568 FROM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. 



Note 1 1 , p. 76. Migration of the Lemming. 



A careful discussion of the strange migratory instinct of the lemming 

 will be found in the late Mr. Romanes's Mental Evolution in Animals. 



Note 12, p. 77. Food of the Reindeer. 



Though the reindeer may eat grasses and aquatic plants, its great 

 resource is the so-called reindeer-moss, which is really a lichen, common on 

 the mountain heights of the interior where the herds pass the winter. 



Note 13, p. 80. The Phalarope. 



Of the Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) and the Red-necked 

 Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus), both occurring in Britain, Professor 

 Newton says : " A more entrancing sight to the ornithologist can hardly 

 be presented than by either of these species. Their graceful form, their 

 lively coloration, and the confidence with which both are familiarly dis- 

 played in their breeding-quarters, can hardly be exaggerated, and it is 

 equally a delightful sight to watch the birds gathering their food in the 

 high-running surf, or, when that is done, peacefully floating outside the 

 breakers." See also Collett's Bird Life in Arctic Norway. 



Note 14, p. 84. Sense of smell and touch. 



The somewhat mysterious reference which Brehm makes to a sense 

 between smell and touch is thoroughly justifiable. To the senses of many 

 of the lower animals and even of fishes it is exceedingly difficult to 

 apply our fairly definite human conceptions of smell, taste, touch, &c. 



Note 15, p. 85. Mosquitoes. 



This general term covers a large number of species belonging to the 

 gnat genus (Culex). They are very various in size, and are widely distri- 

 buted from the Tropics to the Poles. Their larvae are aquatic, and for 

 their abundance the tundra obviously offers every opportunity. 



THE ASIATIC STEPPES AND THEIR FAUNA. 



See 



Bovalet, G. Through the Heart of Asia (trans, by C. B. Pitman, 2 vols., 



London, 1889). 

 Jackson, F. G. The Great Frozen Land, cited above 



Note 16, p. 91. Flora of the steppe. 



According to Seebohm (op. cit.), " The cause of the treeless condition of 

 the steppes or prairies has given rise to much controversy. My own experi- 

 ence in Siberia convinced me that the forests were rocky, and the steppes 

 covered with a deep layer of loose earth, and I came to the conclusion that 

 on the rocky ground the roots of the trees were able to establish themselves 

 firmly, so as to defy the strongest gales, which tore them up when they were 

 planted in loose soil. Other travellers have formed other opinions. Some 



