106 ALPINE FLOWERS AND GARDENS 



flower, not far away from the white Alpine Mouse- 

 ear (Cerastium alpinum), the Grass of Parnassus 

 (Parnassia palustris] more like a white Ranun- 

 culus than a grass ! and the creamy-white Saxi- 

 fraga aspera and the yellow S. aizoides all of 

 them blooming comparatively freely for this late 

 season, and often associating with dwarf and sturdy 

 specimens of the poisonous, scarlet-berried shrub 

 Daphne Mezereum, and with the russet or grey- 

 black viper, sunning himself while yet he may, and 

 announcing, probably, the approach of a storm. 



Now that the cattle and the goats have moved 

 lower down towards their winter quarters, many 

 a plant that had its bloom-spike eaten off earlier in 

 the year tries its best at this season to recover lost 

 ground. In this way, on the pastures, Autumn 

 will be wearing 



* Late blooms of second childhood in his hair.' 



Here we may often find, even to the end of 

 October, such flowers as the two mauve, annual 

 Gentians (Gentiana germanica and G. campestris], 

 the Mountain Avens (G-eum montanum), the grey- 

 blue Bearded Bell-flower (Campanula barbata), and 

 three of the dark blue or blue-purple Rampions 

 (Phyteuma Michelii 9 P.hemisphcericum, and P.orbicu- 



