ORIGIN OF WHITE MOUNTAIN FAUNA 
37 
arctic species occurring on the White Mountain plateau.* * * § 
Among the beetles, too, and other groups of invertebrates, 
there are many arctic forms, showing clearly the intimate 
relationship that exists between the faunas of the White 
Mountains and Labrador.f 
Even among mammals we have some most interesting 
boreal representatives, the White Mountain lemming-vole 
(Synaptomys sphagnicola) being peculiar to this region.£ In 
alluding to the mammalian fauna of Labrador I specially 
dealt with this genus, and expressed the belief in its arctic 
origin and subsequent southward dispersal (p. 28). 
If merely a few arctic plants and insects inhabited this re¬ 
markable plateau, the argument might be permissible that 
they had been carried southward by wind currents from their 
northern home at great intervals of time and had successfully 
established themselves in this manner on the White Moun¬ 
tains, because the latter proved to be uninhabitable by the 
fauna and flora of the surrounding country. No one, however, 
who has seriously studied this congregation of animals and 
plants as a whole, can for a moment entertain such an idea. 
We must therefore take for granted that a fauna and flora 
similar to that now existing in Greenland, Labrador and on 
the White Mountains once extended over a large portion of 
Canada and at any rate the north-eastern United States. The 
problem to be solved is, what were the circumstances which 
led those animals and plants to extend their range so much 
southwards ? The prevalent theories regarding these move¬ 
ments have already been referred to. They are simple enough. 
Similar ones have been current in Europe for many years 
past. I shall quote Professor Adams § again, as his views 
seem to me to express those generally entertained on 
this subject. After an allusion to the final northward retreat 
of the ice which he supposed to have crept down from the 
north “ grinding to pieces everything beneath its awful 
* Scudder, S. LL, “ Distribution of Insects in New Hampshire,” 
pp. 331—341. 
t Gardiner, F., “ Coleoptera of the White Mountains.” 
f Miller, G., “ Mammals of New Hampshire Mountains.” 
§ Adams, Charles C., “ Post-glacial Origin of the life of North- 
Eastern United States,” p. 309. 
