FLOWERY MEADOWS. WILD ANIMALS. 163 



by the neighbouring Chinese, in spite of the forest 

 guard ; the larger trees have all been felled and 

 only stumps remain to show that good-sized timber 

 once grew here. 



Above the tree-belt the highest parts of the 

 mountains are occupied by the zone of alpine mea- 

 dows. It is a refreshing sight, after the monotonous 

 vegetation of the lower belts, consisting chiefly of a 

 few crooked bushes, and after the damp under- 

 growth of deciduous trees, to feast one's eyes on the 

 bright green variegated flowers which cover the 

 rich meadow-land of the mountains ; the slopes and 

 hollows are clad with short thick grass, leaving bare 

 only the crags and solitary rocks, the yellowish-grey 

 tints of which contrast with the enchantinof verdure 

 and delightful variety of flowers. Shrubs of spiraea 

 and cinquefoil {Potentilla fruticosa), the globe-flower 

 {Trolliiis sp.), the great-burnet {Sanguisorba alpina), 

 the corn-flower {Polejnonmm ccEindeimt), ranunculi, 

 and many others mentioned in our description of 

 the flora of the woods, flood these meadows with 

 their yellow, white, red, and blue hues, now inter- 

 mingled in pleasing variety, now grouped in masses 

 of colour. 



But the sight is still more brilliant in the early 

 morning when the first rays of the sun sparkle on 

 the dew drops hanging on every petal, the surround- 

 ing stillness only broken by the notes of the stone- 

 chat or the pipit, and a splendid view disclosed of 

 the Hoang-ho and the plains of Ordos stretching 

 away far beyond it. 



M 2 



