of the Faroe Islands. 155 



particularly Trkhostomum lamiginosum and canescens, which 

 attain above one foot in length.* 



The climate is .generally mild j but damp, frequently visited 

 by fogs and stormy winds, though not so subject to rainf as 

 might have been expected. The extremes of heat or cold are 

 seldom felt in these islands, as is well shewn by the annexed 

 thermometrical tables, which I have drawn up from observa- 

 tions made at Thorshavn, in Faroe, during the years 1781, 

 1782, 1798, and 1799, from which it appears that the mean 

 annual temperature of that place is 45.399. 



It is interesting to observe, that the observations which I 

 made in the islands during part of the year 1821, afford nearly 

 the same results, though they were made in various parts of 

 the islands,:}: not at very regvdar hours, and at elevations vary- 

 ing from the level of the sea to 70 feet above it. 



With so low a temperatui-e in summer, it cannot be expected 

 that many exotic species of corn or fruit can flourish ; in fact, 

 the only corn which is generally cultivated is a hardy variety 

 of barley (the Scotch Big), and that does not always ripen. § 



• The following is a note of the elevation at which some plants occur on the 

 south-east side of the mountain Mallingsfiall, in the island of Videroe, as observ- 

 ed by Dr Forchhammer and myself, on July 18. 1821 : — 

 Feet 1088 Salix herbacea (first plant). 

 1098 Prunella vulgaris (last plant). 

 1382 Dryas octopetala (one plant only) ; Botrychium lunaria, Thalictrum 



alpinum. Azalea procumbens, Veronica alpina. 

 1530 Dryas octopetala (frequent), Papaver nudicaule (one plant), Salix 



arctica. 

 1950 Papaver nudicaule (frequent), Arabis petrfea. 

 2000 Sibbaldia procumbens, Azalea procumbens. 



''SOO f^^^'^ herbacea and arctica, Empetrum nigrum, Rhodiola rosea, Si- 



. . , I lene acaulis, Cerastium alpinum, Vaccinium myrtillus. Polygonum 



., < viviparum, Oxyria reniformis, Saxifraga oppositifolia and palma- 



QOfjfj I ta, Armeria vulgaris, Sibbaldia procumbens, Alchemilla alpina, 



^ /3. argentea and vulgaris, /3 pubescens. 



•j- I am not aware of any observations having been made regarding the quan- 

 tity of rain which falls in these islands. I hope at a future time to draw up a 

 table of the number of days on which rain or snow fell during several years, for 

 which I have transcribed observations kept in Thorshavn. 



X Excepting those during the months of September and October, which were 

 principally made in Thorshavn, and corresponds, as might have been expected, 

 most nearly with the old observations. 



§ In 1821, the corn harvest commenced on September 10. According to Dr 

 Forchhammcr's observations, cultivation of corn extends in a southern exposure 



