The Canadian Pacific Railway is a line of railway which traverses British North America from the St Lawrence to the Pacific. One of the conditions upon which the province of British Columbia in 1871 entered the Dominion of Canada was the construction of such a railway. Since that time more than one act had been passed empowering different companies to go on with the work. Eventually, however, it was completed, according to arrangement with the Canadian government, by a syndicate of London, Paris, and American capitalists, being opened for general traffic in June, 1886. Commencing at Montreal, the line goes on to Ottawa, thence round the north of the Great Lakes to Port Arthur at the head of Lake Superior, and thence to Winnipeg, Manitoba, thence to Stephen in the Rocky Mountains, then across British Columbia to Vancouver on the Pacific. Vancouver, now a thriving city, owes its existence to this railway. The line was of great importance not only as a means of communication between Europe and Eastern Asia and Australasia, but also as a military highway binding together the great masses of the British Empire during the late 19th century. Research Canadian Pacific Railway
A plain is an expanse of low and nearly level land. Some plains, such as the Fens of England, large parts of Holland, and extensive areas of Russia, are almost perfectly flat; but generally an extensive plain consists of wide, gently sloping valleys separated by low hills. Such a plain is termed ' rolling' or 'undulating'. Many plains look extremely flat when viewed from the top of the neighbouring hills, but on descending one finds numerous instances of steep gradients, the valley slopes of the streams which cross the plain.
Plains are not all of the same type. Some plains may have been formed by the wearing down of lands that were once much higher. Such areas are more correctly called 'peneplains', e.g. Finland, a lowland area of very old rock, the HudsonBaylowlands, and Anglesey. Secondly, where layers of rock have not been folded but remain almost horizontal, extensive plains also occur. The Central Plains of the United States and the great plains of European Russia are in this group. Thirdly, plains may have been formed by the gradual accumulation of silt brought down by rivers. These are usually called alluvial plains. Good examples are the plain of North China, the Indo-Gangetic plain, the plains of Iraq, and much of the Amazonlowland. Some plains are the beds of old lakes. Rivers entering a lake deposit silt which is spread by the movement of the water over the lake floor. Such plains, though not large in size, are usually very fertile. Much of the great wheat land of Southern Manitoba is the bed of an old lake -lake Agassiz. The fertile plains of Hungary are of similar origin. Finally, some plains, such as the coastal plains of the United States from ChesapeakeBay to Florida, have been formed by the uplift of part of the sea floor bordering a continent.
The plains of the world tend to be areas of most advanced development and densest settlement. They are easier to cultivate than highland areas as the soil is usually deeper and more fertile. Hence the great plains, except where covered with large tracts of uncleared forest or occasional deposits of infertile soil, are important agricultural lands. Some plains, such as portions of Central Asia or of the Murray-Darling Basin, are too dry for successful agriculture. Unless irrigation is a practical possibility such plains are occupied by pastoral farmers engaged in rearing animals, and even the pastoral farmers sometimes have to bore wells for water, as in Hungary and in Australia. Where coal is found in or near plains, densely populated industrial centres usually develop, as in the North-Central United States. Movement is easy in all directions over lowlands, and rivers are generally slow and easily navigable, so that they are used as commercial highways. This is well illustrated by the United States, where the Mississippi and its tributaries provided the main lines of communication before the period when railways were developed.
The cankerworm are two destructive caterpillars - the spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the autumn cankerworm (Also phila pometaria) - found in the USA from Maine to Texas. The eggs are laid on fruit and shade trees, and the larvae frequently destroy the foliage of whole orchards in a few days. The larvae feed on most broad-leaved trees and shrubs, but prefer the American elm, Manitobamaple, basswood, Siberian elm, and apple. The first noticeable sign of an infestation is small ' shot-holes' in the young leaves. At this time the tiny larvae are found on the underside of the leaf. As the larvae continue feeding, the holes grow larger, until almost all of the leaf tissues are eaten. During severe outbreaks, trees and shrubs may be completely defoliated. Healthy trees and shrubs usually produce a new crop of leaves by mid-July and show little permanent injury from a single defoliation. However, after three or more consecutive years of heavy attack tree growth is slowed down and branches in the crown die back. Research Cankerworm
The Assiniboine (Assinboins) are a North American Siouan Indian tribe of Canada and the USA. The Assiniboine separated from the YanktonSioux around the start of the 17th century and moved to Montana and Manitoba. During the 19th century, following decimation by smallpox, a group of Assiniboine moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and became known as the Stoney. Research Assiniboine
Louis Riel was a Canadian insurgent leader. He was born in 1844 at St Boniface, Manitoba, and died in 1885. He led the half-breeds in their rebellion of 1869 to 1870, and on its suppression by Garnet Wolseley, fled to the USA. He was elected to the Dominion houses of Parliament, but was expelled in 1873. Again heading an insurrection in 1885 he was captured after considerable fighting and executed at Regina. Research Louis Riel
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