WHERE DO ' ALPINES " BEGIN ? 43 



that is my experience. And how does it get to 

 tliese regions ? What subterfuge does it employ in 

 order to accompany man upon such long journeys ? 

 Can it be the winds or the birds which aid it ? 

 It may be that its seeds travel with the peasant 

 and his cattle — on the boots, the clothing, and the 

 belongings of the former, or on the hoofs and in 

 the hairy coats of the latter. This method of 

 transport is by no means uncommon ; many a 

 plant now found in Britain is believed to have 

 come over vvith the Romans in some such fashion. 

 Any way, there it usually is, close beside the 

 peasant's dwelling, 6,000 to 7,000 feet, maybe, 

 above its ancient home. Perhaps, then, this is one 

 good reason why it has no recognized place among 

 the Alpine ' upper ten.' But why should not such 

 reasons as these debar the Globe Flower from 

 inclusion among the elect ? INIay not this plant 

 also (and, for that matter, many another plant) 

 have travelled upwards in some such fashion as 

 the Nettle? Who shall tell? With winds and 

 air-currents as violent and erratic as in Switzerland, 

 anything in the nature of seed distribution is 

 possible. But however that may be, it does not 

 appear to be a point which counts. The point 

 wliich appears to count, at any rate in the present 



