202 SOMBRE ASPECT OF THE VEGETATION. ch. viii. 



of middle Europe, including several familiar British field 

 plants. 



It will be more convenient to reserve details for the 

 remarks on the vegetation of this and the Amsmiz valley, 

 which will be found in the Appendix ; but it must be owned 

 that the general impression now made, and increased on 

 further acquaintance, was noj free from disappointment. 

 As compared with any of the higher mountain masses 

 surrounding the Mediterranean, already known to us, this 

 is singularly unproductive of ornamental species attrac- 

 tive to the eye. The Sierra Nevada of Granada, the 

 Lebanon chain, and the mountain ranges of Asia Minor, 

 all exhibit at this season a multitude of bright-hued 

 plants to delight the traveller, even though they may not 

 rival the splendour of the higher zone of the Alps and 

 Pyrenees to one who sees this a month or two later. 

 Another remarkable feature was the absence of trees, and 

 especially of true conifers. The dwarf evergreen oak that 

 clothes the middle zone of the Atlas was no longer seen, 

 and there was no pine, or spruce, or cedar to take its 

 place. The solitary juniper that we afterwards saw was 

 scarcely noticed at this, our first, visit. It is sometimes 

 said that naturalists take no delight in the beauty of the 

 objects of their study ; but this is surely untrue of the 

 great majority. Probably the notion has arisen from the 

 fact that, in addition to the sources of pleasure which he 

 shares with the rest of the world, the natm-alist finds food 

 for the sense of beauty as well as scientific interest, unsus- 

 pected by his critics, in exploring the internal structure of 

 organised beings. Be this as it may, it is certain that the 

 generally sombre aspect of the vegetation, harmonising as 

 it did with that of the scenery, had a somewhat depressing 

 effect on all the members of our party, while at the same 

 time it only increased our desire to reach the upper part 

 of the rugged barrier of rock that rose some 5,000 feet 

 around the head of the valley where we stood. 



Meanwhile, the afternoon was wearing away ; we did 



