CHARACTERISTICS OF ALPINE PLANTS 57 



of the insects ! It is as though swords had been 

 turned into ploughshares ! 



But, fascinating as this subject is, and deserving 

 as it is of deep and lengthy study, we must pass on 

 to another characteristic, obviously less noticeable, 

 though none the less remarkable — the roots of 

 these Alpine wonders. In tlieir battle against the 

 fierce winds and excessive dryness, these plants 

 send roots down to astonishing depths — astonishing 

 when compared with what is to be seen of the 

 plants above ground. A little tuft or rosette of 

 leaves, the size round of a five-shilling piece, will 

 often have a system of roots extending a foot or 

 more down into the soil or into the depths of 

 some crevice in the rock, with ramifications in all 

 possible directions. Nor can this surprise us when 

 we come to study the conditions under which they 

 live the year round. These roots, gathering in the 

 moisture when and where they may, are the plants' 

 larders and store-rooms. Think of how many 

 months they spend in obliteration from the world. 

 Buried often for some nme months in the year 

 beneath the snow, they needs must have well- 

 stocked larders to draw upon. Often, even, it 

 may be some few years before they see the sun and 

 breathe the mountain air again. This, to some, 



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