THE BIRDS OF JAN MAYEN ISLAND. 5 



were found tufts in full bloom. Among the plants recognised 

 were Rumex digynus, Saxifraga tricuspidata and oppositifolia, 

 Arenaria peploides, Silene acaulis, and Draba verna. Near the 

 sea-shore the burrows of Foxes were seen, and traces of their 

 feet below high-water mark, but none of these animals were met 

 with. The feet-marks of White Bears, and probably of Keindeer, 

 were also perceptible. The birds were not so numerous as 

 Scoresby anticipated. He saw Glaucous Gulls, Fulmars, 

 Puffins, Guillemots, Little Auks, Kittiwakes, and Terns ; several 

 cetaceous animals, principally of the species Balcena physalis, 

 but no Mysticetae. 



On the 4th of August, 1817, all the highlands were covered 

 with snow and ice, and the lowlands — in whose valleys and 

 deep cavities large beds of snow had been collected — still 

 retained part of their winter covering down to the very border of 

 the sea. 



It now remains to say a few words regarding the experiences 

 of the Austro-Hungarian Expedition, which spent thirteen 

 months on this inhospitable island. The following particulars 

 have been culled from the ' Proceedings of the Royal Geographical 

 Society ' for the years 1883 — 5 : — The party consisted of fourteen 

 persons, under the command of Lieut. Emil von Wohlemuth, of 

 the Imperial and Royal Navy, two other naval officers, Dr. 

 Fischer, to whom we are indebted for this valuable contribution 

 to Arctic Ornithology, and fourteen sailors. The Expedition 

 embarked in the war-steamer * Pola,' and left Pola on the 2nd of 

 April, 1882. Owing to the large amount of ice encircling Jan 

 Mayen in the spring of that year, the first attempt to land the 

 party proved unsuccessful; but on the second attempt the 

 Expedition was safely landed on the 13th of July, 1882. The 

 position of the observatory and station was in 70° 59' N. lat. and 

 8° 28' W. long. Among the experiences of the winter the most 

 remarkable were the violent northerly storms. Snow began to 

 fall heavily in the latter part of August, but the cold was not 

 severe until November, In December the island was surrounded 

 on all sides by ice, and in January the cold reached 25*6° below 

 zero of Fahrenheit. The temperature was less severe than was 

 expected, but the storms were terrific : the waves washed over all 

 the lower-lying parts of the coast, and carried drift-wood and loose 

 blocks of ice far inland, great ice-masses being cast up and 



b 2 



