230 FLORA OF ARRAN. 



The effect of climate on the flora of Arraii is twofold, it 

 increases the number of species, and it imparts a general 

 vigour and luxuriance to the vegetation, which makes it 

 interesting to the lover of the landscape picturesque, no less 

 than to the botanist. Every one must have observed how 

 much of the peculiar charm of Arran scenery is owing to this 

 circumstance. The bright green of the fields and pastures, 

 the woods that fringe the shore and cling to the slopes of the 

 lower hills, add grace and soft beauty to landscapes that 

 would otherwise be severe and gloomy in their grandeur; 

 and while they pleasingly relieve the monotonous gray of the 

 granite mountains, serve to heighten by contrast the effect 

 of the bare crags and jagged peaks that rise behind them. 

 In spring or early summer, when the grass sprouts fresh on 

 the hill-sides, and the varied foliage of the trees still pre- 

 serves the delicate green of youth; or in July, when the lower 

 ridges are purple with the rich heather-bloom, this variety of 

 colour is finest and this is the best time to see Arran 

 scenery in its perfection. In September the grass is parched, 

 the heather begins to wither, and a brown or gray tint pre- 

 vails over the whole landscape, little relieved even by the 

 red and yellow hues of the autumnal trees. While, again, 

 if we turn our attention from the general outlines of the 

 scene, and look more closely at its details, we shall find no 

 less cause to admire the effects of an atmosphere moist and 

 warm. To it is owing not only the abundant growth of 

 natural wood which clothes the glens and sea-cliffs, but also 

 the size and splendour of many of our finest shrubs and wild 

 flowers, such as the laburnum, the hawthorn, the foxglove, 

 the honeysuckle, and perhaps most strikingly of all, the luxu- 

 riant profusion of the whole fern tribe, from the stately 

 Osmunda to the lowly Hymenophyllum. 



107. On proceeding to analyze the flora of a given district 

 that is, to examine the internal relations of its constituent 

 parts, noting what species, or genera, or families are abun- 

 dant, what rare, and what character is thus imparted to the 



