Limestone Is Found Everywhere Under A Thin
Stratum Of Soil And It Not Unfrequently Shows Itself Above The Surface.
It Lies In Strata Generally Horizontal But In One Spot Near The Fort
Dipping To The Northward At An Angle Of 40 Degrees.
Some portions of this
rock contain very perfect shells.
With respect to the vegetable
productions of the district the Populus trepida, or aspen, which thrives
in moist situations, is perhaps the most abundant tree on the banks of
the Saskatchewan and is much prized as firewood, burning well when cut
green. The Populus balsamifera or taccamahac, called by the Crees matheh
meteos, or ugly poplar, in allusion to its rough bark and naked stem,
crowned in an aged state with a few distorted branches, is scarcely less
plentiful. It is an inferior firewood and does not been well unless when
cut in the spring and dried during the summer; but it affords a great
quantity of potash. A decoction of its resinous buds has been sometimes
used by the Indians with success in cases of snow-blindness, but its
application to the inflamed eye produces much pain. Of pines the white
spruce is the most common here: the red and black spruce, the balsam of
Gilead fir, and Banksian pine also occur frequently. The larch is found
only in swampy spots and is stunted and unhealthy. The canoe birch
attains a considerable size in this latitude but from the great demand
for its wood to make sledges it has become rare.
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