452 REPLY TO OBJECTIONS TO MEYEN'S DIVISIONS. 



8. The Region of Alpine Plants from 13,300 ft. to 

 the region of perpetual snow. * 



Of course in fixing the approximate limits to these 

 various regions Professor Meyen does not mean to 

 convey that hard and fast lines are drawn at these 

 points ; on the contrary, he is careful to point out that 

 the division of mountain flora into regions is, like every- 

 thing else, open to objections, and that on different 

 mountains in the same latitude there are sometimes 

 differences of several hundred feet in the vertical limits 

 of the same vegetation, f Nevertheless there can be 

 no doubt that the plan of dividing vegetation into a 

 tabulated system of zones, or regions, at the different 

 levels which the mean results of numerous observations 

 show that certain leading classes of plants ; generally 

 disappear, and others take their place, is a convenient 

 and useful guide to the student of Nature. It will no 

 doubt be easy to show that sometimes Professor Meyen's 

 limits do not accurately represent the range of plants 

 in certain districts, but more often it will be found 

 that at about these altitudes, they do as a rule cease 

 to appear. 



It will be easy to show, for instance, that the banana 

 will grow far above 1900 feet above sea level; but if 

 so it will be not as a natural habitant, but as an exotic 

 thus at Darjeeling with a mean elevation of some 

 7200 ft. over sea-level, there is a small botanical garden, 

 in which the banana may be seen growing in the open 

 air. It lives, that is all that we can say, but it is 



* Otitlines of the Geography of Plants, by F. J. F. Meyen, M.D., 

 Professor of Botany at the University of Berlin translated by Margaret 

 Johnston for "The Royal Society," London, 1866, pp. 223 to 250. 



f Ibid., p. 223. 



