COL. FEILDEN AND MB. GELD ART ON THE FLORA OF KOLGUEV. 171 
temperature in Kolguev are of a somewhat perfunctory nature, yet 
they may he compared with tho3e of our own country. At the 
Royal Botanic Society Gardens in London for 1895, we find that 
the mean temperature of the earth at six inches below the surface, 
during the months ot March and November, approximate very 
closely with the earth temperature of Kolguev at the same depth 
in duly. 
We have referred to the subject of earth temperature at the roots 
of flowering plants more as a suggestion, that fuller experiments be 
made on this interesting subject in frozen regions. It is evident 
that some species of plants can survive intense cold. For instance, 
at Floeberg Beach in Grinnell Land, where 7<» below zero of Fahr. 
was recorded, and 40 to 50° below zero was a common winter 
temperature, some twenty nine or thirty flowering plants exist. 
A covering mantle of snow as a protection does not seem to be 
necessary, for it is mentioned by Feilden that the pink mountain 
Saxifrage, S. oppusitifolia , growing on bare spots, entirely denuded 
of snow throughout the winter, blossomed luxuriantly on the return 
of summer. We cannot doubt that under such circumstances the 
roots as well as the leaves of these plants must be completely frozen 
during the winter; it would therefore be interesting to learn at 
what temperature the revivifying process takes effect. We all know 
how rapidly a dark surface absorbs the heat rays, and judging by 
the crude observations recorded from Kolguev, it is probable that 
in the Polar regions, the earth exposed to the sun’s heat may for 
some inches retain a temperature sufficiently high to enable the 
plant to fulfil its function of flowering, though the atmospheric 
temperature be much below freezing. 
The geological structure of Kolguev is of special interest, when 
taken into consideration with the flora. The island is composed 
entirely of sedimentary beds of glacio-marine origin, without any 
bottom or basement rock, of an older series, showing throughout 
its entire extent. Its geology has been described by Mr. Trevor- 
Battye,* and also by one of the writers, t and their determinations 
of its structure coincide with the map of the Russian Geological 
Survey, on which Kolguev is laid down as consisting of “marine 
boreal beds.” Though the distance of the island from the nearest 
part of the mainland of Russia is only fifty miles, and the soundings 
* Op. cit. pp. 392, 395. 
t Feilden, Q. J. G. S. bond. 1896. pp. 52 — 65. 
