The Woods, the River, and the Bain 45 



where all forest growth comes to an end. Up 

 there they are low twisted shrubs clinging to the 

 rocks, with crooked branches, all crotches and 

 elbows, spreading sidewise over the ground. 

 Twisted in with them, on Eastern mountain tops, 

 are valiant alpine willows and courageous dwarf 

 birches. 



All are so closely matted together that it is im- 

 possible to penetrate among them except where 

 paths have been cut. At the uppermost limits of 

 the forest they lie flat on the ground, so stunted 

 that the reindeer moss may be seen overtopping 

 them. 



In the mountain regions farther west a forest 

 of spruce and fir clothes the great heights where 

 no broad-leaved trees can get their living. 



These mountain evergreens are doing great 

 things for their country. They hold down the 

 earth and moss upon the highest and steepest 

 slopes. Their roots and the mountain mosses, 

 all matted together, drink in the rain and the 

 melted snow. 



This mat of moss would soon be torn up and 

 washed away were it not for the roots of the 

 trees binding it together. 



Now it is a great sponge soaking in the rain or 

 the melted snow, and then letting it trickle gently 

 into the springs that feed the rivers. 



If these slopes were stripped, the water would 

 rush down them, tearing the mosses and mountain 



