354 TRANSACTIONS AND PEOCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. lxiv, 



bergen, are contained in " The Scottish Geographical 

 Magazine" for September 1900. 



There are Hve localities from which plants were col- 

 lected. Changing Point is the extreme west of Barentz 

 Island, at the head of Stor Fiord, lat. 78° 30'. Eecherche 

 Bay and Van Mijen's Bay are branches of Bell Sound, 

 which lies between the 77th and 78th parallels of latitude, 

 to the south-west of West Spitsbergen. Advent Bay is a 

 branch of Ice Fiord, north of the 78th parallel. Red Bay 

 lies exposed to the north, and forms an inlet in the northern 

 coast of West Spitsbergen ; it was surveyed for the first 

 time by the Prince -of Monaco, and although the Swedes 

 claim to have discovered it, there is no previous record of 

 plants from that region. The position of Bruce Point in 

 Eed Bay is 79° 45' 22'' K lat., 12° 15' 28" E. long., so 

 that the collection from the Bay was made not far south 

 of the 80 th parallel. 



Mr. Bruce's collection contains about fifty species, which 

 form a fair collection when we consider that his time was 

 avowedly given up to zoology ; while his visits to different 

 points were of comparatively short duration. 



I have mounted the clumps or tufts unbroken, so as 

 to convey an idea of the true habit of so many Arctic 

 plants. 



Out of eight species of Eanunculaceu' known to Spits- 

 bergen, three are in the present collection, viz. :■ — Ranun- 

 culus nivalis, B. iiygmmus, and Jl. sul].)lmmiki. R. nivalis is 

 one of the common Arctic plants. R. sulphureus is repre- 

 sented by a magnificent tuft about nine inches in height. 

 Torell, speaking of this plant (Norwegian Expedition to 

 Spitsbergen in 1861), said that its golden yellow flowers 

 came up to the wanderer's knees. 



Paimver nudicauh is abundant, and seems to occur 

 wherever Arctic explorers have penetrated, and it is 

 among the most beautiful of the Arctic plants. Colonel 

 Fielden says of it : " Of the entire fiora in the Polar and 

 Arctic regions, no flower is dearer to the explorer than the 

 Arctic poppy. Its beauty, its delightful shades of colour, 

 from white to bright yellow and delicate pink, charm the 

 eye. Its abundance and vitality under apparently the 

 most adverse circumstances make a deep impression. 



