PREFACE 



" When the book of hfe falls open at the page of spring," 

 the snow-crowned mountains rule over an enchanting land 

 of foliage, ferns and fungi, and the alpine meadows are 

 ablaze with bright-hued flowers that grow luxuriantly be- 

 neath the broad blue tent of the sky. 



Held close in the curved arms of the cliffs, the patches of 

 verdure, starred with these wondrous-tinted blossoms, are 

 a revelation to the traveller. From the mountains of the 

 Yukon and Alaska to the hills of Nova Scotia and New 

 England, in the Rockies, the Selkirks and the mountain 

 ranges of Montana, Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Cali- 

 fornia and other States, you will find that the same miracle 

 has been wrought. On the lower levels white-flowered, 

 scarlet-fruited shrubs mingle with the Wintergreens, Lark- 

 spurs, Violets and Columbines ; flaming Indian Paint 

 Brushes, Gentians, Queen-cups and purple Vetches cover 

 many a slope; here a valley is carpeted with yellow Lilies, 

 Gaillardias, Arnicas and Golden-rods — a glorious Field- 

 of-the-Cloth-of-Gold — and there some mossy plateau is 

 gay with arctic-alpine Androsaces, Stonecrops, Everlastings 

 and the trailing vines of the sweet-scented Northern Twin- 

 flowers ; while in the crannies among the rocks Moss Cam- 

 pions, Romanzoflias and Saxifrages find a foothold; and 

 down beside the ice-born streams grow beds of Wild Pars- 

 ley, Water Willow Herb, Musk Flower, Lobelia and Ladies' 

 Tresses. 



