ioo FOSSILIZED FOREST. Chap. VII. 



geological period, and required an English climate for their 

 support. 



The annual temperature of England may be taken at 49 ; 

 that of Iceland, where no trees will grow, at 39 ; but of 

 Greenland, under the 70th parallel where these trees grew, it 

 is only 19 . 



These miocene fossils, beeches, oaks, magnolias, and ever- 

 greens; the ammonites of Prince Patrick's Island in Lat. 77 ; 

 the widely spread coal plants ; the stems of pine trees, still 

 capable of being used as fuel, and found not only in the 

 Arctic Archipelago, but in New Siberia ; also the fossil 

 firs and poplars of Spitzbergen in Lat. 79 ; these all shew 

 that there was a time when arctic lands enjoyed, at least 

 a temperate climate ; and we look to the astronomer for a 

 solution of this mystery. Meanwhile the safest hypothesis to 

 adopt is, I believe, that there has been a change in the earth's 

 axis of rotation, which astronomy, as an exact science, is 

 not yet old enough to detect. There is, however, nothing 

 new under the sun — even here we find ourselves anticipated 

 by an old Chinese tradition, that long ages ago the Pole star 

 suddenly dipped down towards the horizon ! 



28///. — Again hastening northward; the business of coal- 

 ing was very speedily and satisfactorily completed, but the 

 quality of the coal is very inferior. Upon the green slopes our 

 sportsmen found nothing but a few ptarmigan and a hare. 



Shortly after running close past the deserted settlement of 

 Noursak, we arrived off a small bay, and were startled by 

 finding the water had suddenly changed from transparent 

 blue to a thick muddy colour, but there was no change in 

 its depth ; we were crossing the stream of " Makkaks Elvin," 

 or Clay River, which empties itself into the bay after running 

 through a broad and extensive valley, said to abound with 

 reindeer. This river has its origin in lakes and glaciers in 

 the interior, and the discolouration of the water is pro- 



