138 THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA 



with spurs an inch and a half long. At an eleva 

 tion of from seven to nine thousand feet showy 

 flowers frequently form the bulk of the vegetation ; 

 then the hanging meadows become hanging gardens. 



In rare instances we find an alpine basin the bot 

 tom of which is a perfect meadow, and the sides 

 nearly all the way round, rising in gentle curves, are 

 covered with moraine soil, which, being saturated 

 with melting snow from encircling fountains, gives 

 rise to an almost continuous girdle of down-curving 

 meadow vegetation that blends gracefully into the 

 level meadow at the bottom, thus forming a grand, 

 smooth, soft, meadow-lined mountain nest. It is in 

 meadows of this sort that the mountain beaver 

 (Haplodon) loves to make his home, excavating snug 

 chambers beneath the sod, digging canals, turning 

 the underground waters from channel to channel to 

 suit his convenience, and feeding the vegetation. 



Another kind of meadow or bog occurs on dense 

 ly timbered hillsides where small perennial streams 

 have been dammed at short intervals by fallen trees. 

 Still another kind is found hanging down smooth, 

 flat precipices, while corresponding leaning mea 

 dows rise to meet them. 



There are also three kinds of small pot-hole mea 

 dows one of which is found along the banks of the 

 main streams, another on the summits of rocky 

 ridges, and the third on glacier pavements, all of 

 them interesting in origin and brimful of plant 

 beauty. 



