50 CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAX. 



The following collection was made here July 10: 



rinr/uicula vi/lom, L. Lloi/dia srrolinn, Reichemb. 



J'aceiniiitii litis Ido'n, L. C hrymnlhemnm nreticum, L. 



Spirtea hetnliefolia, Pallas. Arlemiitia Tilcsii, Ledeb. 



Ruhus arcticus, L. Arcnarin prploUhs, L. 



Epitohimn Inli/oHnm, L. Grnliana glanca, Pallas. 



Pnlcmonifim rirnilriim, Tj. Fli/miis nrennritis, L. 



Ti'iriitdlis eurnpirii, L. var. nritira. I.prleh. Poa trivitilis, h. 



Enlrema nrenkola, Hook. Carfx vesicaria, L. var. ulpigmn. Fric.«. 



Iris sibirica, L. Aspiiiixtm spinulosum, Sw. 



KOrZERUE SOUND. 



The flora of the region about the head of Kotzebue Sound is hardly less luxuriant and rich in 

 species than that of other points visited by the Corwin lying several degrees farther south. Fine 

 nutritious grasses suitable for the fattening of cattle and from 2 to 6 feet high are not of rare 

 occurrence on meadows of cou.siderabie extent and along streambanks wherever the stagnant 

 waters of the tundra have been drained off, while in similar localities the most showy of the Arctic 

 plants bloom in all their freshness and beauty, manifesting no sign of frost, or unfavorable condi- 

 tions of any kind whatever. 



A striking result of the airing and draining of the boggy (undra soil is shown on the ice-bluffs 

 around Eselioltze Bay, where it has been undermine<l by tiie nudting of tlie ice on winch it rests. 

 Ill tailing down the face of the ice-wall it is well skakeii and rolled liefore it again comes to rest on 

 terraced or gently sloping portions of the wall. The original vegetation of the tundra is thus 

 destJ'oyed, and tall grasses spring up on the fresh mellow ground as it accuinulates from time to 

 time, growing lush and rank, though in many places that we noted these new soil beds are not 

 more than a foot in depth, and lie on the solid ice. 



At the time of our last visit to this interesting region, about the middle of Septemlier, the 

 weather was still fine, suggesting the Indian Summer of the Western States. The tundra glowed 

 in the mellow sunshine with the colors of the ripe foliage of vaccinium, empetrum, arctostaphylos, 

 and dwarf birch ; red, purple, aud yellow, in pure bright tones, while the berries, hardly less 

 beautiful, were scattered everywhere as if they had been sown broadcast with a lavish hand, the 

 whole blending harmoniously with the neutral tints of the furred bod of lichens and mosses on 

 which the bright leaves and berries were painted. ' « 



On several points about the sound the white spruce occurs in small compact groves within a few 

 miles of the shore ; and pyrola, which belongs to wooded regions, is abundant where no trees are 

 now in sight, tending to show that areas of considerable extent, now treeless, were once forested. 



The iilants collected are: 

 Pj/rola rottmdifolia, L. var. pumila, Hook. SaxiJ'iaga Iricunpidata, Ketg. 



Arctostaplif/los alpina, Spring. Trientalis euiopaa, L. var. aiiica, Ledeb. 



Cassiope tetiagoiic, Desr. Lupinus artiaif, Watson, 



Ledum palustre. Hedyaarum horeale, Nutt. 



Vfiecinium Vitis Idica, L. CUilimu boreolc, L. 



Vliffimmm, L. var. mna-nimUi, Hender. Armcria culyiiri.i, Willd, var. Airlica, Cham. 



Empetrum nigrum. Allium schxiiopranum, L. 



Potenlilta, nnnerina, L. var. Piilygonum Vitiparum, L. 



hijlora, Willd. Cnstillcia pallida, Kunth. 



fnUicosa. Pcdicularia suddica, Willd. 



Stellaria longipes, Goldie. verticillata, L. 



Cerstttium alpinum, h. var. Briiringianum. Kegel. Scncrio pnlustris, Hook. 



Mcrtensia vmritiina, Den\ Salix polaris, Walil. 



Fapavernudicale, L. Luzula hypcrliorra, K. Bi. 



CAPE THOMPSON. 



The Cape Thompson flora is richer in species and individuals than that of any other point on 

 the Arctic shores we have seen, owing no doubt mainly to the better drainage of the ground 

 through the fissured frost-cracked limestone, which hereabouts is the principal rock. 



Where the hill-slopes are steepest the rock frequently occurs in loose angular masses and is 



