632 



NATURE 



\Oct. 30, 1879 



asunder, the limestone to small angular fragments, and 

 the sandstone to larger or smaller blocks heaped one 

 upon another. Such collections of stones cannot of 

 course afford nourishment to higher plants, the more 

 especially as any little mould that may be formed is 

 immediately swept away by the wind or washed away by 

 the rain. At long intervals in this wilderness of gravel 

 and limestone there are found solitary specimens of the 

 Arctic poppy {Papaver mtdicaule), Saxifraga, Draba, 



III. 



I. Inland Ice (a) extending into the Sea (d) and terminating in a steep frcnt. 100 to 200 feet high. 

 II. Inland Ice abutting en the bottom of an Ice-fjcrd, i.e., a Fjord in whichreal Icebergs are 

 formed. III. Inland Ice abutting en a Mud-bank. 



Sagina, &c. Lichens, especially the larger species, occur 

 here very sparingly and badly developed, though in spots 

 the ground is almost covered by species which are ex- 

 ceedingly rare in the flora of Scandinavia. Where 

 sandstone is the prevailing rock, the view is still more 

 unpleasing. There is a considerable extent of surface 

 where the only method of progression is by jumping 

 from one block of stone to another, from which blocks 

 all the higher plants, with the exception of a grass or two, 



are banished. The exterior of the island is more at- 

 tractive. The rocks rise perpendicularly out of the sea, 

 and as they consist of the looser formations, they have, 

 in course of time, been shaped by the waves into the 

 forms of arches, grottos, towers, colunms, &c. The 

 projecting rocky promontories are in some places found 

 to be clothed with turf, and the perpendicular cliffs a 

 richly hung with luxuriant Cochlearia. I, 



" The explanation is easy. It is only the ledges where 

 the sea-fowl sit that are thus ornamented, 

 and it is only in the rich mould originating 

 from these fowl that the plants can attain ' 

 such luxuriance. This leads us to the 

 most remarkable thing about Bear Island, 

 its fabulous richness in sea-fowl. Indeed 

 it may be said tliat the fowl are the proper 

 inhabitants and owners of the island. 

 There are, it is true, some mountain foxes, 

 but they are very scarce, and the greater 

 number only make a visit during winter, 

 resembling in this the Polar bear, from 

 which the island is named,- as it cannot, 

 at least now, support itself here in summer. 

 During that season the walrus, which soon 

 after the discovery of the island was found 

 upon its shores in unheard-of numbers, 

 and a little flock of which Keilhau had an 

 opportunity of observing, is now sought 

 for in vain. Even in winter, accordirig to 

 the latest observations, the Polar bear is 

 an unusual guest here. ... 



" The number of plants found by the 

 botanists of the expedition was thirty-three, 

 which, with the other five formerly ob- 

 served, but not now found, makes the 

 whole number of phanerogamous and 

 higher cryptogamous plants found on 

 Bear Island thirty-eight. The number of 

 species of insects found was twelve. The 

 number of marine animals was unexpect- 

 edly small in consequence of the unsuitable 

 nature of the bottom. A great part of the 

 island consists of strata belonging to the 

 Mountain Limestone, in which are found 

 in abundance mussel shells, corals, &c., 

 showing that in times long past quite a 

 different animal world lived in an al nost 

 tropical ocean. Two and a half centuries 

 ago seams of coal were discovered on the 

 north coast of the island, showing as black 

 parallel bands on the perpendicular cliffs 

 facing the sea. As the coal that occurs 

 on Spitzbergen had been proved b)- the 

 preceding Swedish expeditions to belong 

 to the comparatively recent tertiary period, 

 it had been considered probable thai this 

 was the case also with that found on Bear 

 Island. But on examination being made 

 impressions of plants were found, partly in 

 the coal, partly in the sandstone separating 

 the seams, which afforded indisputable 

 evidence that the strata here belong to 

 the true coal formation. Splendid Sigil- 

 I aria, Lcpidodendra, Calamites, and other 

 characteristic fossils of the Coal period 

 were taken, not without danger to life, from the per- 

 pendicular sea-cliffs on the north side of the island, 

 and it was with deep regret that others had to be left 

 behind because there was not time to cut them out of the 

 rock." 



Ice Fjord was again explored and much new geological 

 data obtained, and various parts of the north coast 

 examined. Of this expedition, the distinguished savant, 

 Prof. Oswald Heer of Zurich, declared— "In my opinion 



