292 
THE VOYAHE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
single stalks of the two species of umbellifera named above 
raise themselves here and there. The vegetation on this little 
island unites a very 
degree of luxuriance 
Of the higher animals we saw only four kinds of birds, viz. 
Fratercula cirrhata, a black guillemot ( Uria grylh var. colwmba), 
a species of cormorant (Phalocrocorax) and a sort of gull 
(Larus). Fratercula cirrhata lived here by millions. They 
haunted the upper plain, where they had everywhere excavated 
short, deep, and uncommonly broad passages to sleep in, provided 
with two openings. From these on our arrival they flew in large 
flocks to the neighbouring sea and back. Their number was 
nearly equal to that of looms in the Arctic loomeries. The 
black guillemots and cormorants kept to the cliffs near the 
shore. 
‘‘ The number of the evertebrate land animals amounted to 
about thirty species. The most numerous were Machilis, 
Vitrina, Lithobius, Talitrus, some Diptera and beetles. They all 
lived on the inner belt of the shore, where the ground was 
uncommonly damp.” 
Behring Island might without difficulty feed large herds of 
cattle, perhaps as numerous as the herds of sea-cows that 
formerly pastured on its shores. The sea-cow besides had chosen 
its pasture with discrimination, the sea there being, according to 
Dr. Kjellman, one of the richest in algse in the world. The 
sea-bottom is covered at favourably situated places by forests of 
seaweed from twenty to thirty metres high, which are so dense 
that the dredge could with difficulty force its way down into 
them, a circumstance which was much against the dredging. 
Certain of the algse are used by the natives as food. 
In the course of our journey to the hunting place we had an 
opportunity, during a rest about halfway between it and the 
village, of taking part in a very peculiar sort of fishing. The 
place where we rested was in an even grassy plain, resembling a 
natural meadow at home, crossed by a large number of small 
rivulets. They abounded in several different kinds of fish, 
among them a Coregonus, a small trout, a middle-sized long 
salmon with almost white flesh, though the colour of its skin 
uncommon poverty in species with a high 
