STEEP TRAILS 



climate, with its copious measure of warm 

 moisture distilling in dew and fog, and gentle, 

 bathing, laving rain, give them a freshness 

 and floweriness that is worth going far to see. 



Victoria is noted for its fine drives, and 

 every one who can should either walk or drive 

 around the outskirts of the town, not only 

 for the fine views out over the water but to 

 see the cascades of bloom pouring over the 

 gables of the cottages, and the fresh wild woods 

 with their flowery, fragrant underbrush. Wild 

 roses abound almost everywhere. One species, 

 blooming freely along the woodland paths, is 

 from two to three inches in diameter, and more 

 fragrant than any other wild rose I ever saw 

 excepting the sweetbriar. This rose and three 

 species of spiraea fairly fill the air with fra 

 grance after a shower. And how brightly then 

 do the red berries of the dogwood shine out 

 from the warm yellow-green of leaves and 

 mosses ! 



But still more interesting and significant 

 are the glacial phenomena displayed here 

 abouts. All this exuberant tree, bush, and 

 herbaceous vegetation, cultivated or wild, is 

 growing upon moraine beds outspread by 

 waters that issued from the ancient glaciers 

 at the time of their recession, and scarcely at 

 all moved or in any way modified by post- 

 214 



