172 THE FOREST LANDS 0$ NORTHERN RUSSIA. 



By Arctic voyagers mention is occasionally made of the 

 scurvy grass, a species of Coc/ilearia, of the medicinal proper- 

 ties of which some of the undaunted explorers of the Polar 

 regions were fain to avail themselves. 



The shores of the Polar Sea, with a severe temperature 

 modified by proximity to the ocean, are not destitute of 

 terrestrial vegetation. In Spitzbergen, with a latitude 

 of 77 to 81, besides delicate mosses which clothe the 

 moist low lands, and hardy lichens which encrust the 

 rocks up to the remotest limits of vegetation, and which 

 are very numerous, there have been found about ninety- 

 three species of phanerogamous, or flowering plants, amongst 

 which are the Arenaria biflora, the Cerastium alpinum, 

 and the Ranunculus glacialis, found on the Alps at alti- 

 tudes varying from 9,000 to 10,000 feet above the level of 

 the sea. The only esculent plant is the Cochleavia 

 fenestrata, which here is devoid of the bitterness of which 

 Arctic explorers complain, and may be eaten as a salad ; 

 and several grasses supply, along with the Iceland moss, 

 food for the reindeer. 



And thus it is also with the dreary wastes of the 

 tundras. 'Though not rich in bud and bloom, even 

 these dreary wastes are not absolutely without floral 

 decoration. Selinum and cerastium, as well as the poppy 

 and sorrel, andromeda, and several species of heath, arc 

 mentioned by Dr Kane as blooming in the neighbourhood 

 of Smith Strait. On the south coast of the Polar Sea 

 Dr Richardson found a considerable variety of vegetation.' 



stem, surmounted by a dome of rich orange scarlet, studded with white scaly tuberules, 

 and in some parts of Kamtschtka and the northern districts of Siberia is so abundant 

 that the ground sparkles and shines as if covered with a scarlet carpet. The natives 

 collect it during the hot summer months, and dry it. Steeped in the juice of the 

 whortleberry, it forms a powerful intoxicating wine ; or rolled up like a bolus, and 

 swallowed without chewing, it produces much the same effect as opium. On some, 

 however, it acts as an excitant, and induces active muscular exertion. A talkative 

 person, under its influence, cannot keep silence or secrets ; one fond of music, sings 

 incessantly ; and if a person who has partaken of it wishes to step over a straw or 

 small stick, he takes a stride or jump sufficient to clear the trunk of a tree ! 



The Koriaks and Kamtschatkans personify this fungus, under the name of Mocho 

 Jforo, as one of their penates, or household gods ; and if they are impelled by its 

 effects to commit any dreadful crime, they pretend they act only in obedience to com- 

 mands which may not be disputed. To qualify themselves for murder or suicide, they 

 drink additional doses of " this intoxicating product of decay and corruption." 



