126 THE MOUNTAIN. 



which, although of the same general character, 

 varied greatly in its details. At times we had 

 before us a broad expanse of water, fringed to the 

 edge with green turf; then we lost sight of the 

 lake entirely, having a thick wood on our right; 

 and on the left, sometimes a valley running far 

 away among the hills, then a deep mass of foliage, 

 and now an escarpment of rocks, richly coloured 

 with many flowering plants and mosses. Among 

 the latter, one of the most beautiful was the 

 Alpine Thread-moss,* the tufts of which resemble 

 cushions of the most brilliant purple velvet. The 

 season for the flowering of the Hawthorn had end- 

 ed in the plains, but here every tree was in full 

 bloom. 



" Soft spring had burst its buds, and summer now 

 Deckt with sweet garniture each Hawthorn bough. 

 Hung high in air the Birch in tassell'd pride, 

 Clasping with tangled roots the rock's grey side." 



Among the plants which we found to-day, not 

 the least curious were two mosses, the Splachnum 

 mnioides, and sphcericum, producing seed most 

 abundantly. They choose to grow on the mould- 

 ering remains of animal substance, and only in 

 mountainous districts. A piece of leather or 

 bone, or any similar substance, will, in these high 

 regions, if other circumstances are favourable, be 

 quickly covered by one of these mosses. The 

 specimens which we found were growing on the 

 decaying bones of a sheep. We have here an 

 evidence of the wonderful extent to which the air 

 is charged with the minute seeds of the mosses. 



* Bryum alpinum. 



