PLANTS OF KAYAK ISLAND 57 



easily see that my failure to discover any minerals is not due to 

 carelessness or laziness on my part. I confess freely that I 

 observed nothing else than sand and gray rock. It is also well 

 known that close to the beach Nature is neither able nor 

 accustomed to produce anything outside of marcasites and 

 pyrites. ^^^ 



Of fruit-bearing shrubs and plants I only met with a new and 

 elsewhere unknown species of raspberry ^^^ in great abundance, 

 although not yet quite ripe. This fruit on account of its great 

 size, shape, and delicious taste had well deserved that a few 

 bushes of it should have been taken along in a box with soil and 

 sent to St. Petersburg to be further propagated. It is not my 

 fault that space for such was begrudged, since as a protester I 

 myself took up too much space already. — Such well-known 

 berries i^'^ as the Chamaecerasi, red and black whortleberries, the 

 scurvy berry, Empetrum, and such like were here as plentiful as 



"6 The geology of Kayak Island is not well known. The formation of 

 the island is probably chiefly graywacke and slate, with some igneous 

 rocks (see G. C. Martin: Geology and Mineral Resources of the Con- 

 troller Bay Region, Alaska, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 335, 1908). I am 

 unable to understand Steller's reference to the occurrence of marcasite, 

 etc., on sea beaches. (B) 



"^ The unknown species of raspberry is undoubtedly Rubus spectabilis 

 Pursh, which according to Funston {Conir. U. S. Natl. Herbarium, Vol. 

 3, 1896, p. 329) is known all along the Northwest coast as the salmon 

 berry. According to Steller the berries were not quite ripe at the end of 

 July (July 20 O. S.). This agrees well with Funston's account to the 

 effect that at Yakutat "it begins to ripen at sea level about August 5, 

 and at higher altitudes two weeks later." (S) 



"8 By Chamaecerasi Steller undoubtedly meant Lonicera coerulea L. 

 In his "Catalogus" (see next footnote) he enumerates it as "Chamae- 

 cerasus montana fructu singulari caeruleo. C. B." and adds "in magna 

 copia habetur." This seems strange in view of the fact that L. coerulea, 

 although variously credited to Alaska, is not represented in the collec- 

 tions from there. Steller was so well acquainted with this species from 

 Siberia and Kamchatka, however, that it does not seem likely that he 

 can have been mistaken. 



Red and black whortleberries; Vaccinium vilis idaea L. and V. ovali- 

 foliiitn Smith. In his "Catalogus" Steller enumerates them as "Vitis 



