the great lakes, and by land westward, we should travel at least 5000 miles.

4. The Gulf of St. Lawrence, which receives its name from the great river flowing into it, is the great waterway of the east coast. It is an inland sea, as large as the Baltic in Europe, and similar to it in its narrow entrance channels, its islands and peninsulas, its shallowness, and the annual blockade of its ports with ice.

5. At the entrance of the gulf lies the island of Newfoundland; a little to the south Cape Breton Island and the peninsula of Nova Scotia form a dividing arm between the gulf and the ocean.

6. Within the gulf are several islands, the most important of which is Prince Edward's Island. The Bay of Fundy, which separates the southern part of Nova Scotia. from the mainland, is a deep and rather dangerous inlet; its tides flow swiftly, and rise at times to the great height of 70 feet.

7. Further north and to the west of the peninsula of Labrador is Hudson's Bay, an inland sea half as large as the Mediterranean, named after an Arctic discoverer who perished on its shores. In the extreme north the shores are dreary and desolate, covered with eternal snows. There is only one month in the year, July, when snow does not fall, and during eight months of the year the whole ocean is covered with an impassable barrier of ice.

8. Masses of ice 200 feet thick and many miles in length, line the shore; the sea is covered with ice-fields. from ten to forty feet thick, and icebergs of all sizes, from a few yards to miles in circumference.

9. Many valuable lives have been lost in endeavours to penetrate this region in search of a North-west Passage to India, and with the hope of reaching the North Pole. The North-west Passage has been found, the

northern coast of the continent has been pretty well made out, and many of the islands beyond it have with difficulty been distinguished from the icy sea in which they are embedded.

10. It is scarcely necessary to add that this route is useless, for only in very mild seasons can navigators make their way among the floating fields and mountains of ice, and they must remain at least one winter amid the perils of ice and extreme cold.

11. Davis' Strait and Baffin's Bay, separating the islands of the Arctic Ocean from Greenland, are frequented by ships in search of whales and seals.

12. The western or Pacific coast is fringed by islands, of which Vancouver's (Van-coo'-ver) Island is half as large as Scotland, and Queen Charlotte's Islands are as large as Wales.

LESSON 46.

THE CENTRAL PLAIN-PRAIRIE AND

POLAR REGIONS.

1. Canada may conveniently be divided into four great regions. One region, except where recently cleared of timber, is densely wooded, another is wooded and mountainous, the third is a vast lowland plain or prairie covered with grass, and the fourth is the land of ice and snow.

2. In the west is the Region of Woods and Mountains; the Prairie Region is in the middle; the Polar Region is in the north; the remainder, including the settled districts about the St. Lawrence, may be termed the Woodland Region.

3. We will first consider the Prairie Region. A map of North America shows a great plain stretching north and south between the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic

Ocean, bounded westward by the high range of the Rocky Mountains, and eastward by less elevated heights.

4. This great plain is divided into three drainage basins, -the southern drains into the Gulf of Mexico, the northern into the Arctic Seas, and the eastern into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence basin is by far the smallest; the northern basin is as large as the other two.

5. The Prairie Region is in the northern basin, and is in the shape of a triangle, the sides being formed by the United States boundary, the Rocky Mountains, and

a remarkable series of lakes. The south and west boundaries are each a thousand miles long; the eastern boundary-by Great Slave Lake, Lake Athabasca (A-tha-bas'ca), Deer Lake, Lake Winnipeg, and Lake of the Woods -is 1500 miles.

6. Four great rivers flow through this plain-the Assineboine (As-sin'-i-boin) and the Saskatchewan (Saskach'-e-won), which enter Lake Winnipeg, and the Athabasca and its tributary the Peace River, flowing into the

Great Slave Lake. Farther north is the Mackenzie River, which flows from the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean.

7. The four rivers just mentioned take their rise among the highest parts of the Rocky Mountains, and they pass through soft soil. Hence their courses are swift, their channels are deep and broad, and in spite of the swift current they are navigable.

8. The Prairie Region consists mostly of rich soil; and and an area of 160 millions of acres (that is, as much as would be covered by five Englands) is capable of being converted into farm land. A portion is treeless, and covered with long grass; other parts are thinly wooded.

9. Animal life is plentiful. Herds of deer and wild buffaloes (or bisons) graze on the prairies. Here, as elsewhere in Canada, is found the moose, the largest of the deer tribe, equalling a horse in size. Beavers build their villages upon the streams, and otters prey upon the fish which are abundant in all the rivers. geese, ducks, and pigeons pass across the country on their way to and from the polar regions.

Flocks of wild

10. Minerals—coal, iron, petroleum or rock-oil, salt and gold-have been found but are not at present worked.

11. The Polar Region we may consider as extending from the mouth of the Nelson River on the western shores of Hudson's Bay, north-west, north, and east. Here snow and ice reign for eight or nine months of the year.

12. A poor soil and a very cold climate render agriculture impossible here, and there are no forests. The soft down and feathers of birds and the thick warm furs of beasts are the products of these regions. The most common animals, in addition to those already mentioned, are the polar bear, fox, wolf, marten, ermine, squirrel, and seal.