ENTOMOLOGY OF ICELAND. 247 



rock}' ridges, and the lower of slopes of shale, frequently variegated 

 by strips of greensward, alternating with red tufa, which is in its 

 turn succeeded by loose grey basalt. The same description of 

 scenery continues for a considerable distance ; and on the tops 

 of the hills, as previously, frequent patches of snow occur. Of 

 course its total disappearance, or the contrary, varies according 

 to the warmth of the summer season in different years. This 

 summer, and the last one also, are considered to be very fine 

 ones for Iceland. Arnarfjordur (lat. 65° 41', N., long. 23° 35', 

 W.) was next reached, or, more strictly speaking, Bildudalur, as 

 this is the name of the head of the bay in the said fjord in which 

 our vessel anchored, from the establishment of a thriving Icelandic 

 merchant there ; in fact, his dwelling, factory, cottages, and 

 homestead constitute the whole of the place. As his wife was one 

 of our passengers up to this point, he came off to the steamer in 

 his boat not long after our arrival. I observed very few Coleoptera 

 under stones at Arnarfjordur. Geometridse, on the other hand, 

 proved plentiful on either side of a wall that divided the sloping 

 meadows here, as well as along the banks of a watercourse from 

 the hills. I caught probably three or four species, but the large 

 majority belonged to one kind. 



The plateau of Glama glacier meets our view far ahead as we 

 approach Dyrafjord (lat. 65° 53', N., long. 23° 28', W.) on July 

 29th. The summits of the snow-streaked hills adjacent to the 

 shore terminate in more pointed peaks, and have generally a more 

 alpine appearance. The houses of Dyrafjord are scattered along 

 the line of coast, and are chiefly of wood, painted brown, with 

 roofs of shingle. I went ashore in the evening, and found 

 Geometridse very abundant. 



On July 30th we reached Isafjordur (lat. 66° 6', N., long. 

 23° 7', W.), after visiting several other places. The clouds hung 

 low upon the mountains next morning. The heights that environ 

 the head of this fjord sweep more gradually to the shore than is 

 by any means always the case in these regions, and terminate in 

 grassy slopes, on which cattle were feeding, Geometridse are 

 decidedly scarce here, at least on the particular mountain slope 

 that I visited when I went ashore that morning, probably owing 

 to the dearth of flowers in that spot, for the day turned out a 

 beautiful one, warm and sunny. 



Mr. Hugo Ruben, from Copenhagen, one of our fellow- 

 passengers, was the companion of my walk this morning, and 

 kindly assisted me in collecting a few Coleoptera. The scarcity 

 of flowers — very few besides gentians, wild thyme, and cotton- 

 grass — was very noticeable at Isafjordur, owing no doubt to its 

 northerly position. 



Reykialjordur (lat. 65° 58' N., long. 21° 27' W.). I came on 

 deck at 6 a.m. on August 1st, just as we were passing Cape North, 



