THE ARCTIC KOX. 



CHAPTER I 



The Animals of Arctic Asia 



The Boreal zone of animal life extends all round the Xorth Pole, its Asiatic 

 portion being consequently much more extensive than the European, which com- 

 prises only the coast from the North Cape to the mouth of the Obi River; and 

 it may be shortly defined as the tract lying northward of the limit of trees, 

 where the realm of the Arctic steppe-area, or tundra, begins. In the Western 

 Hemisphere the northern boundary of tree-growth lies somewhat to the southward 

 of the Arctic Circle, but in the Eastern Hemisphere runs slightly north of the 

 same in certain parts of Siberia. 



The landscape and vegetation of the tundra bear the impress of the Polar 

 climate, with its long dark cold winter, and its short cool summer of perpetual 

 daylight. Among the characteristics of the Arctic winter are the violent winds 

 which heap up the thin mantle of snow in certain parts of the tundra, and sweep 

 it clean away in others. Equally noticeable is the absence of moisture in the air, 

 under the clear wintry sky. The long winter drags on into the months of our 

 own spring, and in March or April often develops its most intense cold : but in 

 May the temperature of the air suddenly rises, July being the hottest month, 



