414 LABRADOR 



"Its spongy, water-absorbing cushions/' which " keep even 

 the highest parts of the moor permanently saturated with 

 water, . . . gradually grow in height, while the lower parts 

 pass over into sphagnum peat " (Schimper). The following 

 list of other plants growing in moors is that given by 

 Schimper, with those of known occurrence in Labrador 

 italicized. Some are characteristic of high-moor: Viola 

 palustris, Vacdnium oxycoccus, Andromeda polifolia, Be- 

 tula nana. Others are preeminently meadow-moor species : 

 Epilobium palustre, E. tetragonum, Senecio aquaticus, 

 S. paludosus, Gentiana pneumonanthe, several species 

 of Carex. Many others that are essentially moor plants 

 occur also in dry stations without peat: Vacdnium 

 Vitis-Idcea; or on meadow moors: Drosera rotundifolia, 

 Comarum palustre, Pedicularis palustris, Salix repens, 

 species of Eriophorum, many species of Carex. Many 

 moor plants compensate for their disadvantages by be- 

 coming carnivorous: Drosera, Pinguicula vulgaris, Sar- 

 racenia purpurea. 



(d) By far the most favourable and fertile situations in 

 the whole country are the sunny slopes, exposed to the 

 south, which are abundantly fed by water from melting 

 snow-drifts, on which the water, not becoming stagnant, 

 has no opportunity to accumulate humous acids. Schimper 

 describes them thus : 



" The physiological analogues in the tundras of the desert 

 oasis are Heat-oases sunny slopes protected from the 

 drying winds upon which the sunbeams fall almost per- 

 pendicularly, and thus warm the water in the soil so that 

 plants can obtain it in actual abundance. Such stations 

 frequently resemble the flower-beds of a garden. Accord- 

 ing to Nathorst : 



