144 PLANTS OF THE ALPINE MEADOWS 



their requirements in this respect. Then, again, 

 periodic mutilation by the scythe has a profound 

 influence on the habit of the plants, and this, again, is 

 a factor which eliminates certain plants from the 

 meadows. Again, as we shall see, the typical Alpine 

 meadows are damp associations, requiring a soil and 

 surroundings which are the reverse of dry. Hence 

 many plants, which have adapted themselves to the 

 drier pastures, are absent from the meadows, for 

 many typical Alpine meadows are little removed 

 from marshes, so far as the water contents of the soil 

 are concerned. 



The exact time at which the meadows are first cut 

 varies from year to year. Sometimes when the winter's 

 snow has melted early, and the spring season has 

 been forward, the middle of June will see the 

 harvesters at work. In other years, a late spring 

 implies that the meadows will not be cut until the 

 first or even the second week in July. The nature of 

 the crop also varies somewhat from year to year. At 

 one time it will be comparatively short, and well under 

 3 feet in height, but of a thick, very compact growth. 

 In another year, the growth is thinner and the height 

 considerably greater. 



To understand the conditions under which meadow 

 plants flourish, it may be well to consider the whole 

 year's cycle of a meadow. 



In winter-time, for several months, on an average 

 from the middle of December to the middle of April, 

 the meadows are continuously covered with several 



