8 H. G. SIMMONS. [SEC. ARCT. EXP.FRAM 
rocks were formed of gneiss and micaslate with veins of quarts which, 
according to him, forms generally in arctic lands a poor soil for the 
development of vegetation. Indeed, my own experience from Ellesmere- 
land is quite different; the regions with an underground of primary rock 
there being by far the richest in density of vegetation and number of 
species. Now this seems principally due to the stability of the rock, 
which, as being less easily attacked by the frost, gives a less changing 
surface; the débris of other strata may form a richer soil if it is only 
preserved long enough to be come clad with vegetation. A soil formed 
of débris, for instance of Silurian limestone, but resting on Archaean 
rock, is probably the most favorable; and the richness of the Foulke 
Fjord flora mentioned in the following, may perhaps be partly due to 
such a combination in the geological nature of the place. 
From Cape York the Archaean rocks may be followed northwards 
at least to Littleton Island, forming the basement of the mountains along 
the outer coast and also the upper parts of some of them. According 
to De Rance and Fempen, lower Silurian (Cambrian?) strata of grit and 
conglomerate appear between Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds, and in 
Foulke Fjord there rest upon a basement of gneiss, thick layers of Ter- 
tiary, probably Miocene, sandstone and conglomerate overlaid by basalt. 
As far as could be judged from a distance, the architecture of Cape 
Alexander is the same as in Foulke Fjord, and probably the same geo- 
logical structure continues further north as far as to the great gap in the 
coast filled by the Humboldt Glacier. North of the great glacier appear 
Silurian strata, mostly limestone, through Washington Land to Peter- 
mann Fjord, and from Hall Land northwards the coast, according to the 
last-mentioned authors, is built up of older, azoic rocks (Algonkian ?). 
The loose deposits, resting on the rock basement, are principally of 
three kinds: — either débris fallen from the cliffs, or washed down dur- 
ing the melting of the snow, or formed under the surface of the sea 
and afterwards raised to their present position. This upheaval of the 
land has evidently taken place at a rather late period, as may be seen 
from the well-preserved organic remains found at various heights above 
the present shore-line. Indeed the observations concerning these pheno- 
mena, are mostly made on the other side of the Channels, but the same 
feature is also prevalent in North-Western Greenland. Raised beaches 
and deposits containing marine shells and other remains proving their 
origin on the sea bottom, play a very important part in the formation 
of the loose soil of these regions, 
