PREFACE XV 



over six weeks, when we never met a man or woman away from the 

 stations, although we were out ten to twelve hours every day. Of 

 course it must be understood I do not include in this statement the 

 area within a mile of the town of Kola. Generally speaking, the land 

 produces nothing of value but reindeer-moss, and what little food 

 man obtains consists chiefly of fish from the lakes and rivers, supple- 

 mented by the surplus stock of his reindeer. The most notable 

 exception is the Pechenga district, where fairly good grass meadows 

 exist round the fjord, and support a number of cattle. The valley 

 beyond the fjord is favoured with better soil and climate ; and large 

 trees were plentiful, as the stumps testified, before the monks cut 

 down so many for building the monastery. A little grass also grows 

 about the town of Kola, providing food for about a dozen cows and a 

 few horses ; but after leaving Kola we did not see an acre of grass in 

 the whole sixty- nine versts to Pulozero. 



All the land in the valley through which the Kola river flows 

 appears to be poor sandy detritus with occasional patches of glacial 

 clay, both almost entirely devoid of humus. This poverty of the soil 

 explains not only the absence of grass but also the poorness of the 

 trees, for although the whole valleys and lower hills are covered with 

 birch, pine, and spruce, very little of the wood can be called timber, 

 and trees large enough to cut into seven-inch planks are often a mile 

 apart. In fact, the country deteriorates rapidly as one proceeds from 

 the north-west towards the east and south-east ; and more than half 

 the peninsula produces nothing beyond birch-scrub and reindeer- 

 moss. Consequently that part is deserted by Russians, and inhabited 

 only by Lapps and other inferior races. 



It seems clear, from my experience and that of Mr. Witherby, that 

 the number of birds of many species breeding in this country varies 

 greatly in different seasons ; but the cause of this is not so apparent. 

 The weather is certainly not always the reason ; for instance, Mr. 

 Witherby came across a number of Bar-tailed God wits — sometimes 

 two or three pairs in one marsh, while we only saw two pairs in the 



