i 9 2 WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



passed, in the reverse order, on to the full stature 

 again. 



The willow seems to be the only one of the three 

 with truly alpine forms which would probably 

 defy the utmost ingenuity to reconvert into any- 

 thing else. I see them in increasing numbers as I 

 ascend higher, lying against the face of the slope 

 little fairy shrubs about the length of a quill-pen, 

 or even less. As one expresses it, root and all might 

 be hidden between the leaves of a lady's pocket- 

 book. Most of them have circular leaves, dis- 

 tinctly and prettily veined and netted. These are 

 not the dwindled forms of the trees at the foot, or 

 the bushes I passed by the way, but differ from 

 both in very many ways. 



I begin to notice certain marks, placed evi- 

 dently by human agency, at stated intervals, and 

 leading in one direction. There are too many of 

 them to be meant for shepherds, who presumably 

 are very much at home on the hills ; and they are 

 evidently guides to a more general public. 



Glen Isla is a cul-de-sac, much more complete 

 than Clova. The only way out at the top end is to 

 climb. And this route, rising steeply to upwards 

 of three thousand feet, to drop as far on the other 

 side, must be the way to Braemar. The thought 



