JW'Keevor's Voyage to Hudson's Bay. 67 



ing the summer; thus the clothing of each is admirably 

 adapted to the rigours of its situation. The fox and the wolf, 

 which in temperate climates have but comparatively short 

 hair, in these frozen regions are covered with a fine, long, and 

 thick fur. The beaver and the ermine, which are found in 

 the greatest abundance in these high latitudes, are remark- 

 able for the warmth and delicacy of their furs. It is owing 

 to these changes that the peltry of northern climes are so 

 much admired, and so highly valued. 



About May, nature again resumes her wonted liberty ; the 

 ice begins to drift away, the snows to dissolve, and the ani- 

 mals to resume their usual variety of colour. About June 

 the hot weather commences ; and, in a short time, the heat 

 is so intense as to scorch the face of the natives. A rapid and 

 luxurious vegetation now sets in ; so that, in a short time, in- 

 stead of the waste and dreary appearance which but a little 

 before presented itself, the eye is refreshed with a rich and 

 beautiful verdure. This change, indeed, is so rapid, that it 

 is probably going- on for a considerable time before the snows 

 melt away. Even in this country I have frequently observed, 

 that when heavy snow has fallen at the close of a long and 

 severe winter, it has been pushed off, as it were, by the young- 

 shoots projecting themselves through it ; and this, though the 

 temperature of the air was below 32. It is very likely, in- 

 deed, that but for this covering, vegetation would have been 

 considerably retarded. 



The remarkable increase of heat which is observed here, 

 during the summer months, is owing, in a great measure, to 

 the length of time the sun remains above the horizon ; thus 

 compensating for the shortness of its stay, as also to the slow- 

 ness with which an equilibrium of temperature, by the circu- 

 lation of the atmosphere, takes place. Its excess, however, 

 is moderated by the large quantity of caloric which those 

 immense masses of ice and snow absorb while passing to the 

 fluid form. I may also remark, that the rigour of winter 

 must also be considerably mitigated by the warmth evolved, 

 as congelation again begins to spread over those dreary re- 

 treats. 



Dr. Darwin tells us, that it w.as in consequence of the want 

 of this protection that many Lapland and Alpine plants pe r 

 rished in the botanic garden at Upsal, although the cold was 

 not more intense than what prevails for a great part of the 

 year in their native situations; but in those climates, the fall 

 of snow commonly commences with the diminished tempera- 

 ture of the season, and in this manner it afford* a protection 



