CHAPTER XI 



AN ASCENT OF MONT VENTOUX 



THANKS to its isolated position, which 

 leaves it freely exposed on every side 

 to atmospheric influence; thanks also to its 

 height, which makes it the topmost point of 

 France within the frontiers of either the Alps 

 or Pyrenees, our bare Provencal mountain, 

 Mont Ventoux, lends itself remarkably well 

 to the study of the climatic distribution of 

 plants. At its base the tender olive thrives, 

 with all that multitude of semiligneous plants, 

 such as the thyme, whose aromatic fragrance 

 calls for the sun of the Mediterranean re- 

 gions; on the summit, mantled with snov/ for 

 at least half the year, the ground is covered 

 with a northern flora, borrowed to some ex- 

 tent from arctic shores. Half a day's jour- 

 ney in an upward direction brings before our 

 eyes a succession of the chief vegetable types 

 which we should find in the course of a long 

 voyage from south to north along the same 

 meridian. At the start, your feet tread the 

 scented tufts of the thyme that forms a con- 



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