. The Canadian field-naturalist. Natural history. February. 1919] The Ottawa Naturalist 39 over the prairie on our arrival our driver pointed to the grass just appearing through the dead mat of last season's growth and remarked that it should be from 8 to 10 inches high. The poplars were just coming into leaf and the few oaks in the big woods behind the camp were still bare and gaunt. Though the day of our arrival was oppressively hot a change came before we had pitched camp and thereafter we had raw, cold weather during most of our stay, with ice forming in the pails of water at night and tow
. The Canadian field-naturalist. Natural history. February. 1919] The Ottawa Naturalist 39 over the prairie on our arrival our driver pointed to the grass just appearing through the dead mat of last season's growth and remarked that it should be from 8 to 10 inches high. The poplars were just coming into leaf and the few oaks in the big woods behind the camp were still bare and gaunt. Though the day of our arrival was oppressively hot a change came before we had pitched camp and thereafter we had raw, cold weather during most of our stay, with ice forming in the pails of water at night and towards the middle of June we were glad to have our stove in the working tent even throughout the warmth of the day. The lake is subject to sudden cyclonic squalls and high winds. The former burst suddenly out of clear skies, whirl a cloud of dust and debris high in the air, and subside as quickly as they rise. On one occasion we saw where a boulder of consider- lake, but evidently are becoming fewer each year. Waders still visited the shore;, and birds were fairly numerous. We had no difficuhy in obtaining as many specimens as we were able to prepare. Unfortun- ately in shipping our collections to the Museum one box, containing the majority of cur small birds, was lost in transit. Manitoba is the most eastern of the prairie provinces and one of the most important sub- jects of geographical distribution in Canada is the location of the meeting points of prairie forms with those of the eastern woodlands. As the determina- tion of these fine subspecific points musi be based directly upon specimens the loss of them was serious and it was largely to replace them that Mr. Young returned to Shoal Lake the spring of 1918, spend- ing from April 23 to October 2 on the same grounds we had occupied the previous spring. He arrived just after the ice had broken up on. The shores of Shoal lake in 1917-18: view ne-^r \^: The shores were of this charactei' everywhere. able size had been rol
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