other building material. And this is indeed evident from the nature of some of the records.29

Specific areas In the 17205 two separate attempts were made to initiate the export of pine masts from the island, the first by the Company of lle Saint-Jean sometime between 1720 and 1723, the second by the Department of the Marine in 1727 and 1728. Though both attempts ultimately ended in failure the records associated with the latter venture provide us with information on the location of some of the major pine stands on the island. These begin with Saint-Ovide’s (1725) observation that he has heard from persons on the island that there is a lot of pine masting in one of the rivers of Trois Riviéres (i.e. the Georgetown area) Roma (1734) also later refers to the piniéres (pine stands) of Trois Riviéres. Then Commandant Pensens, who had been directed to search for the best pine stands on the island, observed30 that there were fine masts at the havre a l’ours (i.e. 'Bear Harbour’ now Murray Harbour), but he said the finest masts on the island were at havre Cadocpichs [Savage Harbour]. Another document31 enables us to pin-point precisely the site: it was at the top of the Hillsborough River in the portage to Savage Harbour (see Figure 3-1 in Appendix 3). The same document also suggests that this was the site of the earlier masting operation of the Company of lle Saint-Jean and there is direct evidence that in both ventures the species harvested was the more valued red pine.32 Five years later, perhaps after more extensive travelling on the island, Pensens (1732) noted that there were very fine pine stands (tres belles piniéres) at Malpeck, which probably means the area around the Bay rather than the site

29 Gotteville (1720) noted that pines “useful for large masts and for boards [planches] and planks [madriers]" had been seen on the island, while in the following year La Ronde (1721) commented: “there is pine for boards [planches]”. Then five years later there began the extensive correspondence of officials at Louisbourg with the minister of the Marine in France that makes continuous reference to the pine trees of the island as a potential mast resource (e.g. Saint-Ovide 1726: 28 November, Letters 1 and 2; Mézy 1726) (see Appendix 3 for a full analysis). Finally Verrier (1733), the chief government engineer, in his specifications for the materials to be used in two buildings and a palisade at Port La-Joie stated that the timber-framing must be of red pine, while for the floors and palisades pine of unspecified species was to be used.

3° Pensens 1727: 20 November. 3‘ Pensens1727: 12 August.

32 See Appendix 3, footnote 109

130

of the French settlement of Malpeck near Porthill”. La Roque (1752) also recorded pine as one of the species in the Malpeque Bay area, and as one of four conifer species on the Isle du Comte Saint- Pierre [St. Peters Island].34 Finally, on a map of the whole island of uncertain date, but possibly made between 1728 and 1734 (Arrigrand 17305?), we find in the area between Savage Harbour and Tracadie Bay the words ‘beaux pignadas’ — pignada (or pignade) is a dialect word

used in south—west France for ’pine forest’35.

Conclusion — Because many of the recorders were keeping a special eye out for pine, we cannot interpret the high frequency of pin in Tables 1-2 and 1-3 as indicating a high overall abundance of pine on lle Saint-Jean in comparison with other species. However, at the same time, the evidence does indicate that pines of sufficient size and quality for use as masts were common. Their distribution appears to have been somewhat localised, with particular areas such as Three Rivers, Savage Harbour and Murray Harbour, as well as the Malpeque Bay region, catching the attention of those in authority.

HEM LOCK (Tsuga canadensis) [French name : hén'cat]

Identification — The genus Tsuga does not occur in Europe. Its leaves somewhat resemble those of the European yew (Taxus baccata) (’if’ in French), a plant of tree size that occurs in parts of France.36 It is also possible that some recorders may not have distinguished it from other conifers, such as the spruces and fir — or even if they recognized it as a distinct species, considered it to be a type of spruce or fir.37

33 The site of the Malpeck settlement can be very accurately pin- pointed from the 1765 map of Samuel Holland (PARO, Map 0,617C) and the 1768 map of Charles Morris (PARO, 3485/1)

3‘ Pichon (1760F) also records pine on St Peters Island —- presumably he copied this from La Roque, but the record of pine on the Bedeque—Malpeque isthmus in the English translation of his Lettres et Memoires (Pichon 1760E) is a translation error — “a prodigious quantity of French-beans and a kind of pine tree", should rather be “a prodigious quantity of hemlock, a kind of pine“.

35 Trésor de la Langue Francaise (1988): Vol. 13, p. 362.

36 Jalas & Suominen 1973. 37 In fact botanists only placed it in a separate genus in 1855, classifying it previously with the pines and later with the firs (Elwes 8. Henry 1910) — in Great Britain it is still called the ‘hemlock- spruce' (e.gt Press & Hosking 1992).