156 ALPINE FLOWERS AND GARDENS 



north-westerly gales are blowing from over the 

 Jura, with, possibly, a driving, blinding snow or 

 hail, it is not a particularly inviting spot to visit. 

 Under such conditions, only the Chough seems 

 happy, as, with a cheerful whistle, it hovers on the 

 brink of the precipice, and rises and falls in the 

 teeth of the tempest like some black Japanese 

 bird -kite. But even then we may be instructed ; 

 for we obtain a glimpse of the kind of weather- fury 

 which has so much to do with the making of 

 Alpines. 



Here, like the mice against which the gardener 

 wages grim warfare, the Iceland Poppy appears to 

 have found an ideal home. Eagerly it is invading 

 the rocky escarpments on every hand, and nothing 

 could be more charming than to see its pure orange, 

 yellow, or white blossoms consorting with those of 

 Anemone alpina, and nodding in the sunshine 

 against a background of distant Jungfrau, Eiger, 

 and Monch. Indeed, this Poppy is so thoroughly 

 happy on the Rochers de Naye that quantities 

 of it may be seen springing up even amongst 

 tlie weather-worn asphalt on the terraces and 

 balconies of the hotel. Primulas, too, were making 

 a brave show in the garden — as bright and brave a 

 show at the end of June as in the garden at the 



