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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



the southward, but which here, in defer- 

 ence to the influence of the chilling winds 

 and hard-packed snow against which 

 they must struggle, cling closely to their 

 parent earth. 



The mammalian inhabitants of the 

 Arctic Islands are few in number. The 

 musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) occurs only 

 on certain ones, the reasons for its choice 

 being in many cases difficult or impossi- 

 ble of explanation. Its habitat includes 

 the peninsulas and islands northward 

 from the eastern part of its main conti- 

 nental range northeastward to northern 

 Greenland. Another island area com- 

 prises Banks Land, the adjacent part of 

 Victoria Island, and the southern part of 

 Melville Island, this aggregate area 

 being isolated from the remainder of its 

 present range . The only other ruminant 

 is the Barren Ground caribou (Rangifer 

 arcticus and related forms), which 

 inhabits practically all the islands, for- 

 saking some of them in winter, but being 

 a year-long inhabitant of most of the 

 area in question. The other land mam- 

 mals include the polar bear (Thalarctos 

 maritimus], Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus 

 innuitus), Arctic weasel (Mustela 

 arctica), an occasional wolverene (Gulo 

 luscus), the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus}, 

 pied lemming (Dicrostonyx} , and the 

 brown lemming (Lemmus). All these 

 are either circumpolar species, or close 

 relatives of such. 



The birds of the Arctic Islands are 

 more numerous in species, including 

 most of the genera already listed as 

 breeding on the continental Barren 

 Grounds, and a few which are practically 

 confined as breeders to these uttermost 

 insular lands. 



Most of the Arctic Islands are accessi- 

 ble only by sea-going vessels, and can 

 be reached practicably only by way of 

 Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound, and its 

 various connecting channels. In this 

 category may be included all the islands 

 and peninsulas lying to the north and 

 east of McClintock Channel and McClure 

 Strait, and the northern and eastern 

 shores of Victoria Land and Banks Land. 

 The southern and western shores of these 



latter insular masses may be reached in 

 ordinary seasons from the west by way of 

 the Arctic Ocean, and Dolphin and Union 

 Strait. The reason for this strict divi- 

 sion is the drift ice that usually chokes 

 the western entrance to McClure Strait, 

 which prevented the accomplishment of 

 the Northwest passage when it was first 

 attempted in 1819, and has since almost 

 invariably forbidden the passage of 

 vessels in either direction. In winter 

 and early spring, by Eskimo methods of 

 traveling, these islands are accessible 

 from the west and south, but this method 

 is seldom practicable for expeditions 

 having for their main objective the 

 collecting of natural history specimens. 

 Plants. Excluding the ferns, grasses, 

 and sedges, the plants of the Arctic 

 Islands include the following: 



Tofieldia palustris 

 Salix arctica 

 Salix glauca 

 Salix richardsonii 

 Salix alaxensis 

 Salix reticulata 

 Polygonum viv parum 

 Oxyria digyna 

 Silene acaulis 

 Lychnis apetala 

 Lychnis affinis 

 Stellaria longipes 

 Stellaria humifusa 

 Cerastium alpinum 

 Helianthus peploides 

 A isine verna rubella 

 Caltha palustris radicans 

 Anemone richardsonii 

 Ranunculus hyperboreus 

 Ranunculus pygmaeus 

 Ranunculus sulphureus 

 Ranunculus nivalis 

 Ranunculus affinis 

 Ranunculus sabinii 

 Papaver nudicaule 

 Draba alpina 

 Draba nivalis 

 Draba fladnizensis 

 Draba hirta 

 Braya purpurascens 

 Eutrema edwardsii 

 Hesperis pallasii 

 Cardamine digitata 

 Cardamine pratensis 

 Parrya arctica 

 Chrysosplenium tetrandrum 

 Saxifraga rivularis 

 Saxifraga cernua 

 Saxifraga hirculus 

 Saxifraga nivalis 

 Saxifraga hieraciifolia 



