But in reality we are not left to theorise on the subject, for we have a well-authenticated case of one of those trees being got by Captain Belcher standing erect in the position in which it grew. It was found immediately to the northward of the narrow strait opening into Wellington Sound, in lat. 75° 32′ N. long. 92° W., and about a mile and a half inland. The tree was dug up out of the frozen ground, and along with it a portion of the soil which was immediately in contact with the roots. The whole was packed in canvas and brought to England. Near to the spot several knolls of peat mosses about nine inches in depth were found, containing the bones of the lemming in great numbers. The tree in question was examined by Sir William Hooker, who gave the following report concerning it, which bears out strongly the fact of its having grown _in situ_. “The piece of wood brought by Sir Edward Belcher from the shores of Wellington Channel belongs to a species of pine, probably to the _Pinus (Abies) alba_, the most northern conifer. The structure of the wood of the specimen brought home differs remarkably in its anatomical character from that of any other conifer with which I am acquainted. Each concentric ring (or annual growth) consists of two zones of tissue; one, the outer, that towards the circumference, is broader, of a pale colour, and consists of ordinary tubes of fibres of wood, marked with discs common to all coniferæ. These discs are usually opposite one another when more than one row of them occur in the direction of the length of the fibre; and, what is very unusual, present radiating lines from the central depression to the circumference. Secondly, the inner zone of each annual ring of wood is narrower, of a dark colour, and formed of more slender woody fibres, with thicker walls in proportion to their diameter. These tubes have few or no discs upon them, but are covered with spiral striæ, giving the appearance of each tube being formed of a twisted band. The above characters prevail in all parts of the wood, but are slightly modified in different rings. Thus the outer zone is broader in some than in others, the disc-bearing fibres of the outer zone are sometimes faintly marked with spiral striæ, and the spirally marked fibres of the inner zone sometimes bear discs. These appearances suggest the annual recurrence of some special cause that shall thus modify the first and last formed fibres of each year’s deposit, so that that first formed may differ in amount as well as in kind from that last formed; and the peculiar conditions of an arctic climate appear to afford an adequate solution. The inner, or first-formed zone, must be regarded as imperfectly developed, being deposited at a season when the functions of the plant are very intermittently exercised, and when a few short hours of sunshine are daily succeeded by many of extreme cold. As the season advances the sun’s heat and light are continuous during the greater part of the