IV.] YALMAL. 155 



cut deejjly into the laud auJ had high bauks, until after half an 

 hour's walking we came to a broad but not very deep river, which 

 it was impgssible to ford. We therefore returned to our boat with 

 the view of seeking a landing-place on the other side of the river ; 

 but as the Lena's distance from land was considerable and the 

 breeze was freshening, the captain considered that the time at 

 our disposal did not permit us to undertake so long an excursion. 



" So far as we may jvidge from our hasty visit, the vegetation 

 on this part of Yalmal struck us as being remarkably abundant. 

 The high banks especially were richly covered by phanerogamous 

 plants and lichens, and would have deserved a closer examination. 

 Our cursory observations of the plants here may however be 

 interesting for comparison with the flora of Beli Ostrov ; we 

 collected and noted the higher plants^ and about 40 species of 

 lichens. Nordquist found that the fauna resembled that of the 

 neighbouring island, and collected besides two species of 

 Coleoptera. 



" After lying 2G hours in the sound we weighed anchor again 

 and went westwards, following a channel with ten to sixteen 

 metres water. We could not find its course farther to the east, 

 and were compelled, although we were near the eastern extremity 

 of Beli Ostrov, to turn in order to pass out through the western 

 entrance of the sound. We saw a quantity of stranded ice on 

 the north coast of the island, which, seen from the sea, did not 

 present any dissimilarity to the part which we had visited. On 

 the 7th August we arrived at Port Dickson." 



From Lieutenant Hovgaard's report on this excursion, a map 

 is given here of Beli Ostrov and the neighbouring coast of 

 Yalmal, in which I have named the sound between the island 

 and the mainland after Malygin, one of the gallant Russian 

 seamen who first sailed through it nearly a century and a 

 half ago. 



Yalmal has been visited by Europeans so seldom, and their 

 observations are scattered in printed papers so inaccessible, that 

 it may perhaps not be out of place here to collect the most 



1 These according to Dr. Kjellman's determination are : 



Saxifraga cernua L. Arctophila pendulina (L/EST.) And. 



„ cEespitosa L. Catabrosa algida (Sol.) Fr. 



Cochlearia fenestrata R. Bu. „ conciniia Tu. Fk. 



Draba alpina L. Diipontia Fisheri K. Bit. 



Ranunculus sulphureus SoL. Calamagrostis lapponica L. 



,, nivalis L. Carex salina Wg. 



„ pygmreus Wg. „ rigid a Good. 



„ hipponicus L. Eriophoruni russeolum Fr. 



„ borealis Trautv. Luzula arcuata Sm. f. hyperborea 



Stellaria Edwardsii R. Br. K. Br. 



Salix glauca L. Lloydia serotina (L.) Reichenb. 



