A List of Plants Collected by the Cornell Party on the Peary Voyage of 1896

Abstract

THROUGH the generosity of Mr. E. G. Wyckoff it was arranged that a party of Cornell professors and students representing the geological department of the University should accompany Lieutenant Peary upon his trip to northwest Greenland during the summer of i896. The party was organized by Professor R. S. Tarr. At first he contemplated inviting a professional botanist to accompany him; but later, largely on account of the additional expense which this course would naturally cause, he decided to abandon this part of the enterprise and depend entirely upon his own assistants for the collection of botanical material. Considering that the main object of the expedition was geological rather than botanical study, the success from a botanical standpoint is surprising. In all about one hundred and thirty-five species and varieties of spermatophytes were collected, and the interesting series of specimens representing Brown's arctic willow (Salix Grwnlandica) gives positive testimony of the zeal and success with which the party studied the flora of the places where they stopped.' The collection from the Nugsuak peninsula is perhaps the most complete yet secured by an American expedition. The first collection was made at Turnavik island on the Labrador coast July 20th. Some collections were made at Big island along the northern shore of Hudson strait, and at White strait, Baffin's land, July 25th to 27th. Godhavn upon the island of Disco was visited August 2d and 3d, and finally the main collecting ground of the trip, the Nugsuak peninsula, situated in lat. 740 iS', was reached August 7th. There in three camping places the party remained until September 7th. Of