BOOK REVIEWS ‘3’ account of theexploration of Hudson of Greenland from Hans Egede in 172I Bay and BaffinBay. Two chaptersare toGin0 Watkins andCourtauld. The used to give anexcellent summary of last four chapters summarize the search Russian expansion into Siberia, of Ber- for the Northeast and Northwest Pass- ing’s voyages, the story of Semen Dezh- ages; exploration of JonesSound and nev andothers, ending withWrangel’s Beaufort Sea; Peary’s achievement of sledge journey. the Pole, and Flying in the Arctic. The Britishexploration in thenineteenth penultimate chapter includes a statement centuryoccupies three chapters, with headed “The truth about Cook” which much of the space givento Franklin’s outlinesthe views of theauthor as to voyages andthe Franklin Search. In a whereDr. Cook really was when he discussion of “The Route to the North”, claimed to be making his remarkable the stages by which the open polar sea journey to the North Pole. was reachedthrough Kane Basin and To the Arctic! is well illustrated with RobesonChannel are described with a photographsand maps. Appendicesin- fittingtribute to themagnificent work clude a list of the Franklin search parties of theNares Expedition of 1875-76. and a chronology of northernexplora- Other chapters deal with the exploration tion. T.Ll.

ROSTER OF ARCTIC SPECIALISTS The Arctic Institute of North America is compiling a roster of persons with Arctic experience. It is to include scientists, traders, missionaries,administrators, explorers and others with field experiencein any part of theArctic. The Directors of the Project would be glad to receive the names of any persons who shouldbe added to the roster. Information may be addressed tothe Director, Arctic Institute Roster, 1530 P StreetNorth- west, Washington, D.C.

NORTHERNRESEARCH REPORTS

Archaeology Museum of Denmark to provide a Dan- In NovemberIn 1947 theNational ish archaeologistfor the excavation of Museum of Canada set about organizing the sites in Slidre Fiord,which lies on aninternational archaeological expedi- an overland route to North Greenland. tion toexcavate some ancientEskimo Furthermoreit planned that eitherits ruins near the two weather stations that Director, Dr. F. J. Alcock, or the Chief hadbeen erected that summer in the of its Division of Anthropology, Dr. D. Canadian ArcticArchipelago, one at Jenness, would visit the two sites while Resolute Bay onCornwallis Island, the they were being excavated, and that all other in Slidre Fiord, Eureka Sound, on specimens recoveredwould ultimately thewest coast of EllesmereIsland. It be dividedbetween the three National invitedDr. Henry B. Collins, of the museums. United States National Museum in Unfortunatelythe National Museum Washington,to excavate the sites in of Canadawas not able to arrange for Resolute Bay; and it asked the National the transportation of an archaeologist to I 32 ARCTIC voL. I, NO. L

SlidreFiord, and had to give upthat head, small narrow nose, epicanthic fold, part of its program.About the middle and light skin. The other was more In- of July,however, it did succeed inar- dian-like, resembling thetype which ranging for Dr. Collins and an assistant prevails inother parts of theCentral from Canada to be flown in to Resolute Arctic, the distinguishing features being b Bay; and when the airfield there proved a wide and high face,high and wide to be temporarily inoperative, in having forehead, a relativelylarge and convex themlanded at theFrobisher Bay air- nose, largemouth, anddark skin. port, Baffin Island, where theyhappily on Dr.Henry B. Collins was assisted in discovered otherruins that promised a profitable field-season. thework by Mr. Colin L. Thacker of the Division of Biology, National Excavations werecarried out during Museum of Canada. July and August at a prehistoric Eskimo site near themouth of Sylvia Grinnell LakeMistassini, Quebec River at the upper end of Frobisher Bay. A second archaeological reconnaissance The excavations were of significance in was made to the region of lakes Mistas- revealing evidence of Dorset-Thule re- sini and Albanel, Quebec between June lationships in a regionpreviously un- 14 andSeptember 25 byEdward S. known archaeologically. The site con- Rogers and Murray H. Rogers. Financial sisted of four semi-subterranean houses aid was received fromthe Robert S. built of stones, whale bones and turf. Peabody Foundation for Archaeology, They were oval to rectangular in shape, with a narrow sunken entrance passage. Andover, Mass., and the Viking Fund of The houses were almostcompletely New York. The canoe route began at covered with a dense growth ofmoss, Oskelaneo River, Que. and reached Lake willows, grass and other vegetation. Mistassini by way oflakes Lynxeye, Only Thule material was found inside Nemenjish,Obatogamau, Chibougamau the houses, while the adjacent middens and Waconichi. From Mistassini the trip contained both Thuleand Dorset objects, continued northward to Lake Albanel thelatter for the most part at deeper and thence for twenty-five miles up the levels. Thiswould indicate that Thule Temiscamie River to Lake Tournemine. culture people werethe last occupants There a few excavations were made to of the site but that they had been pre- determine thevertical distribution of ceded by Dorset Eskimos who presum- artifactson sites locatedduring 1947. ably had built the houses. There was no The east coast of Lake Albanel was next trace of metal. Stone implements, which surveyed as far as the“Long Portage” were abundant, were preponderately which was then taken to reach Lake Dorsetin type, consisting of asymmet- Mistassini. Leaving LakeObatogamau rical knife blades, end and side scrapers, theparty crossed thedivide separating harpoon and arrow blades of chipped the St. Lawrence drainage basin from chert.Very few rubbed slate blades that of Hudson Bay, to reach Lake were found.Animal bones fromthe Ducharme andcontinue upthe Scatsi houses andmiddens showed thatthe River to Lake Potrincourte and so back people had subsisted principally on seal to Gouin Reservoirand the Hudson’s and caribou. Whale,walrus, beluga, Bay Company post at Oskelaneo River. birdsand fish, and probably also dogs, Over ’ eighthundred artifacts were were of secondary importance as sources collected. The majority of the knives, of food. spears, scrapers and axes were percussion Measurements and physiological ob- chipped from quartz, while a few were servations were also made on a series of made from flint. A number of prehistoric living Eskimos-40 males and 40 females, sites were located along the seven hun- all adults. These Frobisher Eskimos were dred miles of route traversed northward found to consist of two principal types. fromGouin Reservoir. Geographical The first-the more typical Eskimo-had noteswere compiled throughoutthe a wide but relatively low face, low fore- journey. NORTHERN RESEARCHREPORTS '33

Aerobiology" was limited mainly to the Gasp6 penin- Prof.Nicholas Polunin, MacDonald sula and other arctic or subarctic habi- Professor of Botany, McGill University, tats which are found in the Gulf of St. Montreal,returned late in September Lawrenceregion. 1948 froman extensive series of flights The need tostudy the hypothesis in northward from Alaska. His mainpur- the light of new facts became apparent. pose was to gather spore specimens in a Hencesurveys in the interior of Anti- special device designed incollaboration costi island, which, was supposed to have with scientists of the United States gov- escaped glaciation, were madein 1940 ernment.Prof. Polunin returned with and 1942. The great unknown, however, about 80 glass plates which had been being the interior of the Ungava penin- exposed at variousheights on flights sula, and northern Quebec in general, I which included one over the north. geo- decidedto give my attentionto this graphical pole. Hereported that the problem. To fulfill the plan, three differ- workdone so far, incooperation with ent areas werestudied in succession I) Dr. S. M. Padyand Dr. C. D.Kelly from 1944 tothe spring of 1947, the also of McGill University, had indicated subarcticforests in the limestone area apreviously unsuspected abundance of of Lake Mistassini; 2) in the summer of bacteria, mould, yeast, pollen and other 1947, a survey of George Riverl,-which, living botanical particles in the air over flowing from theheight of theland, thearctic regions.Stem and leaf rusts north of Lake Michikamau on the Que- of wheat and foot-rot of rye and barley bec-Labrador boundary, provides a good were found in 1947 over the arcticislands cross section of the vegetation from the near the north magnetic pole. subarctic forest to the arctic barren land; The apparatus used to collectspore 3) finally, this year a sector of the Un- specimens is fitted into the nose of the gava peninsula north of the timber line, aircraft so that any organisms in the air betweenHudson Bay andUngava Bay coming in contact with it become fixed via the Kogaluk and Payne rivers2. to a plate treated with a special silicone Exceptfor a traverse byRobert J. smear which remains sticky even at tem- Flaherty3, along the Payne and Povung- peratures as low as -90' F. On the most nitukrivers in 1912, noother traverse recent flight thetemperature at 25,000 of theUngava peninsula north of the feet above the north pole was found to timberline had apparently been made. be -48" F. whilenot long before, near Furthermore, on this summer's trip, only sea level it hadbeen slightly below thelowest part of thePayne River freezing point. The apparatus used dur- touched the route followed by Flaherty. ing summer flights for gathering spores Plannedfirst as a oneman general is being modified for use ona winter survey(with emphasis onbotany) the flight early in 1949, so that plates may be purpose of the 1948 trip was gradually exposed without "depressurizing" the widened. I first accepted the suggestion -aircraft. of Mr. Edgar Aubert de la Rueto ac- *See ako "Aerobiological investigations in the company meas geologist,and a grant Canadian arcticand subarctic" in Arctic Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 60-61, Spring 1948 and "Arctic aero- from the ArcticInstitute wassubse- biology, Preliminary report on Fungi and Bac- teriaisolated from theair in 1947'' Nature quentlyobtained to make this possible; VOI. 162, pp. 879-881, Sept. 4, 1948. Mr.Pierre Gadbois was lateradded to Botany the party as geographer from the Geo- graphicalBureau of theDominion De- By CanoeAcross the Ungava Peninsula partment of Minesand Resources and Via the Kogaluk and Payne Rivers finally, Mr. Jean MichCa of the National Report supplied byDr. Jacques Rousseau Museum, Ottawa,joined the group as Professor M. L. Fernald's ideas on the ethnologistand archaeologist. For my persistence of plants in unglaciated areas own part, outside of planning and lead- innortheastern America have forthe ing the expedition, I concentrated prin- last twentyyears been a stormcentre cipally on the biological (andmainly in American phytogeography. As far as botanical) aspects of thesurvey. It is Quebec wasconcerned, the discussion still premature to report on the technical I 34 ARCTIC VOL. I, NO. 2

aspects of ourwork: each member of was known of theterritory it seemed the party will later furnish a report on preferable to reducethe weight of all his own activities and observations. Con- equipment and to avoid having to por- sequently, this note is confined to general tage motor and gasoline. Moreover, such observations. travelling gives one moreopportunity Afterflying from Montreal airport, to collect biological and geological speci- by R.C.A.F. to Fort Chimo, a chartered mens, since theshores are more easily Canso of the Mont-LaurierAviation followed closely. Company carried the party of four tech- A strikingfeature onthe whole trip nicians and four Indiancanoers to Po- was the almost complete absence of vungnituktrading post on the Hudson caribou. From the Hudson Bay coast to Bay coast, on the14th July, 1948. The the centre, not a single fresh track was aircraftcarried all equipmentincluding seen. Old caribou trails onlywere en- two eighteen foot canoes.Because of a countered and moreover, as viewed from very early break-up the Canso was able theair, these werevery rare. From to land on Payne Lake where we made Payne Lake tothe UngavaBay coast, a cache, thus simplifying the problem of caribou trails weremore frequent, transportation. thoughfresh tracks were seldom seen. Withthe assistance of two Eskimos Onlythree caribous were spied bythe andtheir nineteen-foot canoe, as well party. Nevertheless, as one would easily as a collapsible canoe of the kayak type surmise, grazing possibilities arevery seating two men, theparty left the good. The dominant wild life in the in- mouth of the Kogaluk River on July terior as far as we could judge, con- 17thand followed its course until .the sideredfrom the economic point of 27th. Then began a four-day portage of view,consists mainly of graytrout, overtwenty miles. The area crossed Canada goose and lemming. The ex- consisted of low hills cut by small brooks treme abundance of the latter this year and lakes, lyinbetween the drainage is anindication of abundance of white basins of theIfogaluk andPayne. The foxes for next year. first part of the portage over, the Eski- It may be a surprise to some to learn mos returned ,to their base withtheir that we employed as canoe men, Indians canoe, as had been agreedupon, the who hadnever ‘travelled in suchcoun- three other canoes now being sufficient try and who were in anarea far removed to carry the remainder of the load. fromtheir own, the subarctic forest Reaching the cache on Payne Lake on north of Seven Islands on the St. Law- Augustznd, the party followed the rence. This was done because Indians PayneRiver until the I zth, whenthe are unsurpassed in canoeing and portag- canoeing ended at .the Payne Bay trad- ing. They are inland peoplewhile the ing post on Ungava Bay. A whole week Quebec Eskimos are coastal, and travel was spent there surveying the surround- inthe interior only occasionally for ing territory. hunting purposesand thenby komatik The two rivers, Kogaluk and Payne, inearly winter. Eskimos are unaccus- presentwidely different aspects. As an tomed to portages and to travelling by Indianguide toldme one day, “Rivers canoe on rivers. In less than a day, the are like women, each one has her own Indiancanoers fromthe “bush” had character,and we sense it inthe early adapted themselves to the tundra and the days following thefirst meeting”. The camp fires of green willows. Even if Kogaluk consists of a chain oflakes theywere in a countryentirely un- separated bylow falls. The Payne, on knownto them they found their way the contrary, is a swift river (although across the barren land more easily than not as rapid as the George River), with- did the Eskimos. When travelling in the out falls and with very few portaqes: as interiorthe Eskimo relies generallyon there is sufficient water, one can ‘ishoot” his cairns to guidehim; theIndian, on nearly all therapids when going with thecontrary, relies on the sun. After the curren,t. An outboard engine may be leaving the Kogaluk River and travelling used on both rivers, but, because so little for. four days while crossing the valleys NORTHERN RESEARCHREPORTS * 35 L I i between this river and the Payne, with The formationsencountered belong vision limited because of low hills, we for the most part to the Archaean, ex- went directly 'to our cache and lost no cept in the East, bordering Ungava Bay time- searching for it. and in the lower valley of Payne River, See page 93 foran account of this expedi- where a beltfifty miles widecorres- tion. zA numberof servicesand organizations have ponds to certain Algonkian strata, of a co-operated in making thisexpedition and that muchmore varied but definitely less to the George River a success. In theformal reports,due credit will be accorded toall of metamorphic nature. From the mouth of t them. Nevertheless, in thispreliminary note, I am happy tocite particularlythe Royal Cana- theKogaluk to thepoint where the dian Air Force, Geographical Bureau, National estuary of thePayne begins, there Museum, Defence Research Board, Arctic Insti- tute, Government of the Province of Quebec, City stretches a complex of gneisses and of Montreal and the Hudson's Bay Company. 3Flaherty. Robert J. Two traversesacross granite. There are also garnetparag- Ungavapeninsula. The Geographical Reve'ew neisses, sometimes quiterecognizable, (NewYork), 6: 116-1a2. 1918. and sillimanite paragneisses, often ac- Geology companiedbandedby amphibolite Geologicalsurvey through theUngava heavily granitizedin places andaltered Peninsula. to migmatites. The latter,considerably Report supplied by E. Aubert de LaRue developed,are accompanied by unre- stricted and very heterogeneous granitic This survey, made during the months masses characterized by a texture which of July and August, 1948 thanks to fin- is oftenporphyritic ahd by the abun- ancial aid granted by the Arctic Institute dance of amphibolite enclaves. Numerous of North America, has permitteda pegmatitedykes and rarer ones of dia- broad study of the geological structure base together with some small bodies of and physiography of the region extend- gabbros cut this complex. The direction ingfrom Hudson Bay to Ungava Bay, of these formations, which is N-S along and located between 59' 30' and 60" N. Hudson Bay, swerves to NW-SE in the lat. The routefollowed, via Kogaluk middle and uppervalleys of the Kogaluk, River,Payne Lake and the river bear- as well as in thePayne Lake region, ing the same name, measured 350 miles, while it is NE-SW in the Payne valley. and was made by canoe with Dr. Jacques Rousseau, Mr.Pierre Gadbois and Mr. The Algonkian complex in the lower Jean MichCa. valley of thePayne includes quartzite, The physical formation of the region mica-schists and gneisses in certain places, consists of a plateau, the maximum ele- and various typesof metamorphic schists, vation of whichhardly exceeds 600 with a few small bodies of serpentine feet; the altitude of PayneLake being andgabbro. Tremolite and magnetite approximately feet. Very uniform as quartzitic sandstones cover large surfaces 440 north of Kyak Bay, on Ungava a whole, the appearance of the plateau, Bay. however,presents some aspects which Among :he economic minerals en- varyquite considerably in its details countered,related especially to the Al- according to the importance and nature gonkian fcarmations, followingthe of glacial deposits. The PayneRiver should be mentioned:magnetite, chal- basin appears more considerably dissect- copyrite, talc, asbestos and garnet. ed than that of the Kogaluk, and these The striaeobserved show an East- two largerivers flow quitedifferently. West progression of glaciersalong the The Kogaluk flows toward Hudson Bay entire valley of the Kogaluk River, while bya series of steps, creatingnumerous those inthe Payne River valley, vary falls-around twenty-the highest of between N 50'E and N 70'E. Afew which is zz feet. In fact, this river is eskers have been encountered more par- formed by a series of lakes of which the ticularlybetween Tasiatand Payne most important ones number 14. Payne lakes, and a zonenoteworthy for its River, on thecontrary, flows out of frequence of drumlins was crossed in Payne Lake, enters a sunken valley, the upper valley of the Kogaluk River, crosses no lakes, andforms no falls. It between the three Igluluk lakes. presents, however, numerous rapids, and Sea terraces with Pleistocene fossils the current is swift. may beseen on the slopes of Hudson I 36 ARCTIC VOL. I, so. 2

Bay as high up as IOO feetin altitude, notes on ice conditions, terrain and vege- while onthe slopes of Ungava Bay tation. Theparty was inthe field for raisedbeaches, formedmore especially more than two months,transportation of boulders, and which reveal no fossils, being by R.C.A.F. Canso flying boat. rise in tiers to a height of 250 feet. Theparty was unable to completeits Aside from the main routefollowed, northwesternmostpoints due to clouds geological observations were made in and icing which developed at the end of Povungnituk Bay andaround Fort August. Chimo. Task Force So. Two geographers-Dr. R. T. Gajda Geography and Mr. T. R. Weirwere amongthe The recently established Geographical scientists who accompanied Task Force Bureau of the Canadian Department of 80 tothe Canadian Arcticduring July, Mines and Resources carriedout field August and September, 1948. As a result work over a wide area of northern Can- of their work, a considerable number of ada during the 1948 field season. Among important changes will be made on the projects completed were the follow- Canadian maps, studies of terrain, ice ing: - conditions,natural vegetation and geo- Study of thehydrography of Mac- logy were alsomade. When the two kenzieWaterway and theWestern geographers were at Resolute Bay hav- Arctic as far east as Boothia Peninsula. ing approached itfrom the east, they Mr. J. K. C. Fraser of the University of met members of the Magnetic party al- Toronto recorded changes inthe navi- ready mentioned, who had arrived from gablewaters of the Mackenzie route, the west. This casual completion of the assisted inthe resurvey of theharbour Northwest Passage, in part byair, is at Tuktoyaktukat and visited trading typical of the manner inwhich travel settlementson the mainland coast and facilities inthe north have improved the south coast of Victoria Island, mak- enormously in recent years. ing reconnaissance maps of theirhar- Ungava Peninsula. bours andrecording the best sailing routes. He accompanied the Hudson’s Mr. Pierre Gadbois of theGeogra- Bay Company vessel Nigalik to Spence phical Bureau accompanied Dr. Jacques Bay, making a sketchplan of thehar- Rousseau on his canoe journeyfrom bour and the site selected for the trading Hudson Bay to Ungava Bay. post which is to replace Fort Ross. The widespread activities of members of the Geographical Bureau staffin its Physiography of BakerLake and the first season-they werescattered from Thelon River west to Beverly Lake. Mr. northern Ellesmere Island to the Mac- B. Bird of the University of Toronto, J. kenzievalley-is anindication of the Bird and accompanied by Mrs. two renewed efforts of Canada to explore its students of geography studied the Baker northernterritories, following the re- Lake area, and travelled upstream by duction of such workduring the war canoe as far as Beverly Lake, making a years. reconnaissance survey,and recording the physical geography. Permafrost Operation Magnetic. Mr. John Carroll Mr. R. A. Hemstock, Edmonton, Al- of theTopographical Surveyand Mr. berta, has continued his study of perma- J. L. Jenness of the Geographical Bureau frost reported in Arctic, Vol. I, No. I. accompanied the annual magneticsur- His purpose is togather and compile vey to northwestern Canada. They were allavailable data on permafrost in the able to completethirteen observation NormanWells area and to continue a pointson the mainland, and on several study of permafrost and related soil and islands as far north as northern Melville snow mechanics with a view to improv- Island and as far east as Resolute Bay. ingthe present methods of road build- The geographical results of the expedi- ing, communicationsand general con- tioninclude numerous map changes, structionin the arctic and subarctic accurateastronomical fixes, extensive regions. RESEARCH REPORTSNORTHERN RESEARCH I 37

Average air temperature readings, air tunately,road conditions made a visit temperature readings under various to the place impossible this year. Colias buildings and readings of soil temper- hecla was studied in the area from Lake atures have been continued duringthe Teslin,Y.T. to the Alaskan border.It summer. When the results are finally is apparently absent in the Tanana river complete these recorded temperatures region of Alaska butpresent in the should give much valuable information mountains fromthe St. Elias range onthe effect of temperatureon frozen through the Wrangell, Alaska and Chu- soil. gach ranges. It has been recorded before Additional measurements to determine for thenorth andwest coasts and the the depth‘ of permafrost werecarried Mt. McKinleyregion of Alaska. The out. Some difficulty was encountered in larvalfood plant has been determined gettingthermometers tothe required as a bog species of Hedysarum; collec- depth in old wells which had waxed up tions were made forfurther identifica- a good deal inthe permafrost zone. tion. The white female frequency was However, results were obtained in two determined atover 60% whitein the additional wells and although not ccm- Yukonand Alaska territories. Colias pletely checked, they indicate a varying philodice was studied over the same ter- depth of permafrost. This work will be rain but was not found to be so specific continued upon the arrival of more suit- as to habitat. The white female fre- able thermometers. The foundations of quency indicated thus far is nearly 100% all buildings were checked. All those white. Of interest is the fact that whites erected last year are. so far holding up have not been taken inthe Edmonton well but a distinct settling of the ground area where the females are 100% colour- underneath heated buildings indicates a ed. The remainder of the season was recession. of the permafrost which al- spent studying the relationships between though it is not yet serious will become the species as theyare found on the serious if allowed to continue unchecked. tongues of tundrawhich extendsouth Soilsamples were taken in various fromthe true tundra of thenorth into locations, the samples of permafrost be- the mountain ranges southward. ing kept in their frozen condition to be Dr. Hovanitz has drawn maps to show tested inthe soil mechanics laboratory the known distributions of Colias species at the University of Alberta. in North America and of the frequencies A thoroughstudy was also made of of the colour phases. All species have the theroads in the area to check onthe highest frequencies of thewhite gene suitability of the various methods of (and phenotype) in central Alaska. construction. Profiles of thefrost line were obtained to indicate thetype of Radio sub-grade encountered in a typical road MobileIonospheric Observatory in the district. Canada’s first mobile ionosphericob- servatory was putinto operation on Entomology August 23, 1948 by the Defence Research Dr.William Hovanitz. of theLabo- Board on the railroad to Churchill. ratory of Vertebrate Biology, Univer- The newobservatory housed in a sity of Michigan. reportsthat hespent converted railway coach, is expected to thelatter part of June making popula- be a vital link in an international chain tion analyses of Fene frequencies of the of stations supplying information essen- colour phases of arctic Colias along the tial tothe. development of radio com- route of the Alaska hiyhway. The earli- municationand radio navigation in the estspecies to appear in the area is C. north. hecla which flies at temperaturesjust Canada already has a number of iono- above freezing. This speciesalso flies spheric stations in operation in the north to thenorth -in thearctic islands and country but this is the first mobile ob- Greenland. An amateur collector of Ed- servatoryto be used in this important monton had taken the species far to the research work. The “lab” will operate south atNordegg, Alberta in a bog under the direction of Mr. J. H. Meek similar to those of thenorth. Unfor- of Defence Research Board headquarters VOL. I, NO. Z 1 38 ARCTIC inOttawa, and will operate over the was curtailedduring April in order to Hudson’s Bay Railroad between Portage dolaboratory work. Only a fewtrips la Prairie and Churchill. One round trip were made for the purposes of studying will be made everythree months, in methods of beaver huntingand obtain- each of thefour seasons of theyear, ing notes on the habits andabundance with week-long stops going and coming of animals. An unusual and prolonged at suchintermediate points on the rail break-up resulted in serious delay and line as The Pas, Waboden, Pickwitonei, limitation of the activities of the beaver Gillam,Herchmer and Churchill. hunters. Travel in the bush during this The auroral(northern lights) zone, periodwas not impossible butdue to which covers all of northern Canada, is snow conditions was quite difficult. The highly suitable forthe study of iono- beaver hunterswere idle for about a sphericconditions because chargedpar- monthduring the hiatus between sea- ticles, emanating fromthe sun, are de- sons suitable for travel by dog team and flected closer toearth by the earth’s by boat. Professor Quick travelled about magnetic field in this area. The charged zoo miles by dog team duringApril. particules come from sun spotswhich The greater part of theperiod from last year reached their highest point in April I to June 30 was spent examining zoo years of recording. zoological specimens whichwere pro- The new mobile ionosphericstation cured earlier. Specimens of fur animals will send radio beams as high as zoo examined totalled 223, andaltogether miles above theearth. These are re- more than 500 specimens of animals were flected bythe ionosphere tothe point examined. Over 3000 raw furs were ex- of origin,and from the beams can be amined for primeness and quality. deducedrequired information about Among the materials preserved were 209 conditionsin the upper regions. Based fur animalsskulls fromwhich sex-age on this information,predictions can be classification studies will be made. Other made of futureradio transmission con- material also preserved were stomach ditions and selection of suitable frequen- contents, reproductive organs and endo- cies for long distance radio communica- parasites of the fur bearing species. tion is made easier. In order to evaluate comparatively the The recordings of Canadian stations conditions of the fur resource a period are coordinated with those of 63 other of three weeks was spent interviewing stations in various parts of theworld, tradersand trappers inthe territory and fromthe mass of informationare adjacent to the Fort Nelsonregion. This produced monthly predictions of useful objective was approached by visiting radiofrequencies and daily ionospheric trading posts on the Nelson, Liard and storm warnings. Lower Mackenzie riversbetween Fort Zoology Nelson and Aklavik. The trip of about Mr. H. F. Quick, of Colorado A & M 1200 miles was made by river boat. In- College, Fort Collins, Colorado, con- formation wasobtained in this manner tinued his study of the habits and eco- regardingconditions of fur animal and nomics of fur animals as factors of man- prey species populations and of trapping agement andconservation. Field work and travel techniques.

NEWSFROM HIGHLATITUDES

Shipping at Churchill to have been exported before the season A record season of grainshipments closed. was reported from Manitoba’s arctic sea- Three Canadian naval vessels entered portChurchill during 1948. The navi- Hudson Strait during the past summer, gation season opened officially on August two of them continuing to Churchill. 8 with the arrival of two steamers from The third, H.M.C.S. Magnificent an air- theUnited Kingdom. A record of craftcarrier went as far as Wakeham 5,250,000 bushels of wheat was reported Bay,Que., before returning to Atlantic