ies and the
foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains a great variety of grasses are found,
several years' collection resulting in 42 genera and 156 species. Of the
best hay and pasture grasses, _Agropyrum Elymus, Stipa, Bromus,
Agrostis, Calamagrostes_ and _Poa_, there are 59 species. Besides the
grasses there are leguminous plants valuable for pasture--_Astragalus,
Vicia_ (wild vetch), _Lathyrus_ (wild pea) of which there are many
species. The rose family is represented by _Prunus, Potentilla,
Fragaria, Rosa, Rubus_ and _Amelanchier_.

About the saline lakes and marshes of the prairie country are found
_Ruppia maritima_, L., _Heliotropium curassavicum_, L., natives of the
Atlantic coast, and numerous species of _Chenopodium, Atriplex_ and
allied genera. The flora of the forest belt of the North-West
Territories differs little from that of northern Ontario. At the
beginning of the elevation of the Rocky Mountains there is a luxurious
growth of herbaceous plants, including a number of rare umbellifers. At
the higher levels the vegetation becomes more Arctic. Northwards the
valleys of the Peace and other rivers differ little from those of Quebec
and the northern prairies. On the western slope of the mountains, that
is, the Selkirk and Coast ranges as distinguished from the eastern or
Rocky Mountains range, the flora differs, the climate being damp instead
of dry. In some of the valleys having an outlet to the south the flora
is partly peculiar to the American desert, and such species as _Purshia
tridentata_, D.C., and _Artemisia tridentata_, Nutt., and species of
_Gilia, Aster_ and _Erigonum_ are found that are not met with elsewhere.
Above Yale, in the drier part of the Fraser valley, the absence of rain
results in the same character of flora, while in the rainy districts of
the lower Fraser the vegetation is so luxuriant that it resembles that
of the tropics. So in various parts of the mountainous country of
British Columbia, the flora varies according to climatic conditions.
Nearer the Pacific coast the woods and open spaces are filled with
flowers and shrubs. Liliaceous flowers are abundant, including
_Erythoniums, Trilliums, Alliums, Brodeaeas, Fritillarias, Siliums,
Camassias_ and others.

_Fauna_.--The larger animals of Canada are the musk ox and the caribou
of the barren lands, both having their habitat in the far north; the
caribou of the woods, found in all the provinces except in Prince Edward
Island; the moose, wit