plains of Assiniboia and swings westward, hour after hour, over the silent ranges furrowed everywhere by unnumbered feet of the departed herd. It rises to the foothills beyond Calgary and sights the white wall of the Rocky mountains a hundred miles away. It plunges through the Gap at Canmore, ascends the valley of the Bow between colossal peaks, crosses the continental divide at Laggan, drops down the canyon beside a foaming torrent to the mountain-girt valley of the Columbia, rises again. mile after mile into the icy air of Rogers Pass amid the glaciers of the Selkirk summits and finds its way with the rushing waters of the

Illicillewaet down to the Columbia again at Revelstoke. It hurries through echoing valleys, beside enchanting lakes, across ridges and chasms into the desert along the Thompson. It enters the historic valley of the Fraser and underneath frowning cliffs creeps down the reverberant gorge to the wonderful amphitheaters of Yale and Hope and finally reaches Vancouver and the sea. Then come the steamer voyages through the Straits of Georgia to Victoria and through the Straits of Fuca to Port Renfrew, and at last the invigorating walk through the forest or sturdy pull along the shore. To the lover of nature as well as to the serious student of ecology or plant distribution there is perhaps nowhere in the world a more inspiring and instructive journey of two thousand miles than this. It gives an opportunity of becoming

acquainted with the forests, the prairies, the plains, the foot-hills, the mountains, the glaciers, the deserts and the sea.

At such points as Lake Louise, where the mountain scenery is indescribably grand, there is an unequaled field for the study of talusvegetation, the influence of the snow-line and the avalanche upon plant distribution and the characteristic population of mountain-park and meadow. Here one comes close to the wild life of the peaks, and far above the lake one may see the goats grazing upon their inaccessible crags or one may sometimes hear the roar of a grizzly rising distinct

above the clamor of the torrents. At Glacier the effect of ice-currents upon the growth and distribution of plants is most interestingly displayed. A series of photographs beginning just in front of the ice-mass and extending some hundreds of yards down the valley of the Illicillewaet shows at a glance how revegetation has proceeded, as the glacier has slowly and regularly retreated.

The exact situation of the Minnesota Seaside Station is in a little cove at the entrance of the Straits of Fuca, nearly opposite Cape Flattery, just outside the picturesque harbor of Port Renfrew and about sixty miles north of the city of Victoria. The west shore of Vancouver island is described in the old books of travel as a 'stern and rock-bound coast,' and it is indeed a perilous one for navigation. During much of

the year there is mist and fog to conceal the reefs and ledges and it has been the scene of many a tragedy of the sea since the old days of Drake and Ferrelo and the quest for the Northwest Passage. If the fog hangs low one may perhaps hear in the offing the sullen note of an Oriental liner as she feels her way into the Straits of Fuca, or if the skies are

clear one may look across the water to the blue shores of Washington, indented by Neah and Clallam bays and prolonged westward into the ocean to the rock upon which stands Cape Flattery light. To the left rise the far-shining peaks of the Olympic mountains and, with a binocu

lar, glaciers can be seen upon their untrodden summits. When the Straits are flashing with the breeze, the picture of ocean, shore, forest and mountain is one of the most beautiful in the world, rivaling the

bay of Naples or the Adriatic and almost equaling the matchless Peruvian coast and the sea-front of Ecuador.

The log buildings of the Station stand in a small clearing and have an outlook upon the Straits and upon the Pacific. With the forest behind and the ocean in front their situation is as perfect scenically as it is for the purposes of science. Miles of tide-pools, reefs and kelp-covered recks are easily accessible along the water front, while landward the hills rise to a height of nearly 3,000 feet. Four miles back are the mouths of the San Juan and Gordon rivers, both of which flow into Renfrew port and may be utilized as canoe routes towards the lakes and mountains of the interior. Over the whole country side spreads the primeval and well-nigh impenetrable forest of Vancouver with its. gnarled yews, enormous cedars and towering spruces. On each side of

the Station buildings a little rivulet comes down from the hills and the waters of the two mingle on the rocks just below high-tide mark. Altogether, the opportunity for the study of marine and coastal botany and zoology is magnificent, and there is no good reason why it should not be possible to maintain a thoroughly well-equipped international marine station at the entrance to the waters of Puget Sound. The location is altogether admirable, rich and interesting, and practical work has begun.

FIG. 8. A COVE ON THE WEST COAST NEAR THE STATION SHOWING SALAL BUSHES, ENTERO-
MORPHA FORMATION AND A STRONG ZONE OF FUCUS EVANESCENS. THE TREES IN
THE CENTER CARRY LARGE MASSES OF EPIPHYTIC MOSSES.