CAUCASIAN FORESTS AND FLORA. 451 



yiadikaf kaz, and on the steppe to the north of it, he found 

 numerous erratic blocks, generally of granite, and from 

 fourteen to sixteen feet in thickness ; and in the valley 

 of the Baksan, fifteen miles from the present glacier, 

 and two miles above the village of Uruspieh, there is a 

 moraine, 200 feet in height, principally composed of granite 

 blocks. Sufficient data have already been collected to 

 justify the assertion that the present glaciers of the Cau- 

 casus, like those of the Alps, are only the shadows of their 

 former selves. 



Fine as Alpine forests often are, they can bear no com- 

 parison with those of the Caucasus. Lest it should be 

 thought I have overstated the effect likely to be produced 

 by the woodland scenery of Mingrelia on an European 

 miu'il, I shall take the liberty of quoting the words in which 

 Herr Wagner sums up his eloquent description of a ride 

 near Kutais : ' Every spot that is not occupied by perennial 

 plants presents one tangled growth of grasses, flowers, 

 annuals, and every variety of creeper. Higher up, among 

 ihe trees, the eye is soothed by the numerous shades of 

 green, from the sombre verdure of the fir, tamarisk, and 

 cypress, to the lustrous foliage of the laurel, and to the 

 silver- green of the Colchian poplar, whilst the purj^le 

 clusters of the grapes peep out beneath every branch. 

 "Why, this is like Paradise," exclaimed my companions, 

 in one breath, at the sight of such glorious profusion.' 

 In richness of flora the Alps must also yield to their 

 rivals: the azalea and rhododendron make the 'alpen- 

 rosen ' seem humble, and even the gentian looks bluer when 

 brought into immediate contrast with beds of snowdrops, 

 while there is nothing nearer home to compare with the 

 gorgeous magnificence of the Caucasian tiger- lilies and 

 hollyhocks. 



Hitherto the comparison has been in favour of the 



G o 2 



