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the map of the north side of Nettilling lake. Mr. Soper’s observations 
indicate that the lake is much smaller than it has been sketched on previous 
maps and that the eastern shore of Foxe channel extends much farther 
east in these latitudes than has been supposed. The trip was extremely 
difficult, taking thirty-eight days during the coldest part of the winter, 
between January 9 and February 15. Later the large collection and the 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police surf-boat Fly which had been cached 
in the summer at the east end of Nettilling lake were transported on 
sledges to the coast and the collections packed for shipment out on the 
Beothic in the summer, ultimately reaching Ottawa in good condition. 
On April 11, 1926, Mr. Soper left Pangnirtung on Cumberland sound 
with two Eskimos, two sledges, and twenty-seven dogs, and travelled 
south and west via Nettilling lake and Amadjuak lake, arriving at Amad- 
juak bay on Hudson strait on April 26. This change of base was considered 
necessary, as the prospects for spring work did not appear good in the 
immediate vicinity of Pangnirtung, and the southern part of Baffin island 
presented a large unworked field for biological research. After a short 
delay at Amadjuak, owing to difficulties in obtaining dog-food and assist- 
ants, he was finally able to proceed by sledge and boat to cape Dorset, 
at the southwest corner of Baffin island, which he reached on May 20 
after covering about 500 miles of trail under various difficulties. The 
summer was devoted to various phases of collecting and photographic 
work along the south coast of Baffin island. Of particular interest was 
an investigation of Fox islands south of Gordon bay, where large 
numbers of sea birds were found breeding. Mr. Soper left Amadjuak 
bay on the SS. Nascawpie August 13 and was taken to cape Chidley, at 
the northeastern tip of Labrador peninsula. From here he later boarded 
the SS. Bay Rupert and arrived at St. Johns, Newfoundland, on September 
30. From there he came by rail and boat to Port aux Basques and 
North Sydney, arriving in Ottawa on October 7. Mr. Soper on his Baffin 
Island trips by dog sledge, boat, and canoe, covered more than 4,000 
miles of trail. Besides a large mass of data and original maps of new 
territory, he brought out from Baffin island nearly 4,000 scientific speci- 
mens, including mammals, birds, insects, fishes, plants, and ethnological 
material. 
Publications 
The only important publication by the Museum during the year, 
along biological lines, was “Birds of Western Canada,” by P. A. Taverner, 
Museum Bulletin No. 41, Biological Series No. 10. Other members of 
the staff have contributed brief notes and reviews to periodicals, but few 
formal articles have been listed. For the Ottawa papers C. L. Patch 
contributed some notes on hawks and owls around Ottawa, and on toads 
in gardens, and D. Blakely contributed a brief article on the red snail 
(Planorbis conerus var. rubra), in relation to aquaria. 
Preparatory Work 
C. L. Patch, C. E. Johnson, D. Blakely, and J. E. Perron devoted 
most of their time to preparing and installing biological and botanical 
exhibits and preparing biological specimens for the study collections. 
During the early part of the year Mr. Patch and Mr. Johnson devoted 
