woods and the meadow was dry or nearly so. At present the dam forms
so integral a part of the surroundings that its an Sch ee
not readily apparent. It measures approximately 200 feet in heuge 5
12 feet in height and eight feet in width. Some of the black cotton-
woods, or their successors, described as being saplings in 190«, now
approximate 20 inches in diameter. It is stated that until quite
recently the meadow, and Dale Lake, continued dry or held only a
little water during the spring near its southern end. Harly in 1943
a pair of beaver took possession of the narrow valley below the meadow
and partly plugged, or dammed, the small passage under the old dam so
that the water backed up and formed a pool above it. In the spring
of 1944, the passage was more thoroughly plugged so that the pool
deepened and inundated the alder, willow and aspen that grew thickly
in the valley. On June 19 the pool was about one acre in extent and
the trees stood in water up to 18 inches in depth. They were in leaf
but had not been flooded long enough to show the effects. There was
one large beaver lodge about 100 feet from the north bank and another
smaller one beyond, barely visible through the intervening trees.
Along the sloping banks above the pond numerous aspens, some measur
ing eight inches in diameter, had been felled, the branches chiselled
off and most of the bark eaten from the main trunks by beaver. At
the south end of the meadow, just beyond the outermost shrubbery
fringing its boundaries, a strip of cultivated hayland 100 yards or
more in width and partly flooded, extended to the edge of the slough
referred to earlier. Beyond the slough the meadow was covered with
wild grasses and sedges, and near the north end could be seen a

small round-stem bulrush marsh

The bird population on and about the slough consisted of: mal-
lard, 3 adult females, brood of 8, one-third grown, brood of 9, one-
half grown; pintail, 5 males; blue-winged teal, 1 pair; ring-necked
duck, 10 males; buffle-head, 2 yearling females; American coot,:
adult with 6 young and 3 other adults; killdeer, 1; greater yellow-
legs, &; Wilson phalarope, adult with downy young; black Vern: 28
red-winged blackbird, 1 pair. Very likely the population was larger
than counted as in all probability other ducks, concealed in the
meadow cover, escaped observation. Even so the total counted
represents a large population for this region and undoubtedly the
very favourable conditions created by beaver are responsible for it.

Region Between Cottonwood and Quesnel Rivers

On the east side of the Fraser River above and beyond the decidu-
ous woodlands is a heavily forested region at a mean elevation of 3.000

Sansa