THE VEGETATION. 
so;; 
plants with, their adherent molluscous life. It is rarely 
* or never seen in the interior, and from its habits may 
be regarded as singularly indicative of open water. 
The flocks of this bird, easily distinguished by their 
wedge-shaped line of flight, now crossed the water 
obliquely, and disappeared over the land to the north 
and east. I had shot these birds on the coast of Wel¬ 
lington Channel in latitude 74° '50', nearly six de¬ 
grees to the south: they were then flying in the same 
direction. 
The rocks on shore were crowded with sea-swal¬ 
lows, (Sterna Arctica,) birds whose habits require open 
water, and they were already breeding. 
It may interest others besides the naturalist to state, 
that all of these birds occupied the southern limits of 
the channel for the first few miles after reaching open 
water, but, as the party continued their .progress to the 
north, they disappeared, and marine birds took their 
place. The gulls were now represented by no less 
than four species. The kittiwakes (Larus tridac- 
tylis )—reminding Morton of “old times in Baffin’s 
Bay”—were again stealing fish from the water, pro¬ 
bably the small whiting, (Merlangus Polaris,) and their 
grim cousins, the burgomasters, enjoying the dinner 
thus provided at so little cost to themselves. It was 
a picture of life all round. 
Of the flora and its indications I can say but little; 
still less can I feel justified in drawing from them any 
thermal inferences. The season was too early for a 
display of Arctic vegetation; and, in the absence of 
