Caryophyllaceæ. 277 



His statements also verify the opinion that the majority 

 of the species grow upon tolerably damp ground, many of 

 them even upon wet or boggy ground. 



The cause of the general dampness of the ground, is 

 apparent. It is, in the first place, the snow-covering, during 

 the long winter, which lies over the whole country, so to 

 speak, and which only disappears for a few summer-months, 

 and then from a part of the coast-land only. The melting 

 snow soaks into the soil and trickles down over the sloping 

 ground, for a long time especially in those parts where 

 the rays of the sun can only reach it with difficulty, for 

 instance, on slopes facing the north. Different travellers 

 have drawn attention to the fact that the northern sides 

 of mountains or those sides of valleys facing the north, 

 remain fresh and green much longer than those facing 

 the south. 



From the Alps we hear much about "die Schneethälchen" 

 and their peculiar flora (for instance Schröter, Brockmann- 

 Jerosch and other Swiss botanists); also from Scandinavia 

 (for instance Th. Resvoll). These isolated snow-patches 

 which lie long, many during the whole summer, retain a 

 considerable amount of moisture for a long time, and may 

 be prolonged sources of water which will trickle down over 

 the land. Even if plants grow upon a sandy substratum, 

 or even upon a rocky substratum, this will long be able to 

 remain wet or damp. A stony or gravelly substratum also 

 retains moisture for a long time, because the ground is pro- 

 tected from evaporation by the covering or imbedded stones. 



Even if travellers record, with regard to an individual 

 plant, that it has been found on "dry ground," one must 

 not take for granted that the ground has not been damp 

 — even very damp. With regard to those plants, which have 

 possibly been recorded to have been gathered "on manured 



