894 JOTTINGS ON THE CLOVA MOUNTAINS. 
latter nearly so, in very large bunches, and very beautiful, exceedingly 
so, from their peculiar place and manner of growth. The former were 
the largest and finest I had ever seen. On descending the Capel above 
Bradooney, Tofieldia was found along the streams down almost to the 
base of the hills. 
Economizing of time in these mountain excursions is always a very 
important object of consideration, where distances are so deceiving, and 
travelling so fatiguing. The distance to lodgings being always consi- 
derable, much time is also unavoidably spent in travelling to and from 
the inns. To avoid this, several nights during the. above ramble were 
spent in the hill, “among the bonny blooming heather,” by which a 
saving of fully one-half the time was effected. Bivouacking by te side | 
of some huge boulder, we had no difficulty in starting at four o'clock, 
when, after breakfast, and any little preparation necessary, we started 
to work immediately, from four to five hours earlier than we could 
have done had we travelled from the inn ; this, with three or stone 
hours saved at night in the same way, was a very important addition 
to a day, and the time thus saved, being devoted to the"purpose of col- 
leeting instead of being wasted in a long and fatiguing walk to the 
inn, made one week as good as two. Our cooking operations were 
. exceedingly simple, and soon accomplished : a cup of coffee was the 
general beverage, prepared iu the course of fifteen minutes, whieh, with 
bread and butter, some fish, cheese, or cold meat, formed the usual "T 
past; then, rolled in our * Highland plaid," we were over to sleep 12 
a twinkling. We generally had a cup of coffee again about midnight, 
to warm us if we felt cold; and then slept soundly till four o'clock, 
when we got up and had breakfast. 
There is perhaps much less danger of catching cold in this way than 
at first might be imagined, or even than in travelling to an inn: z 
long walk of some six or eight miles will very likely throw one into 
such a state of heat and perspiration, that unless the clothes are carefully 
changed, one can scarcely avoid catching cold ; the sure remedy for 
which is another good sweat on the following day. A 
. In the above sketch little notice is taken of the more common alpine 
plants, unless to point out some circumstance illustrative of their dif- 
fusion or their habits, and none of the localities visited were at all 
thoroughly examined. Any one who has spent a day in the mountains 
can readily understand how little progress is made, especially if the 
