PREFACE ix 



scattered, sometimes obscure, and inaccessible 

 scientific periodicals, or in the transactions of 

 learned societies, and may have been published in 

 almost any one of the European languages. This 

 *' literature," as it is called, is naturally beyond the 

 ken of the layman, whereas the trained botanist is 

 familiar with, and is constantly brought into contact 

 with, these memoirs, and is an expert in the use of 

 such means as exist, whereby one can reach all that 

 is known, or has been written, on a particular subject. 

 Thus the botanist is at a great advantage, an 

 advantage which has always appeared to me to be 

 somewhat unfair. 



It should here be stated clearly that this work is 

 not intended to give any aid towards ascertaining the 

 names of Alpine plants. Even the photographs 

 which illustrate it are not published for that pmpose. 

 To determine a species or genus, the reader must 

 make use of some one or other of the systematic 

 floras of Switzerland, the more useful of which are 

 indicated in Appendix III. In this volume I propose, 

 rather, to attempt to explain, in simple language, 

 some of the features presented by Alpine plants 

 which appear to me to be of special interest. So 

 far as possible, technical terms will be avoided. 

 It will be assumed, however, that the reader is 

 famihar with the ordinary features of a plant, 

 especially of the flower. A summary of this sub- 

 ject will be found in Appendix II. ; whereas the 

 first Appendix contains a list of the commoner 



