NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 281 



late Arctic Expedition, and a corresponding member of the Society. 

 Disco is an island about sixty miles in length, lying to the west of 

 Mid Greenland, on the 70th parallel of north latitude. The centre 

 of the island is covered with a sheet of ice like the opposite coast, 

 but the belt of cleared land of varying width lying all round its 

 margin has been pretty well explored. The rocks are chiefly 

 trappean, of later age, overlying the primary and metamorphic 

 strata. On the east there are considerable tracts of tertiary strata, 

 which have yielded, along with those of the opposite shores, a large 

 number of fossil plants of Miocene age. Coal has been found in 

 many places in the shape of a lignite giving off little heat, but 

 burning well when mixed with a more bituminous variety. 

 Graphite is also found in som.e abundance. The collection of 

 plants is of considerable interest, containing, as it does, a good 

 number of species common in our own neighbourhood, such as 

 AlchemiUa vulgaris, Eqiiisetum arvense, Veronica hederifolia, etc.; 

 while the grasses are represented by Poa j^ratensis, Airaflexuosa, 

 Festuca ovina, and AIe^omr2is pratensis. Plants, whose habitats are 

 the moors and mosses, are also present, examples occurring of 

 Eriophorum, Botrychlum, Carex, and Juncus; and as indicating more 

 upland stations there are specimens of Antennaria dioica, 

 Gnaphalmm sylvaticum, Lycopodium Selago, etc. Two species of 

 willow occur, one of which seems to be Salix penfandra, which 

 often becomes a tree of considerable size, and not of a shrubby 

 character like many of our willows. Sub-alpine species occur, 

 such as Cerastium alpinum, a plant found on Goatfell, and Sihbaldia 

 procumbens, v/hich grows plentifully on the top of Benlomond. 

 A large number are duplicates of our true Alpine plants found on 

 the lofty Highland mountains, such as Azalia procumlens, Thalic- 

 trum aIpinum,Epilohinm alpimim^ToffieldAapalustris, Woodsia Ilvensis, 

 and Veronica alpina. There are specimens also of other boreal 

 plants not found in this country but common in Norway, as 

 Pedicularis lapponica, Andromeda tetragonum, and many others well 

 known on the Dovre fjeld. The collection was made by Captain 

 Feilden on the outward voyage of the Alert and Discovery, on 

 13th July, 1876, and consists of upwards of seventy species. As 

 this represents the result of only one day's botanising, we may 

 consider that a complete list of the plants of the island would 

 show that Disco can give a good representation of the flora of 

 northern countries. 



