HENRIK PRINTZ [1916 



The village of Sakachama lies about 47 ° N. lat. on the shore 

 of the Sea of Okhotsk. During the period of Russian occupation 

 it was called Dobuki. The inhabitants are almost exclusively 

 fishermen. The village itself lies on a large sandy heath, but 

 its surroundings are for the most part humus swamps. 



The climate here, as throughout the entire southern portion 

 of the island, is cold and damp. Generally, the coast is ice- 

 bound right down to the middle of May, and during the whole 

 of this month snow is found here and there even in the lowlands. 



All through May and June the weather is damp and cold, 

 with an extraordinarily abundant rainfall; July, on the other 

 hand, is warm and comparatively fine, as also August and the 

 first half of September. Then rain sets in again and continues 

 abundant until frost and snow return. 



Despite the comparative severity of the climate, however, 

 vegetation is fairly luxuriant, in some places remarkably so, 

 and with a southerly character. 



According to their nature the most important of the societies 

 of plants in the area investigated may be thus divided into 

 different groups : 



I. The Sea Shore. 



II. Swamps and Lagoons. 



III. Rivers and Streams. 



IV. Swamp}^ fields. 

 V. Pasture land. 



VI. Lowland forest region. 

 VII. Highland forest region. 



These societies may be further shortly described as follows: 



I. The Sea Shore. The entire coast outside Sakachama 

 is more or less uniform in character; its extreme seaward por- 

 tion is formed by a flat sandy strand some 20 — 50 metres broad, 

 for the most part washed iDy the waves at high water, and 

 bounded on the landward side by a sandbank of more or less 

 considerable thickness. The shore here is largely bestrewn with 

 driftwood, wreckage and detached sea-weed. 



Immediately inside this belt lies a stretch of dry sandy heath 

 varying in breadth, which should most properly be included 

 under this head. Here we encounter far extended growths of 

 Acer Mono, Quercus and Crataegus species, Betala alba, Pinns 

 piimila, Rosa rugosa, etc. with a rich undergrowth of various 

 species of Carex. The bush is interspersed with open spaces of 

 varying extent, bearing for the most part different species of 

 Carex, Empelrum nigrum, Vaccinium uitis idaea and Cladonia. 



