456 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



spiraea and the mountain andromeda. Here too the Dutch 

 myrtle and the sweet fern mingle their fragrance with the 

 terebinthine odors of the pines. The rocks, in their dryest 

 situations, are covered with a bedding of gray liverwort, which 

 is a perfect hygrometer, breaking like glass under our foot- 

 steps when the atmosphere is dry, but yielding like velvet, 

 when it contains the least moisture. The cup-moss grows 

 abundantly along with it, and, in moister situations, the green 

 delicate hair-moss, which is the same that covers the roofs of 

 very old buildings. The rain has washed down from the 

 summit constant deposits from trees and shrubs, birds and 

 quadrupeds, and formed a superficies of good soil on all parts 

 of the rock where it could be retained. .On the almost bare 

 surface grows the beautiful feather grass, with its nodding 

 plumes of purple flowers, supported only by the soil that has 

 accumulated about its roots. 



The mountain laurel luxuriates upon these natural terraces, 

 of irregular size, by which we descend to the meadow at the 

 base of the rock. But the mountain laurel, with its magnifi- 

 cent clusters of flowers, is not the most attractive object ; for 

 the little springs that issue from the crevices of the rock have 

 called out a great variety of ferns and lycopodys, that cover 

 its sides with their green foliage like the tiles on the roof of 

 a house. Some gnarled oaks and graceful beeches project 

 from the sides of the clifl" which is covered with innumerable 

 vines. Besides the beautiful things that cluster at our feet 

 and the little winged inhabitants natural to the situation, 

 made attractive by their varied forms, colors and motions, 

 this rock gives additional extent to the prospect of the sur- 

 rounding country, and aff'ords one many different views from 

 the various openings through its wood and shrubbery. 



Such are the beauties and advantages multiplied about a 

 mere rock. But in my description I have omitted to notice 

 the grotto formed by the shelving of rocks, and so delightful 

 to the traveller who seeks shelter from the sultry heat of noon, 

 or to one who aims only to gratify a poetic imagination. 

 Rocky scenery always suggests to the mind the various 

 scenes and incidents of romantic adventure ; and I believe 



