306 



4 



Praynlm do JS'orte. The only other island examined botanically 

 was Terceira; but this visit was confined to a single ascent of 

 Santa Barbara, the principal summit. 



Two ascents were made to the summit of Pico, 7613 ft. above 



the sea, namely, on April 1st, 1913, and on July 16th, 1914; 



whilst several ascents to altitudes of between 5000 and 6000 ft. 



were carried out on the north, east, south, and west sides of the 



pealv; and, in addition, numbers of excursions were made on the 



lower slopes. A word may be said here on the best plan of 



exploring the mountain. The usual route to the summit from 



Magdalena by the Serra, past the Lomba, and up the south-west 



side of the peak is the worst that could be chosen by the botanist, 



since it does not bring him in contact with the upper woods. The 



constant employment of this route has been unfortunate for the 



botanical exploration of the mountain, and largely explains how 



it came about that it was left for the author to be the first to 



discover one of the most interesting plants in the Azorean flora 



in the form of Arceuthohium oxycedri^ a parasite on the Juniper 



all round the mountain. The best plan is to examine the southern 



slopes from San Mattheus, whence an ascent to the summit and 



back can be easily made in a day, the western elopes from 



Magdalena, and the northern slopes from Bandeiras and Caes-o- 



' Pico ; wliilst the easiest way to explore the eastern and especially 



the south-eastern slopes, where the upper woods attain their 



greatest development, is to avail oneself of a house used as a 



creamery and situate about 2500 ft. above the sea in the middle 



of the island's breadth between Caes-o-Pico and San Joao. The 



author's experience of a tent on the upper slopes is not such as 



would lead him to recommend its use to others. Though summer 



is naturally the most appropriate season, much can be done by the 



botanist on Pico in the winter months, since the woods are of 



' evergreen shrubs and trees, and tlie iower snow-limit encroaches 



but slightly on the wood-zone. 



If one excepts the Hochstetters in 1838, but few botanists seem 

 to have made a prolonged stay on the mountain. Watson accom- 

 panied tlie surveying party from H,M,S, Styx to the summit in 

 1842 and made one or two lesser ascents. Trelease gives no idea 

 of the length of liis stay on Pico during his visits to the group 

 in the summers of 1894 and 1896. Watson, who hardly mentions 

 the subject of the vertical range of the plants on Pico in his mono- 

 graph in Godman's book on the Azores, gives some particulars in 

 a paper in the London Journal of Botany for 1843, but he expressly 

 states that the conditions did not allow him to obtain exact 

 information on the subject. Trelease does not allude to the 

 matter. The author was therefore surprised to find that excellent 

 accounts of the verHcal distribution of plants on Pico are to be 

 found in the writings of Seubert (1844), C. Hochstetter (1843), 

 and Morelet (1860), and that Drouet (1866) gave many details of 

 importance. Morelet and IJrouet were two French zoologists who 

 spent four or five months in the group in the summer of 1857 and 

 were both much interested in the plants. The first-named made the 

 ascent of the peak; but the latter's strength failed him, and he 

 turned hack when about half way up the mountain. However, it 



