BOT. WORK OF SEC. NORW. POLAR EXPEDITION. 231 



on the 28th was mostly filled with swamps, in which Pleuro- 

 pogon Sabinei grew in profusion, together with Eriophora, 

 Carices etc. 



On the evening of Sept. 1st we dropped anchor at our second 

 winterquarters in the Hamnfjord. As a few days later the 

 ground was covered with snow, I only managed that autumn 

 to see very little of the botanical features of the neighbourhood 

 and to make a few additions, chiefly of mosses, to the col- 

 lections. 



The winter of 1899 — 1900 passed in much the same manner 

 as the first. After the return of the sun I again commenced 

 the radiation-observations with coloured thermometers and later 

 on I also occasionally made observations of the temperature at 

 the surface of the soil, among moss, dry plants, in rivulets and 

 freshwaterpools etc. The winter this year was characterised by 

 a very variable temperature, in the beginning of February we 

 registered unto -j- 1,5° C. and early in May it was warm enough 

 in sheltered localities to induce several plants to show signs of 

 life. Thus Salix arctica was seen with halfprotruding catkins 

 on May 11th but the latter part of the month was again cooler 

 and it was not until June 6th that I could note the first plant 

 in bloom, now again Saxifraga oppositifolia. The next, Sa- 

 lix arctica came out on the 11th and before the end of the 

 month 19 species were noticed in blossom. 



Besides visits to different parts of the Hamnfjord my 

 excursions this summer were directed westward as far as the 

 Mus ko xf jord. As the territory visited lies partly inside and 

 partly outside of the district of the primary formation, I had an 

 opportunity of observing how much this exceeds the younger 

 formations both in luxuriance of vegetation and in number of 

 species. The silurian strata were especially poor, above all the 

 siliceous Hmestone, of which most of the Ellesmereland-coast 

 west of the Hamn fjord is formed. The soil derived from 

 the débris of this limestone may be, over wide tracts, totally or 



