490 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



trees to 6700 feet ; shrubs to 8500 ; a few plants to 10,600, beyond which are a few 

 lichens; and vegetation ceases entirely at the height of 11,000 feet, amid arctic cold. 

 The following is the extreme line of elevation above the sea-level observed here by indi- 

 vidual classes of vegetation : 



Maize 

 The oak 

 The walnut - 

 The yew 

 Barley - 



Feet. 



- 2772 



- 3518 



- 3620 



- 3740 



- 4180 



The cherry 



Potato ... 



The nut 



The beech 



The mountain maple 



Feet. 

 4270 

 4450 

 4500 

 4800 

 5100 



The silver birch 

 The larch 

 The fir le sapin 

 Pinus cembra 

 Rhododendron 



Feet 



5500 



6000 



6300 



6600 



7400 



The valley of the Adige extending from near the summit of Mont Brenner in the 



Gorge of the Tyrolese Alps. 



Tyrolese Alps to the Lago di Garcia, reposing on the edge of the softer scenes of Italy, 

 exhibits a scale of productions which marks the alteration of climate, in the course of 

 about a hundred miles, the effect of a descent from a high to a low elevation. " We have 

 first," says Inglis speaking of its northern extremity, " Alpine productions ; but to pass 

 these over, and to note only the productions of cultivated land, we have first then, 

 barley, thin and scanty, and a few hardy vegetables. We come next to Indian corn of 

 a poor growth, with barley more vigorous, oats, grass, and firs. The third gradation 

 brings us to a little wheat, mingled with all these, and to some walnut trees, besides fir. 

 In the fourth division of the valley, we find Indian corn and wheat growing luxuriantly, 

 vines beginning to appear, and fruit trees, especially the cherry, in abundance. The 

 fifth gradation shows us, with all these productions, vines in luxuriance, and magnificent 

 walnut trees entirely superseding the hardier wood. At the sixth step we find some 

 additions to these : the mulberry begins to appear, and fruits of the more delicate 

 descriptions are found. The seventh division presents the vine in its perfection, the 

 mulberry in its abundance, and the fruits we have seen before, in greater luxuriance. 

 The eighth and last gradation shows us, with all that we have seen before, the olive, the 



