DE. W. E. m'NAB on 4ECTIC DKIET WOODS. 135 



Eeport on the Arctic Drift Woods collected by Captain Eeilden 

 and Mr. Hart in 1875 and 1876. By W. E. M'Nab, M.D., 

 P.L.S., Professor of Botany, Eoy. Coll. of Science, Dublin. 



[Bead November 3, 1881.] 



In the following Eeport I have endeavoured to detail the results 

 of my examination of the drift woods brought from the Arctic 

 regions by the naturalists attached to the recent Arctic expedition 

 under Captain Nares. There are thirteen specimens of drift 

 wood and one specimen of bark, collected in different localities by 

 Captain Feilden and Mr. Hart ; and these were placed in my 

 hands for examination by Professor Oliver, P.E.S. The speci- 

 mens of wood are all completely devoid of bark ; hence it was im- 

 possible to distinguish the genus to which some of the Coniferous 

 woods belong, as, for example, Pioea and Larix, the genera to 

 which most of the woods may be referred. In general the 

 woods were well preserved and in good condition, except on the 

 very surface ; hence there was little difficulty in obtaining proper 

 sections for microscopic examination. The woods were all cut 

 in three directions, as is usual in examining dicotyledonous and 

 coniferous woods ; and the sections were viewed both dry and 

 when mounted in Canada balsam. Careful comparison of the 

 drift woods with sections of named woods has not enabled me to 

 identify the species in any case ; hence the whole of the results 

 obtained must be considered unsatisfactory. In the following 

 list the specimens are lettered A to 0, the letters &c. correspond- 

 ing to the labels on the slides of the preparations accompanying 

 the Eeport*. 



1. PiNus sp. (One species.) 



Two portions of wood are referable to Pinus. These I have 

 indicated by the letters A and B. Both the pieces in the collection 

 are marked as from the same locality, viz. " Head of Discovery Bay, 

 April 1876," but one of them (B) as having been " 100 yards from 

 the water, embedded in sand." The woods are quite similar in 

 outward appearance, and are portions of comparatively large 



* I have also examined a small oolleotion of drift woods made by Staff-Sur- 

 geon Edward L. Moss, M.D., B.N., Surgeon of the 'Alert.' His specimens are 

 similar to those obtained by the naturalists of the Expedition , with one excep- 

 tion, Tiz. a portion of a stem of a species oi Juniperus. The stem must have 

 been of some size, and belongs apparently to a North-American species. 



