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clay-earth, sand, gravel, turf, but no rock. We then looked over a gently rolling prairie country, 

 stretching away to a flat plain, beyond which was a range of low rounded hills, some eight or ten 

 miles off. It was in fact a moor with here and there a large flat bog, and everywhere abundance 

 of lakes. For seven or eight months in the year it will be covered with from two to three feet 

 of snow. Snow was still lying in large patches in the more sheltered recesses of the steep river- 

 banks ; and on one of the lakes a large floe of ice, six inches thick, was still unmelted. The 

 vegetation on the dry parts of the tundra was chiefly carices, moss, and lichen, of which the 

 familiar reindeer-moss was especially abundant. In some places there were abundance of 

 cranberries with last year's fruit still eatable, preserved by the frost and snow of winter. Here 

 and there we met with a dwarf shrub not unlike a rhododendron, with a white flower and 

 aromatic- scented leaves [Ledum palustre), a heath-like plant with a pale red flower [Andromeda 

 polifolia), and dwarf birch (Betula nana) running on the ground almost like ivy. The fat boggy 

 places had evidently been shallow lakes a few weeks ago after the sudden thaw, and were now 

 black bog, in the middle grown over with yellow-green moss, and carices towards the edge. They 

 were separated from each other by tussocky ridges of moor, which intersected the plain like the 

 veins on the rind of a melon. We found no difficulty in going where we liked ; our india-rubber 

 waterproofs were all-sufficient. We crossed the wettest bogs with impunity, seldom sinking more 

 than a foot before coming upon a good foundation, a solid pavement of ice. Birds were but 

 thinly scattered over the ground ; but there were sufficient to keep our curiosity on the qui vive. 

 The commonest bird was the Lapland Bunting ; and we took two of their nests in the tussocky 

 ridges between the little bogs. The next commonest bird was the Red-throated Pipit ; and we 

 took two of their nests in similar positions. As we marched across the tundra we fell in with 

 some Dunlins, and took a couple of their nests. This was encoui'aging. The Dunlin was a bird 

 we had not seen at Ust Zylma, and one doubtless that migrated direct across country from 

 Ust Ussa. We had not walked more than a couple of miles inland before we came upon 

 a small party of Plovers. They were very wild, and we found it impossible to get within shot 

 of them ; but a distant view through our binocular almost convinced us that we had met with 

 the Grey Plover at last. We had not walked very far before other Plovers rose ; and we 

 determined to commence a diligent search for the nest, and offered half a rouble to any of 

 our men who should find one. Our interpreter laughed at us, and marched away into the tundra 

 with a ' c'est impossible, Monsieur.' We appealed to our Samoyede, who stroked his beardless 

 chin, and cautiously replied ' mozhna.' The other men wandered aimlessly up and down ; but 

 the Samoyede tramped the ground systematically, and after more than an hour's search found a 

 nest on one of the dry tussocky ridges intersecting the bog, containing four eggs about the size 

 and shape of those of the Golden Plover, but more like those of the Lapwing in colour. The 

 nest was a hollow, evidently scratched, perfectly round, somewhat deep, and containing a handful 

 of broken slender twigs and reindeer-moss. Harvie-Brown concealed himself as well as he 

 could behind a ridge to lay in wait for the bird returning to the nest, and after half an hour's 

 watching shot a veritable Grey Plover. Soon afterwards another of our men found a second 

 nest, also containing four eggs, in exactly a similar situation. Harvie-Brown took this nest also 

 in hand, and after about an hour succeeded in shooting the female. The third nest was found 

 by the Samoyede. This time I lay down behind a ridge some thirty yards from the nest, and 



