352 Morten P. Porsild 



Bemærkninger, I), and from Igdlorssuit on Ubekendt Eiland, Dr. 

 G. Hansen has gathered some rare plants (included in Rosenvinge, 

 Tillæg). 



On comparing the flora of Disco Island with that of the adjacent 

 parts of the mainland of Greenland, we see that it is far richer in 

 species, which is especially owing to the large contingent of southern 

 species, which are peculiar to it. But I have not been able to divest 

 my mind of the idea that the number of the species may possibly 

 be too large as, at any rate some of them, which apparently had 

 their northern limit on Disco, may possibly, in reality, be found on 

 the mainland, in a similar or more northern latitude. In order to 

 form, by means of personal observations, a conception of what might 

 there be found of interest in this connection I made a journey in a 

 motor boat, in the summer of 1911, from Godhavn to the neigh- 

 bourhood of Prøven and the northern district of Umanaq. Unfortu- 

 nately I could only spare some ten days for excursions in this large 

 district; nevertheless, during this short period, I succeeded, among 

 other things, in moving the northern limit a larger or smaller distance 

 with regard to some 20 species, i. e. about 14 ^lo of the species (see 

 lists at the end of this paper), the reason for this being chiefly that 

 the number of the species there is very small and also because I 

 had such valuable assistance from my two sons. ^ 



2. Diary of a journey in July— August 1911 from 

 Godhavn to Prøven. 



After a good and quick journey to the west of Disco we arrived 

 at Prøven in the evening of July 26th, investigated the flora there the 

 following day and continued our journey to Nakerdlaq on the western 

 side of the peninsula of Kangeq. There we spent the greater part 

 of the night in a fatiguing trip into the interior of the country, along 



^ Thorbjorn and Erling Porsild, especially from the elder of them. During the 

 journey he did service in the boat and looked after the machine during his 

 watch; on land he shared in the investigations, while the boat was left to the 

 care of our two Greenland helmsmen. Each time we landed we divided the 

 district between us, one took the lowland, another the highland, one tiie bogs 

 and lakes, another the strand or the cliffs, etc., etc. After every excursion we 

 combined to make entire lists of all the species which had been observed and 

 marked them with the signs used by planktologists to indicate frequency', viz. 

 cc, c, -j-, r, rr, etc. The rule we followed was that' at least as regards the two 

 last signs it was necessary to supplement a record with specimens to justify 

 inclusion in the list. The following list is based on these lists and on our 

 collections. Its weakest point is the Carex-species, as my sons have a very 

 incomplete knowledge of them. 



