19-2 



.fOUENAL OF liOETICUL'tUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ Febraarj 29, 1872. 



prune uor trim it too much. Tie it iu a little if it project 

 too far, but iu the summer dressing leave a number of the 

 shoots at theu" full length, otherwise, in all probabilitj', there 

 •will be no blossom, as it is all at the points, or what botanists 

 call terminal. — J. Eoesox. 



A SOJOUEN IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND. 



(Continned from page 127.) 

 The morning of the eighth clay was again gloriously fine 

 and we determined to devote it to the valley of the Loehart. 

 This valley or glen is rather narrow, and the sides of the 

 mountains are not so well wooded as those of the Lochaj". 

 Our main object was to hunt for varieties of Blcchnum and 

 Lastrea montana, of both which there was plenty ; and we 

 Boon discovered a fine patch of the rare Blechnum S. hetero- 

 phyllum. This plant, as previously found, has been soUtai-y, 

 but here it had a sporatlic character. We gathered some 

 twenty or thirty plants, and left several for the next ad- 

 venturers. After some time we took to the sides of the moun- 

 tain, and there found the CaUuna vulgaris, vaiiety dumosa, 

 with many other interesting plants, but which we cannot stop 

 to notice. 



The next two days were spent in an excursion and journey 

 to Ben Lawers. The morning of the eleventh day we rose 

 early. The clouds rested sleepUy on the lower shoulders of 

 the mighty Ben, not more than 1000 feet above the base ; but 

 we felt confident they would rise as the day advanced, and ac- 

 cordingly commenced the ascent by a route which, the day 

 before, we had laid down as most eUgible. Following one of 

 the fences which run up the base of the mountain, we came 

 upon a fine form of Blechnum near the B. caudatum of Moore, 

 which was a good find of ouis, in North Wales, some years 

 ago. In this the Cauda, or tail, was very blimt, therefore 

 B. obtusicaudatum woidd be a more appropriate name. Then we 

 came upon a fine patch of the^Miite Mother Thyme (Thymus 

 SeiTyllum album). Well, up and up we go, and now we win the 

 first shoulder of the mountain, and are fairly among the 

 heather ; but where are the clouds which rested here when we 

 were at the foot of the moimtain? They, too, have been 

 creepmg slowly up the mountain, and are stiU 700 feet above 

 us. Higher and higher we go, and at eveiy step we gain upon 

 the clouds. It was not tUl we touched the base of the rock- 

 crowned summit of the mighty Ben that we fairly encoimtered 

 the fleecy vapours ; but, oh ! how delicious was the atmosphere 

 — so soft, so pure, so wann and genial, that it was mildness 

 itself ! It was the most delicious cloud bath, and the greatest 

 atmospheric luxury that wo ever enjoyed. These clouds were 

 not of equal density — some were thick and floccirleut, others 

 til in and attenuated, so that we had occasional gUmpses of high 

 and steep chffs of mighty rugged masses of rocks, assuming ; 

 all sorts of gigantic forms. By the occasional thinning of the 

 clouds here and there we w-ere enabled to make om- way 

 slowly up among the rocky heaps and steep cliffs. 



As soon as we came to the rocks our astonishment and 

 gi'atification began— we were in another world. The rocks 

 Cmicaceous schist l showed an endless vaiiity of distribution, 

 fonn, and contour, and the surface of the ground imd steep 

 face of some of the chffs were Uterally carpeted with the Alpine 

 Lady's Mantle (AlchemiUa alpina) over large areas. It was 

 impossible to set down a foot without treading on this moim- 

 tain gem. The upper sm-face of the leaves w-as a brilliant 

 green, the under a sUiny sUvery satin. We almost shuddered 

 at trampling under foot such beautiful verdure. Interspersed 

 with the AlchemUla there was the stUl more rare Sibbaldia 

 procumbeus, and here and there dense silvery tufts of the 

 dwarf Alpine Cudweed, Guaphalium supinum. Up in the cliffs 

 there were fine hoary masses of the Alpine Mouse-ear Chick- 

 weed (C'erastium alpinum), and, as the numerous hairs which 

 clothe the whole plant were each terminated with a minute 

 dewdj'op derived from its cloud bath, it seemed almost hke a 

 mass of snow. Late as the season was, severiil of the plants 

 high up among the rocky cliffs showed their large snow-white 

 flowers. Its congener, the rai-e Cerastium latifohum, matted 

 many of the little shelves among the rocks. The Alpine 

 Meadow Eue (Thahctrum alpinum) was creeping among the 

 Moss here and there, and showing its tiny Feru-like foUage, 

 humble it is tnie, but not less beautiful on that account. Long 

 lines of the Arctic WUlow (Salis herbacea) , not more than 1 inch 

 in height, ran along the clefts of the rocks. There were large 

 bimks and patches of the little Moss Campion (Sileuc acaulis), 

 its dense foliage packed so close together as to present the 



aspect of a mossy cushion ; when in flower it is a vegetable 

 gem of the first order. A companion to this, and imitating it 

 in its mode of growth, but with still smaller foliage and more 

 closely-packed shoots, was the Mossj' C^-phel (Cherleria sed- 

 oides). As this was the first time we had seen this modest 

 gem in its native home, and we believe almost its only British 

 home, we were iu an ecstacy of delight ; but not this plant 

 alone, but the multitude of others, now seen for the first time, 

 yielded us many pleasmes, and a new joy at almost every step, 

 and we were kept in a constant thrill of astonislunent and 

 delight. Our si)irits were exhilarated beyond measiu'e ; we 

 were almost young again, giddy as a giii and buoyant as a 

 youth let loose from school. It was impossible to feel hunger, 

 j thirst, or fatigue ; the wading thi'ough miles of heather up the 

 mountain's brow was nothing, and all our toils and difficulties 

 were forgotten ; and not a breath of au- distm'bed the delicately 

 poised Bent-gi'ass. The silence was deep and profound, save tke 

 faint murmur of a mountain stream, and the occasional distant 

 croak of a raven. The only things which seemed to move were 

 ourselves and the ever- varying clouds above, below, and around 

 us, and we cared not for them so long as they retidned theti- 

 vaporous form. We were in the finest and the rarest alpine 

 garden iu Britain ; we were very probably, though mei'e neo- 

 phytes, treading in the steps of the botanists of old — Light- 

 foot, Don, Graham, Hooker, Brown, GreviUe, and a host of 

 other worthies, who have made Ben Lawers renowned the 

 world over. 



We aecended higher and higher as the clouds permitted us to 

 have glimpses of our course — zigzaging, now this way and 

 then that ; several times fancying we could see the summit, 

 but when that was attained there was another point stUl higher ; 

 but as we rose the clouds became thinner, and by-and-by we 

 left them below and stood on the top in a clear atmosphere. 

 The vegetation near the top is very scanty, and the rare plants. 

 Mosses and Lichens ; of the latter Lechanoras, Paimehas, and 

 Gyrophoras w-ere plentiful. But the one most interesting to 

 us was the Soleiina ochracea — seen for the first time. It is 

 very striking, covering the loose stones with its leathery green 

 rosettes, the imder surfaces of which ai'e of a rich golden hue. 

 As we stood on the highest ridge we wished for at least one 

 peep at the nether world, and waited for some time ; but no, 

 the fleecy masses, though occasiouallj- thin, continued to ob- 

 scure all beneath them. Once, and once only, through a nearly 

 round hole in the clouds we got a glimpse of Loch Cat, on the 

 eastern flank of the mountain. Passing slowiy and cautiously 

 down the western cliffs we came upon a depression or shght 

 ravine — " conies " they are called iu Scotland, and here the 

 rare alpines were in rich jirofusiou. The beautiful reticulated 

 WlUow (Salix reticulata) was very fine ; the Saxifraga opposi- 

 tifolia and mirahs were abund.ant ; and here we found what 

 we had been long looking for — the vegetable gem of Ben Lawers 

 — the Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris). We are told 

 by good authorities that, when this plant is in flower, it is 

 worth a journey to Scotland to see it, as th^ size and brilliant 

 amethystine blue of its flowers gathered into compact heads, 

 and the neatness of its foUage, render it one of the most beautiful 

 of all alpines. When in flower it may be easily foimd, but now 

 it requh-es to be looked for. It was nestling among the damp 

 moss, on ledges of the rocks, among other rare denizens of this 

 alpine gar'den ; there also were found, iu plenty, Polystichiun 

 Bonchitis, Pseudathyiium alpestre, and Lastrea dilatata alpina ; 

 also the companions to the exquisite Myosotis alpestris, the 

 alpiue Veronica, and Alphie Willoiv Herb {Ej)ilobinm al- 

 pinum). 



We lingered long on this channing spot. The evening was 

 drawing on, and we had to make a precipitate retreat. It 

 was nearly ten o'clock when we reached our quarters. — {Ex- 

 tniitfd fro:' ?Jr. Staiisjield's notes read Vcfore the Todmorden 

 Botunical Socictij.) 



(To be c^utiuued.) 



SHOWING VEGETABLES. 

 I AJi quite delighted to see vegetables taking the places 

 w'hich belong to them, although they are not so' inviting as 

 the beautiful Orchids and Eoses, nor yet so luscious as Eoyal 

 George Peaches, or the good old Hamburgh Grapes. Never- 

 theless, when we come to nsefulness and health combined, 

 I think your readers \vill agree with me wiien I say they are 

 not to be placed beneath anything. Vegetable-showing is iu 

 its infancy, and I think proper regulations should at once be 

 adopted to the satisfaction of all exhibitors, and if I may pre- 



