18 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



which are winter-bound during the greater part of the year, lie is generally a 

 mere w^anderer over its surface — a hunter, a fisherman, or a herdsman — and 

 but few small settlements, separated from each other by immense deserts 

 give proof of his having made some weak attempts to establish a footing. 



It is difficult to determine with precision the limits of the Arctic lands since 

 many countries situated as low as latitude 60° or even 50°, such as South 

 Greenland, Labrador, Alaska, Kamchatka, or the country about Lake Baikal, 

 have hi their climate and productions a decidedly Arctic character, while others 

 of a far more northern position, such as the coast of Norway, enjoy even in 

 winter a remarkably mild temperature. But they are naturally divided into 

 two principal and well-marked zones — that of the forests, and tliat of the tree- 

 less wastes. 



The latter, comprising the islands within the Arctic Circle, form a belt, more 

 or less broad, bounded by the continental shores of the North Polar seas, and 

 gradually merging toward the south into the forest-region, which encircles 

 them with a garland of evergreen conifer^.' This treeless zone bears the 

 name of the " barren grounds," or the " barrens," in North America, and of 

 " tundri " in Siberia and European Russia. Its want of trees is caused not 

 so much by its high northern latitude as by the cold sea-winds which sweep 

 unchecked over the islands or the flat coast-lands of the Polar Ocean, and 

 for miles and miles compel even the hardiest plant to crouch before the blast 

 and creep along the ground. 



Nothing can be more melancholy than the aspect of the boundless morasses 

 or arid wastes of the tundri. Dingy mosses and gray lichens form the chief 



