PART L] NOTES OF A JOURNEY IN THE ALPS 121 



region of the glacial Kanunculus, and also Androsaces and the 

 alpine Forget-me-not. By scraping off the snow here and 

 there, we could see the very pretty little Pyrethrum alpinum, 

 reminding one of a Daisy with its petals down in bad weather. 

 Several not common Eockfoils and a few Geum, Linaria alpina, 

 very dwarf, but with the flowers much larger than usual; 

 Gfentiana verna, abundant ; a pink Linum, Polygala Chamcebuxus, 

 Loiseleuria procumlens, Senecio uniflorus, with deep orange 

 flowers, and the most silvery of leaves an inch or so high ; and 

 the beautiful Eritrichium nanum, from half an inch to an inch 

 high, and with cushions of sky-blue flowers were among those 

 not hidden from us by the snow. 



Next morning we were up early to cross the Pass of Monte 

 Moro into Italy ; the snow was very deep, and we were the 

 first strangers who had crossed during the year. The snow was 

 18 inches thick even in the lower parts of our three hours' 

 walk, so that it was impossible to gather any plants ; and this was 

 unfortunate, as the neighbourhood of the little lake of Mattmark, 

 between two glaciers, is said to be very rich in plants. How- 

 ever, there was quite enough to do to ascend Monte Moro, with 

 its deep coating of snow. Arrived at the cross which marks 

 the top, a magnificent prospect bursts upon us the white 

 clouds lie in three thin layers along the sides of Monte Eosa, 

 but permit us to see its crest, while the great mountains whose 

 snowy heads tower around it are here seen in all their beauty. 

 On the Swiss side nothing but snow is seen on peak or in 

 hollow ; on the Italian, a deep valley has wormed its way 

 among the mountain peaks, crested with sun-lit snow and dark 

 crags, and guarded by vast ice rivers and unscaleable heights. 

 We can gaze into this valley as easily as one does from a high 

 building into the street below ; and, crouched on the sunny 

 side of a cliff, to gain a little shelter from the icy breeze that 

 flowed over the pass, view its signs of life and green meadows, 

 and, above their highest fringes, the vast funereal grove of Pines 

 on every side, guarding, as it were, the green valley from the 

 death-like wastes of snow above it. Its effect was much 

 enhanced by the snow that had just fallen, and covered up 



