ill Provence and /he Ccvenncs. .'>27 



drain off with rapidity, and hence the soil is dry, poor, and 

 shallow. The abrupt cliffs which mark this part of the 

 range form a noticeable contrast to the rounded, grass- 

 grown summits of the Maures. 



This region is protected from the cold north winds by 

 the Alps, but receives the warm Mediterranean breezes ; 

 and hence the climate is very mild, permitting the culture 

 of the olive and orange, as well as of the vine and 

 cereals. Wherever water is found in sufficient quantity, 

 pasture is practised very extensively ; but this is not 

 possible everywhere, and large areas are maintained under 

 forest. The vegetation differs very much from that of the 

 north of France. Here we find among the larger trees the 

 Aleppo pine and cluster pine (P. ijinaster), with the stone 

 pine {Finns ^7mea) growing occasionally near the sea ; 

 and among broad-leaved kinds we have the cork oak 

 {Q. sicber), which is not found elsewhere in France except 

 in the Eastern Pyrenees, the Spanish chestnut, which is 

 grown for the sake of its fruit, the pubescent variety of 

 Quercus sessili/lora, and more rarely the ash and maple 

 (Acer campestris) . Among shrubs there are the wild olive, 

 the dwarf oak, the juniper, the arborescent heather (Erica 

 arborea), the arbutus, oleander, broom, and others; while 

 among smaller plants may be mentioned the common heather 

 (Erica scoparia), myrtle, lavender, cactus, and cistus. 

 Chamcerops humilis and the date palm flourish in this 

 locality, and distinguish it botanically from the rest of 

 France. It is the region of conifers and of the cork oak, 

 the produce from the latter being exceedingly valuable, 

 and increasing in price every year. 



An omnibus met us at Cuers, and carried us some miles 

 on the road towards Collobrieres, where we were to pass 

 the night. We stopped for a few minutes at Pierrefeu to 

 look at the country. The village, which is built on granite 

 rocks forced up by volcanic action, overlooks an extremely 

 fertile cultivated plain, across which we saw, towards the 

 north, limestone mountains of the same formation as 

 those we were on the previous day, the plateaux and 

 steep scarps of which reminded us of the Jura ; while 

 towards the east and south the rounded tops of the 

 Vosges-like Maures were visible. The immerous spurs 



