132 ALPINE VEGETATION. 
tinction, that the features constituting the region are to be 
met with in all Alpine floras, but those of the sub-region are 
limited to a solitary one. Wahlenberg divides Lapland into 
six Alpine regions, with 3,300 feet of direct elevation. The 
three first of these belong to the Region of Woods, but they 
are classed by him as the lower region. of forests, upper 
region of forests, and the region of pines; the whole only 
extending through 1,200 feet. The distinction may be ne- 
cessary for this locality, but will not apply to others. 
It is, perhaps, a little singular that the division of the 
regions adopted by Humboldt for Teneriffe, though the 
earliest devised, should correspond so closely with the views 
lentertain. — His third zone of pines has only to be united 
to the second of laurels and other trees, and the few crypto- 
gamic plants at the limits of vegetation to be erected into a 
distinct region, and the division will become natural and 
complete. Here, also, in his fifth region, he admits the. pre-. 
valence of grasses and the characters they impose. 
The island of Madeira is so much a place of call for ves- 
sels bound to all parts of the world, that many botanists have 
had the opportunity of examining its vegetation. Spix an 
Martius assign it four Alpine regions: that of tropical plants 
—of the vine, fruit, and corn—of woods—and of broom and 
heath. Kuhl has as many as five regions; for he considers 
the broom and heath to be distinct, though he says that the 
broom appears even on the highest part of the island. The 
two first regions of these authorities are, in fact, only one; 
and the propriety of considering them as sub-regions is ques- 
tionable, for the vine commences at the sea-shore, and 
ntia vulgaris ascends nearly as high as the vine. Ma- 
deira, in reality, contains only three Alpine regions, and its al- 
titude does not. admit of more: nor can 1 see grounds for 
any subsequent division. These are: ‘Ist, the Region 0 
Lowland Cultivation, which extends from the sea-shore fo 
2,100 feet, and is a well defined region ; 2nd, the Region of 
Woods, which attains to 3,000 feet, and is composed chiefly 
of chestnuts and laurels; 3rd, the Region of Shrubs, ceasing 
