591 



imposing aspect. There is nothing to relieve the monotony of the 

 steppes. A few few stunted Coniferous and willow trees afford little 

 variety, and even these, on passing the boundary of the Frigid zone, 

 are either transformed into dwarf bushes, or disappear altogether. 

 About Norton Sound groves of vvhite spruce-trees and Salix speciosa 

 are frequent ; northwards they become less abundant, till in latitude 

 66° 44' 0" north, on the banks of the Noatok, Pinus alba disappears. 

 Alnus viridis extends as far as Kotzebue Sound, where, in company 

 with Salix villosa, S. Richardsoni, and S. speciosa, it forms low brush- 

 wood. With the commencement of the Arctic circle, Alnus viridis 

 ceases to exist; Salix speciosa, S. Richardsoni, and S. villosa extend 

 their range farther, but are only for a short distance able to keep their 

 ground; at Cape Lisburne, in latitude 68° 52' 6" north, they are in 

 the most favourable localities never higher than two foot, while their 

 crooked growth and numerous abortive leaf-buds indicate their strug- 

 gle for existence. All attempts to spread their dominion towards the 

 north prove unsuccessful ; two degrees higher, and they are seen no 

 more. At Wainwright Inlet a boundless plain presents itself. No 

 tree interrupts the uniform line of the horizon, no shrub shows itself 

 above the level of the turfy vegetation ; all woody plants are pros- 

 trated to the ground, and only maintain life by seeking shelter among 

 the mosses and lichens. The polar wind, which never affects the 

 graceful palm, and is incapable of injuring the hardy oak, yet at last 

 succeeds in laying low the offspring of Flora in these regions. Here 

 they are doomed to slumber two- thirds of the year without sun, with- 

 out warmth, in an icy bed, till the return of the great light restores 

 the brightness of day and enables them to resume, for a few weeks, 

 the busy operations of organized beings." 



" It is not often that a Flora is so strictly original, and that its ge- 

 neral character may be so accurately defined. Out of 242 Phanero- 

 gams, 2 are trees, 23 shrubs, 194 perennials, 7 biennials, and 12 

 annuals. Nature does not seem to have trusted to the region many 

 plants whose propagation solely depends upon the ripening of 

 their seeds ; an uncertain harvest in a district where the quick ap- 

 proach of winter puts a sudden stop to vegetable operations. Nor 

 are the physical circumstances favourable to the formation of wood. 

 Most of the ligneous plants are mere fruticuli, very dwarfish, and more 

 under the ground than above it. Only a few willows, a rose, the red 

 currant, a birch, and a Spiraea are deserving of the name of shrub. 

 Trees are still more scarce, no more than two kinds (Pinus alba and 

 Salix speciosa) having as yet been discovered. The white spruce 



