FOREWORDS TO NEW EDITION xi 



kinds. But, in spite of this, hundreds of kinds of 

 alpine plants are now grown in the parts of Britain 

 that are most subject to winter's rapid changes. 



A reason why alpine plants clothe the ground 

 in these high regions is that no taller vegetation 

 can exist there ; were such places inhabited by trees 

 and shrubs, we should find few alpine plants among 

 them ; on the other hand, if no stronger vegetation 

 were found at a lower elevation, these plants would 

 make their appearance there. Many plants found 

 on the high Alps are also met with in rocky 

 or bare places at much lower elevations. Gentiana 

 verna often flowers late in summer when the snow 

 thaws on a high mountain ; yet it is also found on low 

 hills, and occurs in the British Isles. In the struggle 

 for existence upon the plains and tree-clad hills, the 

 more minute plants are often overrun by trees, trailers, 

 bushes, and vigorous herbs, but where, as in northern 

 and elevated regions, these fail from the earth, the 

 choicer alpine plants prevail. 



Alpine plants include plants from many divisions of 

 the plant world, embracing endless diversities of form 

 and colour. Among them are tiny Orchids, as interest- 

 ing as their tropical brethren, though so much smaller ; 

 ferns that peep from crevices of high rocky places, 

 clinging to the rocks and not daring to throw forth 

 their fronds with airy grace, as they do on the ground ; 

 bulbous plants with all their coarseness gone, and all 

 their beauty retained ; evergreen shrubs, perfect in leaf 

 and blossom, yet so small that an inverted glass could 

 cover them ; creeping plants, rarely venturing much 



