BOTANY. 



Vegetable nor perch is to be found in the lakes higher up. 

 Physiology. T ne boundary of the Spruce fir is 3200 feet below 

 * v " t he ij ne O f perpetual snow, and the mean temperature 

 is about 3 of Celsius's thermometer, (37i of Fah- 

 renheit.) 



11 2. Scotch firs (Pinus sylvestris) are still found, 

 but not near so tall as in the lower country. Their 

 stems here are low, and their branches widely ex- 

 tended. Here are seen the last of Ledum palustre, 

 Salix pentandra, Veronica serpy/lifo/ia, &c. The 

 bogs have already a very sterile appearance. Near 

 the utmost boundary of the Scotch fir grows Pittica 

 alpina. H'gher up are hardly any bears to be met 

 with, and the berries of Vaccinium myrii'.lus (the 

 Bilberry) do not ripen well. Sahno lavaretus (the 

 Gwiniad), and S. thymallus (the Grayling), soon af- 

 ter disappear from the lakes. The upper limit of 

 this zone, when the Scotch firs cease, is 2800 feet 

 below the line of perpetual snow, and the mean tem- 

 perature about 2.5 of Celsius (36V of Fahrenheit.) 

 A little below this point, or about 3000 feet before 

 we come to perpetual snow, barley ceases to ripen ; 

 but small farms, the occupiers of which live by gra- 

 zing and fishing, are met with as far as 4OO feet 

 higher, for instance Naimaka in Euontekis ; and so 

 far also potatoes and turnips grow large enough to 

 be worth cultivating. 



" S. Beyond this the dwarf and Blunted forests 

 consist only of Birch. Its short thick 8tem, and 

 stiff, widely spreading, knotty branches, seem prepa- 

 red to resist the strong winds from the Alps. Its 

 lively light green hue is delightful to the eye, but 

 evinces a weakness of vegetation. These birch fo- 

 rests soon become so low, that they r-iy be entirely 

 commanded from the smallest eminence. Their up- 

 permost boundary, where the tallest of the trees are 

 not equal to the height of a man, is 2000 feet below 

 the line of perpetual snow. This zone is therefore 

 much wider than the preceding. Long before its 

 termination, Aliitts incana, Prunus Pcidus, and Popu- 

 his tremulu, were no more to be seen. A little before 

 the Birch ceases, we miss the tinrbus auciiparia ( Py 

 rus auctipnria, F!. Brit.) winch for seme time had 

 not presented as with any fruit ; the Kuliux arcticus 

 already likewise barren, Erica ru/g/ir/s. Aconitiim ly- 

 coctomnn, &c. Where the birch forest becomes thin- 

 ner, the reflection of the heat from the sides of the 

 mountains is the strongest. Here in many spots we 

 find the vegetation of Sonclius Alpiiius, Stnithioptc- 

 ris, and Aconifum lycortointm remarkably luxuriant. 

 The drier spots now become covered with lAchen 

 rangijvrinui, Tussilagofrigida and Pcdicularis Seep- 

 triim-Caroliiiitm have their place to the utmost boun- 

 dary of the birch. Thus far only Charr (finlmo Al- 

 pitinx) is found in the lakes, and higher up all fishing 

 ceases. 



" 4. All mountains above this limit are called 

 1'i'i/l (Alps). Near rivulets and on the margins of 

 b< ,.'< <;nly, is found a lit'le brushwood, consisting of 

 S glauca, whose gray hue affords but little orna- 

 ment to the landscape. The lower country is cover- 

 ed with the dark looking Bcti-la nana, which stili 

 retains its upright posture. A few Juniper bushes, 

 and some plants of Salix hastata, are found scattered 



about. Every hill is covered with Arbufti* Alpina, Vegeta 

 variegated with Andromeda ccerulea and Trientulis I 5 l>y siol < 

 Europeea. The more boggy ground is decorated V "V 

 with Andromeda polifolia in its greatest beauty, and 

 Pcdicularis lapponica. On the sides of the moun- 

 tains, where the reflected heat h is the greatest power, 

 grow Feroiticn Ahnna. Viola biflnra, Pteris cri.*pa t 

 aiid Angelica archai/gc/ica. This zone extends with- 

 in 1400 >eet of the line of perpetual snow. The Glut- 

 ton (Mttstela x"lo) ges no higher than this. The 

 berries ot liubut cha .Honnorus still ripen here, but 

 not at a greater deg.ee of elevation. 



" 5. Now no more brushwood is to 'be seen. The 

 white Salix lu'iitta is not above two feet high, even 

 about the rivulets, and Sah/x tiyrsinites is of still 

 more humble growth. Bvlula nana occupies the 

 drier situations, but creeps entirely upon the ground. 

 The hills are clothed with the rather brown than 

 green Azalea procumbent and Azalea lapponica, which 

 give this zone its most peculiar feature. Verdant 

 spots between the precipices, where the sun ins the 

 greatest power, produce Lychnis apelala, Engeron 

 uniflorum, Astragalus fcortJ(.Tacq. Ic. Kar. t. 154.; 

 Willd. .Sp. PI. v. iii. 1287.) and mnntanu~t, with 

 Ophrys Alpina. In boggy places, Aira Al : ina Ca- 

 rex ustitlata, and I'atcinium uliginoMin, are observa- 

 ble. The only berries however, which ripen at this 

 degree of elevation, are those ot Empctrunt iiigrum ; 

 but these are twice as large as what grow in the wood- 

 lands, and better flavoured. The upper boundary of 

 this zone is 800 feet below the line of perpetual snow. 

 Tin; Laplanders scarcely ever fix their tenti higher 

 up, as the pasture for their reindeer ceases a very 

 little way above this point. The mean temperature 

 is about +1 of Celsius (34 of Fahrenheit. ) 



' 6. Next come the snowy Alps, where are patches 

 of snow that never melt. The bare places between 

 still produce a tew dark shrubby plants, such as Em- 

 pclnim P:gtttm, but destitute of berries, Andromeda 

 t<iri.eo'na .'iui hypnoides, as well as Diapensia lappo- 

 nica. Green precipices exposed to the sun' are de- 

 cor.ited with the vivid azure tints of Gcntiana icnella 

 and niTitlis, and Campanula uniflora, accompanied by 

 the yelk'w Drtiba Alpina. Colder and marshy situa- 

 tions, where there is no reflected heat, produce Pedi- 

 culiiris hirsuta and Jlammea, with Dryas octopetala. 

 This zone extends to 200 feet below the limits of 

 perpetual and almost uninterrupted snow. 



" 7. Beyond it perpetual snow begins to cover 

 the greatest part of the ground, and we soon arrive 

 at a point where only a few dark spots are here and 

 there to be seen. This takes place on the Alps of 

 Cjuickjock, at the elevation of 4100 feet above the 

 level of the sea 5 but nearer the highest ridge, and 

 particularly on the Norway side of that ridge, at 

 3100 feet. Some few plants, with succulent leaves, 

 are thinly scattered over the spongy brown surface 

 of the ground, where the reflected heat is strongest, 

 quite up to the line of uninterrupted snow. These 

 are Saxifraga stellaris, rivularis, and oppositifolia, 

 Riinitnculii-- iiirnlis and glaciiilix, Rumet disynits, 

 Jitncits curvalus* and Silenc acaulis The mean 

 temperature at the boundary of perpetual snow is 

 +0.4 of Celsius, (32* of Fahrenheit.) 



* \Ye knorv not what species the author intends by this name.- 



