48 PREHISTORIC EUROPE. 



which have abandoned that region and sought refuge in the 

 mountains, where they occupy limited areas often widely sepa- 

 rated. Salzmann's pine grows naturally now only in the Forest 

 of Saint Guilhem, in a mountain-gorge situated at the foot of 

 the Cevennes, beyond the zone of olives, at a distance of about 

 twenty-five miles from Montpellier, while the Pyrenean pine has 

 retired to a valley in the Pyrenees. The dwarf pine occurs in 

 the mountainous regions of Central Europe, where it is found 

 occupying calcareous soils at an elevation of 1300 to 2500 metres 

 above the sea. It is a tree which prefers humid situations — 

 growing in wet rocky ground, and even along the banks of 

 streams in the bottoms of valleys. 



It is further noteworthy that these species are associated in 

 the tufas of Provence with the lime (Tilia europtxa), a peculiar 

 maple {Acer opulifolium), and raspberry (Bubus idceus), which, 

 although still natives of Provence, are no longer really sponta- 

 neous upon the margins of streams in the low-lying parts of that 

 region. It is only in forest-clad hilly districts, and chiefly in 

 situations with a northern exposure, where they can obtain in 

 Provence the requisite shade and coolness. Saporta further calls 

 attention to the fact that the Aleppo pine and the olive — species 

 which demand considerable summer heat rather than a humid 

 climate, and are so characteristic of the Mediterranean region of 

 to-day — are entirely wanting in the tufas. Even the evergreen 

 oak is absent from the deposits of Provence, and is very rare 

 in the tufas of Southern Europe. The presence of the vine and 

 the fig-tree further shows, according to M. Planchon, that these 

 were formerly indigenous to France before they were reintro- 

 duced by man as cultivated plants, a conclusion which Saporta 

 thinks holds equally true of the walnut. The judas-tree occurs 

 very sparsely at present in France, and appears chiefly in gar- 

 dens, so that Saporta is doubtful whether it is really indige- 

 nous. In Pleistocene times, however, it grew abundantly in 

 Southern France, and, as we shall see presently, ranged even 

 as far north as the neighbourhood of Paris. It is the same 

 with the manna-ash (Fraxinus omus), now confined to Corsica 



