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KAMTSCHATKA. 

 THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND BEHRING'S STRAITS. 



The cove of Awatscha, lying between the same degrees of 

 latitucle as Berlin and Hamburgh, and the haven of St. Peter 

 and St. Paul, in the interior, seem to be but little exposed to 

 the influence of sea winds. The arborescent Birch grows here ; 

 hut stunted and very different from the slender elegant tree 

 which is so much admired in the north of Europe, and par- 

 ticularly at Petersburg!!. Pinus Cemh'a, which on our Alps 

 grows at greater heights than P. Abies, and forms the boun- 

 dary of the trees, Sorhus Aucuparia, Abms incana, and some 

 Willows are seen, but they remain quite shrubby. Timber 

 may however be raised in the interior of the peninsula, where 

 the climate is milder than on the east coast; and the seeds of 

 the Pinus Cemhra^ which are eaten atthe tables of Russians; 

 come from Siberia via Ocholtzk. 



Grasses and herbaceous plants thrive luxurlantl}', the soil 

 being rich and the sky mild. There are but few species of 

 vegetables, and these seem about equally distributed. In 

 sliady spots grow Spircsa kamtschatica. Allium ursinum, Mai- 

 fmthemum canadense, Uvularia amplexifolia, Trillium ohovatum, 

 &c. In the pastures are a Veratrum, Lilium kamtschaticum, 

 iris siMrica, &c. On the hills, which are rocky, abound some 

 species of Caprifolimn, Spiraa, Bosa, the Atragene alpina, and 

 other mountain plants, as Bhododendron kamtschaticum, Em- 

 petrum nigrum, Trientalis europcBa, Linncea borealis, Cornus 

 suecica, Saxifrages, &c. Some kinds o? Fer7i, from the num- 

 ber of individual plants, form a considerable part of the 

 vegetation. Urfica dioica, which was probably introduced, 

 now seems to have established itself as a prevailing inhabitant 

 of the soil. 



The peninsula of Alaska, and the adjoining island, called 

 Unimak, wlxich is only separated from the continent by a 

 narroiv strait, seem to have the same character of vegetation 

 ^s the main land, for trees are produced there, while Una- 

 laschka and the other islands of this range are quite bare 

 <>f them. A few miserable Firs, originally brought from 



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