On Norton Sound and the Kwichpak River winter may be said to commence at the end of September, although the weather is not severe till the end of October. The first snow falls about the 20th or 25th of September. All the small ponds and lakes were frozen early in October. The Kwichpak was frozen solid about the 20th or 25th of this month. On the 1st of November the harbor at St. Michael’s was still open, but on the morning of the 4th it was frozen solid enough for sledges to cross on the ice. In December there were two thaws, one accompanied by rain for a day. The snow was about two feet deep at the end of the month. January was uniformly cold, and it was said that at a place sixty-five miles northeast of St. Michael’s the thermometer descended to 58° below zero. February was usually mild all over the country. In the middle of the month there was an extensive thaw, with showers of rain. About half the snow disappeared, leaving much of the ground bare. March was pleasant, without very cold weather. Its mean temperature was 20°; its minimum was 3° below zero. Spring commences on the Kwichpak the 1st of May, or a few days later, when the birds return and vegetation begins. The ice did not entirely disappear from the river till after the 20th of May. The sea-ice continued in the bay of St. Michael’s as late as 1st June. The summer temperature is much higher in the interior than on the coast. Parties travelling on the Kwichpak in June complained sometimes of heat. The river Yukon, which, flowing into the Kwichpak, helps to swell that stream, is navigable for at least four, if not five, months in the year. The thermometer at Fort Yukon is sometimes at 65° below zero of Fahrenheit, and for three months of a recent winter it stood at 50° below zero without variation. In summer it rises above 80° in the shade; but a hard frost occurs at times in August. The southwest wind brings warmth; the northeast wind brings cold. Some years, there is no rain for months; and then, again, showers alternate with sunshine. The snow packs hard at an average of two and a half feet deep. The ice is four or five feet thick; in a severe winter it is six feet thick. Life at Fort Yukon, under these rigors of Nature, although far from inviting, is not intolerable. Such is the climate of this extensive region, so far as known, along its coast, among its islands, and on its great rivers, from its southern limit to its most northern ice, with contrasts and varieties such as Milton describes:-- “For hot, cold, moist, and dry, four champions fierce, Strive here for mastery.” * * * * * 4. _Vegetable Products._--Vegetable products depend upon climate. They are determined by its laws. Therefore what has been already said upon the one prepares the way for the consideration of the other; and here we have the reports of navigators and the suggestions of science.