Preface 



u Each affluent petal outstretched and uncurled 

 To the glory and gladness and shine of the world." 



and that at evening offered up sweetest fragrance in their 

 chalice-cups, are given a new charm by the cool showers 

 from above. 



"The paths, the woods, the fields, the hills, 



Are not a world to-day, 

 But just a place God made for us 

 In which to play." 



So we may wander in search of the mountain wild flow- 

 ers, following the trails which lead to the alpine meadows, 

 and wrapt in the perfect peace of the hills remember that 

 we are walking 



" In the freedom of the garden wild " 

 with 



" God of the open air." 



As this book is intended for the use of the general public 

 rather than for that of botanists, the flowers herein de- 

 scribed are classified according to colour, and without spe- 

 cial reference to their scientific relationship ; for the first 

 attribute of a plant which attracts the traveller's eye is in- 

 variably its colour, his first question usually being: "What 

 is that red flower?" or "blue flower," or "yellow 

 flower," as the case may be. Of Order, Genus and Species 

 he probably knows little, and therefore the descriptions 

 given in this guide to mountain wild flowers are so simply 

 and clearly worded, that any plants indexed may be readily 

 located in one or other of the Colour Sections, together with 

 its name and chief characteristics. The general Key at the 

 beginning of the book will be of use to botanists. 



The nomenclature followed throughout this work is 



