Piora 



two low-growing plants which, as I think, fully 

 account for the pleasant scents. The one is our 

 own thyme, which is everywhere, but I think the 

 chief scent is given out by the pretty Alpine 

 milfoil, Achillea moschata ; it is very abundant, 

 and when crushed gives an aromatic musky 

 smell. 



For plant-collectors, as distinguished from plant- 

 lovers, Piora is a delightful place. I was not 

 collecting plants ; I was simply looking for them 

 to see them in their native habitats and to admire 

 them in their native beauty. But I wished I 

 could have collected the native plants and taken 

 them home, for I do not remember ever to have 

 seen a place in which they could be collected so 

 easily and with such almost certainty of success. 

 The lower parts of the hills, which alone I ex- 

 amined, are composed of debris formed from the 

 stones that have come down from the rocks above, 

 and are covered with and permeated throughout 

 by a rich humus, which is practically all decayed 

 leaf-mould. The stones are none of a large size, 

 and it is very easy to remove them ; with a little 

 help from the alpenstock they can one by one be 

 removed, and then the root, though often pene- 

 trating the humus to a great distance, remains 

 exposed, and the whole plant can be taken with- 

 out injury. And at Piora there is little fear of 

 the most greedy collector doing any real destruc- 

 tion ; he may help himself as largely as he likes 

 with a very clear conscience, and he will do little 

 201 



