the Scotch Fir (Pinus sylvestris) and the Arolla (Pinus Cembra) 

 are also to be seen. 



Above 6000 feet in the north and 7000 in the south the 

 Conifers become dwarfed and stunted, and gradually 

 disappear to give place to the ALPINE REGION. Sometimes 

 as we look along a valley the line of transition is seen to be 

 abrupt and straight, at other times irregular and undulating. 

 Bushes of Alpenrose, Juniper, and Alpine Willow extend 

 upward to the Alpine region, but larger trees are entirely 

 absent. Here are found in profusion the greater number of 

 the plants and flowers peculiar to the Alps. Many of the 

 species may of course be found in sheltered or secluded 

 spots at much lower levels, but here are to be seen in 

 abundance the bright-coloured Saxifrages, Gentians, 

 Anemones, and Pansies, which make the Alps their particular 

 home. Here are the alps or upland pasture grounds of the 

 Swiss, and here are situated the chalets or summer homes of 

 Swiss herdsmen. In June or July, when the pasture is 

 becoming scarce in the valleys and when all the snow is 

 melted on the mountain slopes, the native farmer packs a 

 large copper caldron and whatever else he may require for 

 making cheese into his bullock waggon, and accompanied by 

 his cattle, and often by his family as well, treks upward. 

 The " alps "may be two or three days' journey from his 

 home, so that he must take with him all that he will 

 probably require for his two or three months' stay. 



The Alpine region extends from the upper tree limit to 



xii 



