Volume 2, numéro 3, 1957

EN :

This study, one of the first ever published in that field of research, is devoted to the geography of sacerdotal vocations and is divided in two parts. The first part deals with the differential rates of sacerdotal vocations which characterize some regions of the Province of Québec. The author bas calculated « index numbers of sacerdotal fecundity  », and he studies the variability of these indexes within the limits of the diocese of Trois-Rivières. The data show that, before 1950, the St. Lawrence Lowlands region bas given a greater number of priests than the Valley of the St. Maurice River and a much greater number than the Laurentian Uplands. The second part of the article is more elaborated and treats of some « exterior » conditions which usually explain the number of vocations and justify the different contributions of various parts of the diocese. The various factors examined are demographic, familial, religious, economic, social, academic and historical. On this basis, the author formulates a series of observations which, taking into account the limited value of conclusions reached in social research, seem valuable for the understanding of the specific subject of this paper but also of many other problems concerning the social geography of the Province of Québec.

EN :

The iron mines of Schefferville, at a latitude of 55° N., are the first mines exploited in one of the best provided iron ore regions in the World ; the geosynclinal of Labrador. Their distance from the sea (360 miles to the estuary of the St. Lawrence) is compensated for by the richness of the ore deposits : abundant reserves, high percentage yield, and the quality of the mineral.

The ore is mined in open pits ; the main difficulty is the harshness of the climate, which necessitates the interruption of operations from the end of November to the middle of April. The deposits are found in a subarctic taiga zone. It has been necessary to bring in all the workers ; mostly French Canadians, but also some foreigners. All tools and provisions have to be transported a great distance. The ore production is increasing rapidly : 2.25 million tons in 1954, 6 million tons in 1955, and 12 million tons in 1956. It will reach 20 million tons within the next few years. The ore is transported entirely by the railroad specially built to the port of Sept-Iles, from which it reaches, either by the sea route or by the St. Lawrence, the iron-smelting region of the north-eastern United States, where the principal outlets of the Iron Ore Co. of Canada are found. The port of Sept-Iles, which had a population of 5,573 in 1956, compared to that of 1,866 in 1951, could very possibly see its importance increase when the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway will allow prairies grain, and possibly Pennsylvania coal, to serve as return freight for the iron ore. Close to the mines, Schefferville already has 3,500 inhabitants and has become the largest town in Labrador. Besides its purely mining junctions there are others, in particular that of a supply centre and of a transportation terminus. Its population is becoming progressively more stable and of a more balanced composition. The camp of the first prospectors is thus transformed into a permanently populated centre, of which the legal existence was recognized on the first of August, 1955.

EN :

Senneterre is a typical pioneer town in the Abitibi region. The main factor of development of Senneterre is its location in connection with the previously built railroads, new railroads and railroads to be built which are linking the settled part of Abitibi and Northern Ontario as well as the Montréal and Québec regions with the new mining and forestry districts of Bachelor, Chibougamau and Albanel lakes. In addition, sawmills and C.N.R. repair and maintenance shops are important industries in Senneterre.

EN :

This article deals with a group of 27 rivers all situated East of the 85 ^th meridian and South of Hudson Bay. In the first place, the author bas calculated the ratios of snow run-off during the springtime discharge. In the Maritime Provinces, the ratio obtained is only 20% of the total discharge (with a minimum of 17%) because of the rainy marine characteristics of the climate. In the Laurentian region, the ratio is close to 30% (maximum 35%) because of abundant snow precipitations and quite low summer discharge. One must note the retentional influence of lakes which display the flooding period jar beyond springtime and lower the spring ratio down to 23%. For instance, in Northern Ontario, due to losses in the marshy zones, the author bas found a ratio of only 19%.

A second problem raised in this paper is the dating of the beginning of floods caused by the melting of snow. In the Southern parts of the Maritime provinces and of Ontario, the waters are high on April 5 ^th. In the Southern and Central parts of Québec, the flooding period begins between the 6 ^th and the 20 ^th of April. In the regions situated North of the St. Lawrence and South of James Bay, the flooding period usually begins after the 25 ^th of April. So the flooding period caused by the melting of snow happens later in the Northern regions.

Finally, the author considers the monthly ratios of discharge during the month that knows the highest waters. Those ratios are between 2 and 3 (maximum 4.64) but they can lower down to 1.50 due to retention operated by the lakes. The month of maximum flooding extends from March, in the Southern parts of the zone covered by this study, to June, in the Northern parts. As a general rule, the figures found in this article are lower than those recorded for the rivers of the U.S.S.R.

EN :

In order to indicate the trend of his research, the author first reviews sortie books and articles that deal with similar problems. Then he carefully describes the string-bogs which are essentially a marshy zone formed of ponds separated by strips of vegetation. String-bogs present a rectilinear or a concentric pattern. Their characteristics make them different from other types of peat bogs.

String-bogs are found in the Québec-Labrador peninsula inside a zone of which the Southern limit is the 50 ^th parallel and the Northern limit is approximately the 55 ^th parallel.

The author's objective is to determine the morphoclimatic significance of that phenomenon. This type of string-bogs is usually found in areas of poor drainage ; it is also related to an optimum thickness of peat ; we find it jar South of the perma-frost limit in a region where snow maintains a great depth. It is a recent phenomenon though not necessarily contemporary; it dates from the cold period immediately preceding the present geological age. In order to explain the formation of string-bogs, the author envisions a combination of processes in which either one or the other can dominate locally. The processes are sub-aquatic solifluction, the gathering of isolated vegetation covered hillocks, the tearing of the plant covering by internal balls of ice, the shifting of a material as malleable as peat, the differential formation of ice in the ponds and the action of snow. These string-bogs do not form a part of « normal » geomorphology.

EN :

Geography, being one of the social studies, has a unique contribution, a particular point of view to bring to bear in understanding Society. Its specific Junction is to train future citizens to imagine the conditions of the great world stage and so help them to think sanely about political and social conditions in the world around. Geography is the only subject that deals directly and fully with the influence of the physical environment upon human action and life. The author stresses the point that History and Geography are equally important and need to be given the same amount of time in the curriculum. But History and Geography are note the same : both are different ways of interpreting facts. In stressing the distinction between History and Geography, the author wishes to improve the teaching of both History and Geography, but as different disciplines. Finally the author points out that Geography progresses in difficulty and sequence, like arithmetic, so that one year is a prerequisite of the geographical concepts to be introduced in the next year of study. Geography is more appealing and more real to children than many other social sciences and so more stimulating to intellectual effort.

EN :

The author, formerly a teacher of geography, is now the Superior of a Seminary near Nancy, France. This address was delivered before a group of Superiors and Principals of secondary schools during a congress held at Nantes, in July 1956. He demonstrates vigorously that good geography teaching is impossible without a qualified teacher who bas mastered his subject.

The first difficulty comes from the fact that the field of geography is so vast : it includes all countries the world over. Good qualifications are also desirable because geography, even if it is a separate discipline, is situated at a cross-road where many other sciences converge : geology, hydrology, history, economics, sociology, etc. The education of the geography teacher must enable him to use the conclusions of all other sciences as far as they help to understand the environmental and regional point of view which distinguishes geography.

It is important that the geography teacher be aware of the psychological foundations of his teaching, for geography can develop specific intellectual habits, for instance, a sense of reality, a training in the art of observation, strictness in the art of description, and a discriminating sense of comparison between the various aspects of problems.

Finally, the author maintains that a good teacher must know the documentary basis of his work and must have the essential references in hand. Of course, he should have at his disposal the necessary audio-visual equipment (maps, models, films slides, radio, television, etc.) kept in a special room.

EN :

The Québec Geographical Society dates back to 1877 and is celebrating this year its 80 ^th anniversary. This Presidential address was read on the occasion of a special meeting of members and guests of the Society on November, 14 ^th, 1957. The President reviews briefly the history of the Society : its past members, its publications and its various activities, lectures, field work, field trips, film presentations, etc. The President pays tribute to the Québec Provincial Government which bas given the Society an annual grant for many years, and to Laval University who bas sheltered the Society for more than seventy years.