A Visit to Lapland. 377 



frosts appear inAugust,andby the 20th of September the birch 

 sheds its leaves, and by Michaelmas the first snow-storm 

 usually arrives. 



While in Quickiock, the ' c Old Bushman " was so fortunate 

 as to witness a migration of lemmings, and, as might be ex- 

 pected, he strips off a great many improbable particulars which 

 romancing travellers have been in the habit of adding by way 

 of illustration to the actual proceedings of these elegant little 

 animals. They usually journeyed by night, did very little 

 harm, and were not in the habit of climbing walls or entering 

 buildings of any kind. 



As a book for general reading, the Spring and Summer 

 in Lapland will be found one of the pleasantest of the season. 

 Its author has a strong, native faculty for seeing and describing, 

 and is so happily ignorant of the mere craft of bookmaking, 

 that his pages are as far removed from commonplace as the 

 genuine products of the Lapland fells. It is, however, as an 

 ornithologist that he will be most appreciated by scientific men, 

 and his chapters on these subjects are filled with original obser- 

 vations that evince an earnest desire for truth as well as unusual 

 aptitude for this species of research. We shall give only one 

 extract from this part of his work, but those who seek its pages 

 for themselves will find abundance of material that is important 

 and new. Our closing citation relates to the disputed question 

 of the moulting of the ptarmigan. It runs as follows ; — 



" The question now arises, how many times can the ptar- 

 migan be said really to moult in the course of a year ? I 

 don't mean change colour, for a change seems to be going on 

 all through the summer, but actually to moult. . . It is quite 

 clear to me that the change from the pure white winter dress 

 to the mottled plumage of spring is an actual moult, and no 

 change in the colouring of the feathers ; for in all the specimens 

 I obtained from the middle of April to the end of May, the 

 variegated mottled feathers were to be seen, of all sizes, shoot- 

 ing out from the skin, with blood shafts among and under the 

 white feathers in all parts of the body, some very small aud 

 quite hidden by the white plumage, others full grown and 

 occupying patches on the white ground. In not one of these 

 specimens killed at this time could I observe the slightest in- 

 dication of a white feather gradually changing colour." The 

 autumn dress he considers also the result of a perfect moult, as 

 he observed a growth of new feathers late in July and early in 

 August, aud he likewise considers the change from the blue 

 dress of autumn to the white one of winter another moult, this 

 making three moults between April and November. This 

 opinion he gives advisedly, but states that he shall be willing 

 to change it, if evidence appears that he is wrong. 



