Bain. Francis (1890) The Natural History of Prince Edward Island. G. H. Hazard, Charlottetown, P.E.l. 123 pp-

By the time Francis Bain (b. 7842, d. 7894) published his Natural History of Prince Edward Island in 1890 he was the island’s foremost naturalist. The book was written to serve as a textbook in the island’s schools, and its con ten ts reflect Bain ’s thorough kno wledge of all aspects of the pro Vince’s geology and natural history, a knowledge that he had acquired from the 18608 by travelling over the whole island. The organisation of the work also reflects his wider kno wledge, much of it self—acquired, of the basic principles of geology, botany and zoology. He includes a comprehensive list of the island ’s native tree species, and is the first person to attempt in a modern scientific way to relate the distribution of the island ’3 forest-types to the geological and soil types occurring. Though the amount of material presented in the book has obviously been limited by the level of its intended readership, it is clear that he was drawing on a much wider body of first-hand knowledge of the island’s forests and tree species. / also extract from his zoological section all references to forest animals.

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

SOIL. The 30’73- 55. The soil of Prince Edward island is generally a fine, red, sandy loam, rich and easily cultivated. Several varieties of soil occur on the Island corresponding to the rock formations whose disintegration has produced them. [p.26] Clay 30,73. 56. 7st, The great shale beds of the lower Permian* afford heavy clay soils. They

are often swampy. Originally they were covered with a growth of black spruce, larch, ash, and willow. In cultivation they are cold and damp, ill-suited for tillage, but, under good management, supply rich pasturage. The stratified clays of the Boulder

formation afford very clayey, wet soils, requiring drainage for profitable culture. [p. 26] {* /n the Historical Geology section he had written: the low lands about Pownal, Orwell and Nine Mile Creek, have been formed by [the great shale beds]; also the extended plains on the west of the Island. [p. 18]}

Sand so is.

y I 57. 2d, The stratified sands“ of the same formation, occurring in parts of King’s and Prince Counties, supply very light, sandy soils. They were originally clothed with

shrub pines and birches, and the prostrate arbutus. [p. 26] {*/n the Historical Geology section he had written: the stratified sands and clays underlie the swamps and barrens of Prince County {p.231}

Sandy loams' 58. 3d, The best and most extensively distributed soil is formed by the Boulder Clay

formation which overlies the varied and rolling districts of the TriasT and upper Permiani, and the sandstone tracts of the lower Permianll. It is a fine, sandy loam, friable and easily tilled. It was originally clothed with noble deciduous forests of beech, birch, and maple; and the annual harvest of their autumn-tinted leaves, decaying in the shadows at their feet, accumulated a store of the richest humus. This, mixed with the upper layer of earth, formed the productive virgin soil of our Province, capable of yielding such bountiful harvests. [pp. 26-27] {In the Historical Geology section he had written: TThe Triassic rocks cover the north- western half of Queen’s County including that extensive range of hills stretching across the Island from Bonshaw to New London, and eastward to Wiltshire and Rustico. They also include some areas in King’s County. [p. 21] t The upper section of the Permian comprises the rolling and picturesque district around Charlottetown Harbour and its river estuaries, and most of the Island to the eastward. [p. 19] 1[ The compact red sandstones of [the lower Permian] form the bulk of Tea Hill that towers its green swell over the northern shores of the Hillsborough Bay; the same range continues south of the West River; the hills of Belfast and Upper Montague, and the hilly tract from Souris to East Point. [p. 19]}

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