Bain, Francis (1868-1884) Notes in Natural History, 7868-7877 & 1877-1884. [Unpublished notebooks, PEI PARO 2353/95 & 92.]

Francis Bain lb. 7842, d. 1894), the island ’3 leading naturalist in the late nineteenth century, kept a journal in which he carefully wrote up his observations of the natural world — everything from descriptions of rock formations and fossils (with water colour illustrations) and unusual weather events, to his daily observations and contacts with living plants, birds and mammals. Among these, there are descriptions of the forest. Though more literary than scientific in form, they do contain some interesting observations on the natural forest of specific parts of the island as it was in the late nineteenth century. One has the impression that he is sometimes describing remnants of undisturbed forest that it would be hard put to ﬁnd examples of nowadays. He is also aware of changes that had occurred in his own lifetime. Unfortunately, he rarely indicates the location of his observations — most must be from the daily round of his activities on or near his farm at York Point, though the trees and forests at more distant places like Springfield and Freetown also receive entries in the journal. I have not extracted all of his forest descriptions — there was for example an almost obligatory annual description of the leaf/'ng of the trees in the spring and of their leaf colour in the fall, but I include a brief list of some of these in a footnote.1

REFERENCE: Martin, K. (1990) Bain, Francis. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Xll: 47—49.

1868 October 15‘ AUtU/n" Maples are all crimson, scarlet and gold and Beeches much coloured with brown while

colouring. the Birch holds the deep verdure of its foliage almost untouched with decay. | see Elms at Freetown with foliage as green as Birches. i think that Betula excelsia holds Elms at . . F green the best. These Elms are of the spectes Ulmus Americana. reetown. 1870 October 1“ Autumn The deciduous forest has assumed its autumnal colouring. [Finds?] of yellow and colouring. brown are spread over field and forest. Here and there the maples burn out in flames

of brilliant red and yellow. Birches assume an ochery yellow tint, and sometimes have festoons of pale clear yellow. Beeches turn a sombre brown. There is more green yet, however, than any other colour in the wood, especially where birch predominates.

1873 February 6th

Springfield — This district consists of high rolling hills sometimes approaching the

precipitous. At times the high eminances clothed with majestic trees have a realy

grand appearance. The rock, as evidenced by the numerous surface boulders, is a

course stone often browned with humus. I saw a large boulder of granite on the The forest at surface of the southern aclivity of a hill. It was a grey Syenite. The district is nearly

Sp’mgﬁe/d' all covered with decidious trees B. lenta B papyracea A. sac. & rub. many small A Emergent Pen. & montanum, with Fagus. Hemlock, Spruce, Fir occur in hollows Noble Pines white pine. (P. Strobus) grow solitary on the dry land among the hard wood, rearing their majestic

heads and spreading their noble arms to the swaying of the free wind of heaven high above the rolling summit of the forest. An undergrowth of young maples grows every where and in summer tall ferns (Pteris & Asphidium) luxurating in the shade form with these an almost impenetrable thicket.

1873 August 24‘"-25"‘

A great storm of rain and terrifick blow of wind from the North with the point east. Many trees are prostrated, large limbs broken off and such quantities of green leaves stripped off that the ground is strewed with them as with brown leaves in autumn. The crops are all beaten down and many fences tumbled over.

A great storm.

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