A 8urvey of the Phytogeography of the Arctic American Archipelago 151 
every island exarained in suinmer time. That Isachsen was not able to find even 
a single teiitplace or foxtrap iii the Ringnes Islands may be accounted for by the 
covering of snow, liiding everythiiig at the time of his visit there, perhaps also 
these very low Islands may have beeii for the largest part still covered by the sea 
during the time of eskiino-habitation in the north. 
Now plants do not be of any importance in the ecojiomy of the eskimos, as 
their food as well as the materials for their clothing are almost entireiy derived from 
animals. They are, however, in the habit of eating roots of several plants, and 
berries. They latter may sometimes even be stored for use in winter and then 
transported from one camping place to another. Possibly Rubus Chamcemorus is 
thus brought over to King William Land, and perhaps the eskimos have also contri- 
buted to the dispersion over the Archipelago of the other species with fleshy fruit. 
It may also be mentioned that they can occasionally have helped to spread other 
plants in the same manner as they carnivorse may do, in kilhng herbivorons 
animals and transporting the undigested contents of their intestines, as for instance 
the contents of the rumen of the reindeer is a highly priced food among them. 
Moreover they use moss as a substitute of a wick in their blubberlamps and put dry 
grass in their boots and mittens. 
Decidedly, however, the eskimos have not had any marked influence on the 
composition of the flora, and not even a single species is restricted to their plaees 
of liabitation, even if some seem to prefer the manured soil of the old villages and 
summer camps, which are often visible from afar as briUiantly green patches in 
the surrounding diill gray or brown that is the prevalent hue of the arctic land- 
scape. The plants growing there are generally found equally thriving in the breeding- 
places of seafowl, and are more or less commonly distributed in other localities 
also. The whalers and the exploring expeditions certainly have introduced some 
seeds to their places of resort and wiiitering stations, hut in no single instance 
a species thas imported has been able to hold its ground; no notes exist about 
such an occurrenoe of southern species, but it is hardly to be doubted that it has 
taken place here as well as in other arctic lands. The plants, however, generally 
become efemerophytes, mere casual guests. 
Ohanges of level and climate, and their influence on the flora. As 
stated at the beginning of this chapter, the composition of the flora of the Arctic 
Archipelago and the range of its species speak in favour of looking upou it as 
postglacially arrived to its present area. We have now to see how far the geological 
evidence corresponds with such a view. All authors about the quaternary history of 
America agree, as far as I have been able to find out, in one point at least, namely 
in taking as proved a very considerable upheaval of the northern portion of the 
North American Continent, some also, for instance Leconte, Crit. Periods, express 
the opinion that this uphft extended along the western side so far as to unite the 
two Americas, separate up to that time. Besides the reasons for this view, advanced 
