8 
MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 26. 
The prairie proper of the first prairie steppe is confined chiefly to 
what is known as the "Red River Valley,” i.e., the low flat plains south 
and west of Winnipeg. In this region trees are met with only as forming 
narrow' fringes along the rivers. Elm ( Ulmus americana), Oak ( Quercus 
macrocarpa ), Poplar ( Populus tremuloides , P. balsamifera ), Ashleaved 
Maple ( Acer Negundo) are the most abundant. Away from the imme- 
diate borders of the streams the prairie is treeless. It is covered with an 
abundance of herbaceous plants, growing in the greatest profusion. 
The most widely represented families are Composites , Rosacea ?, Legum - 
inosce , Gramineoe , and Cyperaceoe , but the species representing them can- 
not be said to be characteristic of the zone, as practically all of them are 
found in suitable localities further west. 
Second Prairie Steppe. — This extends westward to a line running 
approximately from the international boundary at long. 103 °- 30 ' in a 
northwesterly direction to Battleford. The flora of this zone is rather 
diversified, and several very different types of plant associations are met 
with. 
In the north, w'here the prairie and sub-arctic forest meet, the 
flora is composed of species characteristic of both zones. This is also 
true of the northern part of the third prairie steppe. 
In the southwestern part of the zone, i.e., the country southwest of 
Moose mountains in Saskatchewan, the vegetation is in many respects 
closely related to that of the dry belt of the third prairie steppe. The 
grass is very short and the vegetation in general decidedly xerophile in 
character. In places, large sandy tracts exist which are covered with a 
profusion of cactus ( Mamillaria vivipara), and in others there is no 
vegetation except that peculiar to arid soil. 
Extending from the bases of the hills forming the boundary between 
the first and second prairie steppes there is much broken or parklike 
country. This is also met with in the Qu’Apelle river valley and in 
other parts of the zone. Poplar and Oak are the chief trees of the bluffs, 
and the herbaceous vegetation, as might be expected, is made up of a 
mixture of prairie and woodland forms. 
The greater part of the second prairie steppe is true prairie, where no 
trees are met with except in the river valleys. Shrubs occur, generally 
forming low thickets or copses, and very frequently small clumps com- 
posed of a single species. On the exposed prairie their growth is always 
stunted. Snowberry ( Symphoricarpus occidentalis) , Silver berry {Elceag- 
nus argentea), Buffalo berry ( Shepherdia argentea), Saskatoon berry 
( Amelanchier ) and Roses of which there are several species, are the most 
important. In damper situations, Meadow Sw'eet ( Spiraea salicifolia ) 
occurs, and in wet places, such as borders of ponds and marshes, willows 
are abundant. The herbaceous vegetation varies somewhat with soil con- 
