ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE AND RESEARCH 



to contrast the flora of the northern point of Green- 

 land (in latitude 83° N.) with this very poor repre- 

 sentation in 65° S. This is how Peary describes his 

 first view of Academy Land in July, 1891. 



It was almost impossible to believe that we were stand- 

 ing upon the northern shore of Greenland, with the most 

 brilliant sunshine all about us, with yellow poppies grow- 

 ing between the rocks, and a herd of musk oxen in the 

 valley behind us. Down in that valley I had found an old 

 friend, a dandelion in bloom, and had seen the bullet-like 

 flight and heard the energetic buzz of the bumble bee. 



Or compare with the southern continent Rasmus- 

 sen's account of the same region with its fifty flower- 

 ing plants. ''Thick well developed grass grew in many 

 places . . . everywhere sturdy Arctic willow, poppy, 

 saxifrage and Cassiope." As a result there is a per- 

 manent Arctic fauna including musk oxen, lemming 

 and hares. 



The typical form of Antarctic flora is, however, the 

 lichen and of these nine specimens were collected by 

 Hooker in 1843 ^^ Cockburn Island (64° S.) near 

 Snow Hill. For fifty years this was the only list of 

 lichens from the continent. These genera are Par- 

 melia, Physcia, Lecanora, Pertusaria, Verriicaria, and 

 CoUema. Of these Physcia and Lecanora have since 

 been recorded from Victoria Land. Just over one 

 hundred Antarctic species were known when Darbishire 

 published his lengthy report in 191 1. Of these Borch- 

 grevinck collected two, Gerlache fifty-one, Bruce six, 

 Charcot six, Scott (in 1904) twelve, and Nordenskjold 



202 



