besides my botanical collection, Dr Hooker advised 
me to make thermometrical observations at the various sta- 
tions, and, above all things, to take the temperature of the 
earth at certain depths, as wellas that of the interior of forest 
trees; also to notice the richness and poverty of the vegeta- 
tion of the country, and the maladies to which plants are ex- 
NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIV. NO. 11.—ocT. 1861. 2H 
