1898-1902. No. 19.] STRAY CONTRIBUT. TO THE BOTANY OF N. DEVON. 11 



western Jones Sound always keeps the ice in motion around the island, 

 and thus produces open water early in the summer, so as to keep away 

 the fox from the island during de breeding-season. This bird life has, 

 of course, considerably enriched the meagre soil of the island; still the 

 central ridge and its talus are almost void of vegetation, except for some 

 lichens and small patches of moss, or some scanty tufts of grass, etc. 

 around the gulls' nests. The terraces of limestone gravel also are very 

 poor. Indeed, most of the pebbles are covered with lichens, among 

 which Xantoria elegans as usual catches the eye ; but only at wide 

 intervals is to be found a little tuft of moss or a small individual of 

 a flowering plant. 



The mosses, which form the most prominent part of the vegetation, 

 apart from the not yet determined lichens, are mostly found near the 

 base of the cliff where some water trickles down, and in some moist 

 depressions or patches of clay. The flowering plants, which are very 

 few both in number of species and of individuals, grow mostly among 

 moss. The following flowering plants were found: Saxifraga cernua 

 (the most common species), S. oppositifolia (surprisingly scarce), 

 S. groenlandica, Draba hirta (4017), D. subcapitata (4017), Cochlearia 

 officinalis var. groenlandica, Papaver radicatum, Cerastium alpinum, 

 Glyceria distans var. vaginata (4017), Catabrosa algida (4017, chiefly 

 around the gulls' nests), Alopecurus alpinus. 



The moss collection I brought home contained 31 species (BRYHN, 

 Bryophyta, p. 254255) of which 9 are not present in the collection 

 from Cape Vera, but of these, two were found again on Devil's Isle. 



2. Devil's Isle. 



This little rock, lying off the coast of North Devon north of the 

 entrance to Norfolk Inlet in lat. 76 29', long. 90 40', was only visited 

 daring our last boat journey; but as we lay ice-bound there from July 

 19 to 30, 1902, with the exception of two days, when we were able 

 to take a trip over to the vicinity of Mount Belcher (see above, p. 9), 

 I had more than sufficient time for a very accurate examination of its 

 vegetation. The whole island is small enough to be walked round in 

 half an hour. It has the shape of an obliquely cut cone, about 200 feet 

 high. The highest, point lies at the eastern end and is accessible only 

 from the west where there is a gentle slope; all the other sides are 

 almost vertical, but there is a narrow strip of ground running round 

 below the steep wall. The material of the rock here also is limestone, 



