A survey of the Phytogeography of the Arctic American Arcliipelago 147 
as wel] as fragments able to serve for vegetative propagation mixed among it. Now 
these masses of vegetable mutter lay on an iceblock from the tidal crack which 
was already floating and might soon be carried away; if it was stranded after a 
short drift, it could easily take the plantfragments to another shore, where the dry 
mass could be blown inland, but in a longer drift most probably all would come 
into the water. 
The seaice, however, certainly is of great importance for plantmigration in 
another way. About nine months of the year it bridges over raost of the chanuels 
between the islands and lies dry, covered by hardblown snow offering a smooth 
surface for the wind to sweep over and carry Hghter objects for any distance. 
During sledgejourneys I often saw small objects swept away over the snow at a 
rate that would have made it difficult enough to catch them, even if the dogs could 
have been left to their own devices, and the only objects I did get hold of in a 
few cases, were leaves of willows. Shebard Osborn, however, who travelled without 
dogs, seems to have better luck, as he says (Furth. Papers, p. 219): »I had occasion 
to-day to remark a phenomenon which had often called itself to mv notice; namely, 
the migratio.) of the seeds of plants, for dissemination would hardly serve to express 
the extraordinary passage of these seeds from one part to the other of the Arctic 
regions. I was not botanist enough to detect the different seeds I saw, fartherthan 
merely to distinguish those of the poppy, the wiUow, and the saxifrage. Throughout 
my journey, especially prior tho the end of May, I constantly observed these seeds 
passing over the surface of the frozen floe under the influence of the wind. In the 
centre of the Polar Straits, and, wether far off or close on shore, these little sohtary 
travellers would be seen frisking along in their own odd way, now rolling along 
over a smooth space, then lurking behind some hummock until a stronger eddy 
wind whisked them out; and anon flying along past us some feet above the fioe.» 
Doubtless this drift of seeds across the frozen straits has been of great impor- 
tance for the wandering of plants over the Archipelago, and the other means of 
dispersion which are to be thought of are of small account compared to it. Osboen 
also calls attention to another important point in the dissemination of the plants 
of the Archipelago, namely that they have their stånds of fruit above the snow, 
when in the early spring part of it is swept away by storm from large areas of 
vegetation-covered ground. As far as my own observations go the main part of 
the flora is fortned by »winterstanders» (Sernander, Spridningsbiol., p. 323). Only 
immediately after a heavy fall of snow practically all vegetation is covered, very 
soon the wind will uncover most of the plant-clad ground, and dispersion of seeds 
can take place during most part of the winter. My observations, indeed, have 
direct reference to Ellesmereland only, but I think they may be applied to the 
whole Archipelago. If the composition of the flora is examined from this point of 
view, it also shall be found to consist for far the largest part of plants adapted for 
spreading by means of wind. 1 have made a survey of the flora for this purpose 
and got the following figures: 
