GEOGRAPHICAL BOTANY. 359 



them. Among the edible fruits, Rubus arcticus has the 

 most agreeable taste ; the elongated dark blue berries of 

 a Lonicera come next, their taste is not inferior to that 

 of the finest cherries, and they are prepared with milk or 

 Sarannah to form a favorite article of food with the natives. 

 The Kamtschatka river is constantly changing the course 

 of its valley, and hence, like the rivers of Russia, its banks 

 are steep (Jar) on the side excavated by the current, whilst 

 sandbanks (Pessok) are deposited by the water on the 

 opposite side. On the former, the old pine-forest extends 

 down to the river, and by the falling in of the banks is 

 carried away as floating timber ; on the latter, different 

 woody plants have settled, the period of formation of 

 which is later than that of the former : first, thickets of 

 willows, then larger deciduous trees, willows, alders, and 

 poplars appear to follow. The difference in the foliage 

 commonly expresses a difference not of the age of the trees, 

 but of the period at which the district became wooded. 



Mountain-Forests of the Eastern Coast (pi. XXI), ex- 

 tending over its steep declivities. These forests, which 

 are also composed of Betula Ermani, and sometimes con- 

 tain tall trees of Sali%, appear far lighter than those in 

 the fluviatile valleys ; but the thickets of underwood and 

 shrubs extending between the trees are proportionately 

 thicker, and contain a larger number of plants. This 

 character is evident, even at a level of 500',, and ex- 

 tends high up the mountain. But at a greater elevation, 

 the birch trees gradually diminish in number, preserving 

 the same state of growth, until at last they disappear, and 

 give place entirely to the shrubs, just as the latter are 

 displaced by the alpine flora, according to the same law. 

 These thickets of shrubs are in general impenetrable to 

 man, and represent the pine-region in Kamtschatka. 

 They consist of Pyrus sambucifolia Cham., Alnus incana, 

 and a pine which is probably a variety of Pinus Cembra, 

 and is called Kedrownik. The former of these shrubs 

 predominates in the lower regions, and disappears at an 

 elevation of 1000'. The Kedrownik grows even in the 



