Geology and Natural History. 237 



unless they are, as they appear to be, dying-out remnants of a 

 typical arctic flora. I am thinking of the starved colony of 

 Graphephorum Fisheri Asa Gray (a grass), composed of about 

 twenty lifeless-looking individuals on Mabel Island, and not seen 

 elsewhere; and also of Stellar ia longipes and Goldie, which pre- 

 sents a similarly lifeless appearance. Of this two flowers only 

 were seen ; they were on Cape Neale. Even flower-buds were 

 not found elsewhere. The bald-leaved Cerastium makes no 

 attempt at flowering. A few other plants merely exist. Unless 

 the conditions improve, most of these plants will disappear ; not, 

 as in warmer climes, to be replaced by others, I fear, there being 

 already abundance of spare ground untenanted by any plant. It 

 is very remarkable that I should have found seedlings of the 

 poppy (P. nudieaule L.), the scurvy grass ( Cochlearia fenestrate*, 

 Br.), and Draba leptopetala Fr. This was quite unexpected, for I 

 know of nothing of the kind from similar latitudes. The anthers 

 and stigmas of the poppy, so far as I had time for observation, 

 were ripe at the same time. There are no insects which are likely 

 to have assisted in fertilization in this case ; but, as regards the 

 scurvy grass, my observations lead me to the conclusion that 

 diptera may occasionally assist, but at the same time they are 

 more certainly foes than friends, inasmuch as their larvae feed: 

 ravenously on the floral organs of this species. Seedlings of the 

 scurvy grass were found on Gully rocks and on Cape Flora, spar- 

 ingly. Those of the poppy were seen in one place on the latter 

 cape. Seedlings of the Dreiba were found on Cape Flora, but in 

 such limited quantity that they only occupied half a square inch. 

 I look upon this last rather as an accidental result. The case of 

 the poppy is a little stronger, and Cochlearia (scurvy grass) 

 probably increases to some extent by seed in most summers. All 

 attempts at solving the problem of the derivation of this flora 

 are purely theoretical. The depth of the sea between Novaya 

 Zemlia, Spitsbergen, and Franz Josef Archipelago only throws a 

 little light on the subject. Geology and ocean currents render 

 little service ; possibly the working out of the driftwoods may 

 throw some light on this obscure subject. 



A large number of specimens of driftwoods were collected, and 

 have been entrusted to Prof. Carr, M.A., F.G.S., F.L.S., of the 

 University College, Nottingham, for examination. Of all of these 

 numerous microscopical sections have been made, which will be 

 compared with similar sections of known woods from Siberia, 

 arctic Europe, and North America (prepared from specimens 

 kindly supplied by the director of Kew gardens, supplemented 

 by some in the Fisher collection in Nottingham Natural History 

 Museum from the Russian Empire, all of which are authenticated, 

 by Dr. Regel and Herder). These driftwoods are mainly conifer- 

 ous, but a few are non-coniferous, and it is hoped that the 

 exhaustive examination to which they will be subjected will prove 

 their identity and probable place of origin. The labor of collect- 

 ing and sledging these woods, many of which were huge trunks, 



