381 



ponds, although, probably, only in order to drink. In the soft 

 bottom I often залу their traces, on the other hand no regular 

 grazing was found nor any of their manure. 



Inside the low country the archæan rocks rise in gentle, 

 iceground slopes, and here the vegetation changes completely 

 in character. The rather meagre Cassiope-hea.ih is succeeded 

 by a luxuriant VacciniKm-heath with a dense cover of from 15 

 to 20 cm height (Fig. 12). The bushes are up to 36 m^, fresh 

 green or red in the top from Exobasidium and sometimes 

 spotted by Lophodermium maculare and have abundant ripe 

 fruit. The formation is a nearly pure Vaccinietum^ and merely 

 secondarily was found here and there a specimen of Empetrum 

 or Cassiope tetragona ; on the contrary, there were large 

 patches with Betula nana, especially at the steepest spots with 

 southern exposition ; the branches rose here to 2.5 cm above 

 the ground, and the cover was completely dense. The leaves 

 had, however, already begun to assume their orange-tawny, 

 autumnal hue, and the fruit was ripe. With regard to herbs 

 the only ones found here were Cerastium alpinum, Pyrola 

 grandiflora, Arnica alpina , and Polygonum viviparmn f. vid- 

 gare (Fig. 12). 



About where the Vaccinium-hea.ih borders on the lowland 

 was found a semicircular wall of gravel and stones with its 

 concave side facing the mountain side. Into it ran a small 

 brook, whose water collected to a pool in the middle and dis- 

 appeared into the ground, to reappear as springs farther down 

 the slope. An arm of the brook turned the southern side of 

 the wall. The inward hollow was covered, between glacial blocks, 

 with Vaccinium, only the pool in the middle was devoid of 

 vegetation. Towards the summit of the wall Vaccinium became 

 more small-leaved (f.. microphyllum), low and adpressed to the 

 ground, and on the upper side very leafless, so that the lichen- 

 covered ground was seen everyw'here. On the arched upper- 

 side of the wall, and only here, were found some dead, greatly 



