A BOTANICAL TRIP TO NORTH WALES IN JUNE 



Arthur H. Graves 



Connecticut College for Women 



After a winter's work in the botanical laboratory of the Royal 

 College of Science and Technology, London, I was glad to accept 

 an invitation to join the faculty and students of the department 

 in a trip to North Wales — a regular annual event in their curriculum. 



Leaving London early, June 4, we arrived at Llanberis, Wales, 

 at about sundown, in the heart of the mountain region and the 

 end of our railroad journey. From Llanberis it was a stage drive 

 of about five miles to our hotel, most appropriately named the 

 Gorphwyspha — which is Welsh for House of Rest — situated at 

 the head of the pass leading down into the Llanberis valley. 

 On either side, steep, apparently barren mountains rose above us; 

 and from our inn we could see the highest of them all, the giant 

 Snowdon, rising to an altitude of 3,750 feet, overtopping a host 

 of smaller peaks. Compared with our Rockies, or even our South- 

 ern Appalachians and White Mountains, this is no great elevation, 

 and yet it must be remembered that the region is so close to the 

 sea that this height is practically all sheer ascent. 



These Welsh mountains, with their bare, sharp peaks, narrow 

 ridges, and treeless slopes are most unlike our Southern Appa- 

 lachians with their rounded contours and forested slopes. One 

 could almost believe he were in the heart of the Alps if it were 

 not for the lack of perennial snows and glaciers. 



Although the geology of the region has not been fully worked 

 out, its main features are evident. The whole region, originally 

 submerged, was then overlaid with a stratum of Ordovician lime- 

 stone, which was subsequently more or less altered by igneous 

 intrusions. At present most of the limestone has been either 

 eroded or mingled with lava, felstones, and dikes of greenstones. 

 Consequently we find rocks containing various proportions of 

 lime, while Cambrian shales and slates also occur at the lower 

 altitudes. In general, the acid igneous rocks support little plant 



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