Natural History of East Fmmarlc. 351 



the neighbouring ground while the boatmen were finishing 

 their dinner, resting, and smoking. Thus three quarters of 

 an hour was spent by him in cntomologizing, by myself in 

 botanizing. Then at night, again, between 9 and 12 p.m. he 

 was often busy Avith his net while I was plant-hunting. On 

 Sundays a longer ramble was taken, during which many 

 good plants were found. Still no ground was examined 

 which was further than a mile from the shores; but had 

 excursions been made inland among the copses and on the 

 hills, the list of plants here given would have no doubt been 

 considerably extended. It was a great treat to explore an 

 Arctic flora so different in many respects from our own, 

 represented by so many of our Alpine forms and yet including 

 so many other beautiful species. The rarest plant I found 

 was Are?inria lateriflora, of which I believe the only Euro- 

 pean habitat is near the falls of tlie Pasvic River, and as 

 Herr Schneider was aware of this fact we did not lose the 

 opportunity of seeking it. Diantkus superbas is a lovely 

 pink, which was in full flower, ornamenting the cliffs on the 

 eastern side of one of the fiords on the north coast which we 

 passed in the steamer ; but I have forgotten which fiord it 

 was. Among the other more beautiful plants new to me 

 were the various species of the families Polemoniacese and 

 Ericaceae. Striking among the latter were the bushes of the 

 Arctic Ledum palustre, the delicious scent of which perfumed 

 the air for a considerable distance from the bog in which the 

 plants were growing. 



In this high latitude, of course, large numbers of those 

 found in the temperate climate of our islands are absent ; 

 for instance, it may interest some reader who knows nothing 

 of the geographical distribution of plants to mention a few 

 of the familiar friends which he must not expect to meet 

 with so far north. There are no such shrubs as holly, ivj^, 

 honeysuckle, dog-rose (of any British species), blackberry 

 {Rubus friiticosus), gorse, or broom. There is no common 

 daisy ^, celandine [Ranunculus ficaria) , sweet violet, primrose, 

 cowslip, bluebell f, wood-anemone, or foxglove ; the only 

 clovers are Trifolium repens and pratensis ; the only Cam- 

 panula is C. rotundifolia ; there arc no English poppies ; 

 while Geranium pratense and the whole of the annual species 

 of that genus are absent. 



Of garden weeds the common groundsel would seem to be 

 scarce, for 1 failed to find it in weedy gardens which 

 I examined, and no other species of Senecio occurs. 



* Bellis percnnis is confined to quite the southern part of Norway, 

 t Scilla ntdans is not found in Norwav at all. 



