6i8 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



lination takes place before the flowers open ; this is also a 

 method of speeding up the life-cycle as well as affording pro- 

 tection to the delicate organs of fertilisation. 



A second way in which the plant overcomes both the lack 

 of insects and the unfavourable conditions is by not relying 

 on flowers as a means of reproduction. The alternative is 

 reproduction by vegetable means, in which a new plant is 

 developed from some part of the stem, independently of flowers. 

 A curious method is found in the flagellate saxifrage. At the 

 base of the plant a number of runners, as in the strawberry, 

 about two to four inches long are developed, at the tip of each 

 of which is a small green fleshy bud. These buds take root in 

 the ground, fresh plants being formed. The whole plant bears 

 a quaint resemblance to a spider when viewed from above. In 

 other plants many of the flowers are replaced by thick fleshy 

 buds or bulbils. These fall off when ripe and generate young 

 plants. 



From the foregoing it can be seen that the plants in Spits- 

 bergen, by means of various modifications, have been able to 

 some extent to protect themselves from, and adapt themselves 

 to, the severe and peculiar climatic conditions existing there. 



Although Spitsbergen is essentially a country where nature 

 is little modified by man's activities, yet it will be fitting to 

 conclude this account with a reference to the work accom- 

 plished and being accomplished in the country by human 

 beings. The first pursuits followed by man in the archipelago 

 were all of the nature of hunting, usually from a commercial 

 standpoint. Whaling was at one time a very prosperous and 

 important industry, but has disappeared with the whales. 

 Trapping, mostly carried out by Russians, was for a long time 

 a profitable pursuit ; it, too, has now sunk into insignificance. 

 Another animal of economic importance in bygone years was 

 the walrus, and a flourishing trade in walrus ivory was estab- 

 lished. Indiscriminate killing has put an end to this also. 



Spitsbergen has at different times been the scene of attempts 

 to reach the Pole. The two most celebrated, perhaps, are 

 those of Parry and Andree. The former tried to sledge across 

 the ice from the north of the archipelago. The latter, equally 

 unsuccessful, but more unfortunate, attempted to reach the 

 Pole in a balloon. He was never seen again. Since then the 

 idea of reaching the Pole from the direction of Spitsbergen, at 

 any rate by sea, has been abandoned as not being feasible. 



The present interest in Spitsbergen is centred in the mineral 

 wealth of the country. This was in part discovered at a very 

 early date. It was not until about thirty years ago, however, 

 that any of the minerals were worked on a commercial scale. 

 The mineral occurring in largest quantity is undoubtedly coal. 



