44 
heights, throughout the whole group of islands. But this submersion 
must have occurred anterior to the period when pine forests clothed the 
sandy shores, remains of such forests now occupying positions at least 100 
feet above the level of high tide." 'According to the geological map of the 
Arctic Regions published in the same work, the Northern portion of 
Melville Island above latitude 76° consists of carboniferous limestone, and 
the remainder of the island of carboniferous sandstone with beds of coal. 
Iron-stone, coal, and brown hematite were found along the south coast by 
McClintock. 
As the ground in these high latitudes is seldom without a covering of 
snow, and the sun is absent from the sky for a period of nearly 100 days 
every winter, it might naturally be expected that a very small number of 
flowering plants could exist under such unfavourable circumstances. I 
was therefore rather surprised to find that nearly sixty species have been 
brought home from Melville Island alone, and that including mosses, 
lichens, &c. , the number is increased to upwards of one hundred. My 
collection, which consists exclusively of Dicotyledonous plants, contains 
forty-three species, viz. : 
Ranunculus nivalis, Lin. ' *Saxifraga cernua Lin. 
„ var sulphnreus, Soland *Chrysosplenium alternifolium Lin. 
Papaver nudicaule Lin. Dryas integrifolia Br. 
Draba alpina Lin. Potentiila pulchella Br. 
,, androsacea Wahlbg. ,, nivea Lin. 
Cochlearia fenestrata, Brown. *Astragalus alpinus, Lin. 
Oxytropis arctica, Br. 
Epilobium latif olium, Lin. 
Cineraria congesta, Br. 
Antennaria alpina, Br. 
Erigeron uniflorum, Lin. 
Pyrethrum alpinum. 
Campanula uniflora, Lin. (?) 
Andromeda tetragona, Lin. 
Ledum palustre, Lin. 
*Loisleuria procumbeus, De's. 
Pedicularis arctica, Br. 
Armeria maritima, Lin. 
* Polygonum viviparum, Lin. 
*Oxyria digyna, Cas. 
Salix arctica, Lin. 
Onosma micrantha (?) 
Parraya arctica, Brown 
Cardamine, sp. ? 
Lychnis apetala, Lin. 
*$ilene acaulis, Lin. 
*Cerastium alpinum, Lin. 
Stellaria Edwardsii, Brown 
*Arenaria rubella, Wahl. 
A Rossii, Brown 
*Saxifraga oppositifolia, Lin. 
* „ Hirculus, Lin. (?) 
„ flagellaris, St. 
tricuspidata, Rottb. 
* „ rivularis, Lin. 
* „ caespitosa, Lin. 
* „ nivalis, Lin. 
„ Sp. ? 
