1S8 MAQUIS ON THE MONT VINAIGRE. 



Heaths smell of Almond ! Every breath of wind wafts 

 their perfume towards us. We had hardly noticed this 

 odour before, but we had also never before seen such 

 a mass of Erica blossom. Now the air is permeated 

 b\' a sweet honey-scent: it is emitted by a small Spurge 

 (Euphorbia spinosa, Fig. p. 181). This plant has no 

 striking flowers and must therefore make special efforts 

 not to remain unnoticed in the neig-hbourhood of such 

 rich colouring. Numbers of bees visit it, while the gay 

 butterflies flit round other more show^' flowers. One 

 would not mind being a buttert1\' or a bee amid such 

 surroundings! From the mass of blossoms the dark 

 Arbutus (Fig. p. 37), dwarf Aleppos, Evergreen Oaks 

 (Fig. p. 359) and prickly Juniper=s (J. Oxyccdrus, 

 Fig. p. 245) stand out. And, wherever the smallest space 

 remains unoccupied at this rich feast of Nature, the 

 Asphodels {Asphodelus albus) crowd in with their spikes 

 of white flowers. Thev too wish to have their share of 

 the light, warmth and nourishment which is here so 

 lavishly dispensed. 



We now ascend slowly, stopping before each flower 

 to watch the bees at work. At length, after an hour's 

 walk, we reach the summit. A whole world lies at our 

 feet ! Before us the green Esterel with deep valleAS 

 and steep heights, where, from among the foliage, the 

 jagged porphyry rocks jut heavenwards. To the west 

 is the plain of Frejus, streaked by its silver stream ; 

 beyond this the Montagnes des Maures with their dark 

 woods, and then all the bays of the coast far away to 

 St. Tropez. To the north are the limestone Alps, a 



