78 
thing among the rocks resembling soil?) 
is somewhat fertilized by the putrefied 
lichens ^ and dung of wild birds. 
No fountains, or springs of fresh water, 
are to be found here ; frost arrests the 
watery fluid in its course, and prevents 
it from ascending to the surface. The 
cascades falling from the glaciers, are 
solely formed of melted snow, and with 
this only the navigators can be supplied. 
This inhospitable climate is not en¬ 
tirely destitute of vegetation; some 
plants are found, which bear the rigour 
of perpetual frost, and convey some faint 
representation of a more southern coun¬ 
try. They are generally short, crab¬ 
bed, and have a wretched appearance. 
The Salix herbacea , (dwarf willow,) the 
most vigorous of them all, scarcely rises 
two inches from the ground. Among 
the few herbs, the Coclilearia , (scurvy 
grass,) deserves the first rank, as being 
the providential resource of distempered 
