under which the material is broiight together in many cases, the hardships always 
connecteri with the expeditions of elder times, and especially with sledge- and 
boatjoiiriieys, and not, in regretting tlie gaps left in our knowledge, forget the 
admiralion and thankfulness due to the zeal of the men who, under adverse condi- 
tions of many kinds, have brought together the stock of information we now possess. 
I will try to do them justice in the following, and I think it adviseable also from 
other points of view to put together a short review of the exploration of the Arctic 
American Archipelago before I enter upon the treatment of its phytogeographical 
features. 
