60 ASIA 



forests, which consist of spruce and a kind of Sabine 

 juniper, are seldom dense, but towards the east and south 

 they become decidedly diffuse and often fail completely. 

 They are generally not continuous, but are interrupted 

 by pastures, and largely restricted to the valleys. There 

 is a fundamental difference between the short and dry 

 swards of the steppes and the long, close, and lush 

 meadows that extend below, through, and above the 

 timber-belt, and often replace it entirely : the latter 

 partake of the luxuriant character of our meadows. 

 They are beset with a number of tall herbs and shrubs, 

 such as the rose and barberry, wild geraniums and 

 poppies, peonies and gentians, blue bells, wild onions, &c. ; 

 there is quite a wealth of garden-plants, which grow 

 wild, such as asparagus, candytuft, chrysanthemum, 

 columbine, heliotrope, pansies, rhubarb, peony, phlox, 

 tulips, and crocus. 



The alpine meadows, which extend beyond the belt of 

 junipers, display an exuberant beauty equal to the best 

 flower-tracts of our Alps; but there are no swamps or 

 bogs, no heather and bilberry moors, no rhododendrons. 

 Below this elevated garden, however, the valleys dis- 

 play only drier steppes, which gradually pass downwards 

 to dusty, scattered brushes, and, sometimes, to entirely 

 plantless gorges. On the Mongolian side, the steppes 

 ascend much higher than on the west, and are often 

 replaced immediately by alpine pastures without the 

 intervention of a tree-belt. 



In some respects, then, the Tian Shan recalls the 

 elevated natural parks at the head-waters of the 

 Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains, and provides summer 

 pastures for the cattle and sheep, and quarters for 

 the shepherds, of the plains. The portion which pene- 

 trates far into the Mongolian desert is naturally very 



