21 
National Herbarium 
M. 0. Malte, Chief Botanist, made considerable progress during the 
early part of the year on the Flora of Arctic Canada. Several genera of 
plants were virtually monographed, numerous keys were worked out, and 
about seventy-five pages completed and typed and a considerable quantity 
of manuscript notes written. This work was begun in 1927, when the 
National Museum arranged for Mr. Malte Jo have the co-operation of the 
late Professor C. H. Ostenfeld, Director of the Botanic Garden of Copen- 
hagen, and considered the leading European authority on Arctic plants. 
The plan was to consolidate the knowledge of the flora of Arctic Canada 
now found in scattered publications and in the form of only partly or 
imperfectly described collections in various herbaria in Europe and North 
America, the same to form the first of a proposed series of works on floral 
provinces of Canada. This was to be a systematic work on the phanero- 
gamic flora (seed plants or flowering plants) of the Canadian Arctic 
archipelago and the mainland of North America from Hamilton inlet along 
the coast of Labrador to Ungava bay, thence to Richmond gulf, from 
Churchill to Mackenzie delta and thence along the Arctic coast about to 
Nome, Alaska, this line to coincide approximately with the northern limit 
of trees. Professor Ostenfeld worked intermittently, as his other duties 
permitted, until his untimely death on January 16, 1931, and made critical 
examination of the most important material in Ottawa, London, and in 
the Scandinavian countries. After the death of Professor Ostenfeld, the 
work was continued by Mr. Malte alone. The progress of the work was 
greatly aided by loans of Arctic plants from the Gray Herbarium, Cam- 
bridge, Mass.; The New York Botanical Garden, New York; The Danish 
Arctic Station, Godhavn, Greenland; the Botanical Division of the Govern- 
ment Museum, Stockholm, Sweden; and the Division of Botany, University 
of Lund, Sweden; and the National Herbarium collections were also greatly 
benefited by corrections in labelling made during the progress of the re- 
visionary work. 
Mr. Malte made three Arctic voyages in the prosecution of this work, 
accompanying the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1927 on S.S. Beothic 
from July 16 to September 4, visiting thirteen posts on Ellesmere, Devon, 
Baffin, Beechey, and Somerset islands and two posts on Hudson strait, 
collecting 3,778 sheets of herbarium specimens, of which 27 species were 
not previously recorded from Devon island, and 20 species were not prev- 
iously recorded from Baffin island. In 1928 he obtained passage on the 
Hudson’s Bay Company’s S.S. Nascopie from July 10 to September 10, and 
visited one post on Labrador coast, three on Hudson strait, four on Hudson 
bay, and two on Baffin island, collecting a total of 5,683 herbarium sheets. 
In 1933, the S.S. Nascopie was engaged to transport personnel and supplies 
for the Canadian Government to the eastern Arctic posts, and Mr. Malte 
accompanied the expedition visiting Lake Harbour (Baffin island), Port 
Burwell, Wakeham bay, and Sugluk (Hudson strait), and cape Smith and 
Port Harrison (on east side of Hudson bay), collecting 1,364 herbarium 
sheets between July 7 and August 5. Unfortunately, he was taken ill at 
Charlton island, James bay, and had to be sent home, being transferred 
to the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway at Moosonee, but died 
