io6 



ALPINE FLOWERS. 



Part I. 



looking houses, as much superior to those of some of the Swiss 

 valleys as an Australian clipper is to a Thames barge, begin 

 to appear in abundance ; the slopes of the hills are frequently 

 terraced, to give the necessary basis for pursuing a little cultiva- 

 tion ; and the churches are large and well decorated in the 

 interior. Vines begin to appear, and for the most part are 

 trained on a high loose trellis from five to seven feet above the 

 surface of the ground, so as to permit of the cultivation of a crop 

 underneath. The trellises are frequently held up by flat thin 

 pillars of rough stone, which support branches tied here and 

 there with willows. It seems a good plan for .countries with 

 a superabundance of light and sun. From nearly every rock 

 and cliff along the valley spring the pretty rosettes and foxbrush- 

 like panicles of flowers of the 

 great silvery Saxifrage. But, 

 beyond doubt, the charm of 

 the valley is its ever-varying 

 and magnificent scenery. No- 

 thing can surpass many of 

 the prospects from the lower 

 parts, where you get a fore- 

 ground of Italian valley vege- 

 tation — the deep-cut river bed 

 below, the ascending, well- 

 clothed mountains to the 

 right and left, and then up 

 the valley the higher pine- 

 clad slopes, all again crowned 

 by the majestic mountain of the rosy crest. Our Scotch and 

 Irish friends who now and then enthusiastically bore us about 

 their often dreary and boggy wastes, should be sent in single file 

 through one of these southern valleys of the Alps, and for ever 

 silenced thereby. But the most passionate and unreasoning love 

 of country would be excusable in the inhabitants of these happy 

 spots, enriched with the vine and other products of the south, 

 sheltered by evergreen, and chastened by arctic, hills. In fact, 

 the valley is a Paradise, with one exception— beside every church 

 there is one of those small buildings in which numerous skulls of 

 the departed are placed, with a view, no doubt, to the edification 

 of the hving generation. These are well shown to the road, in 

 some cases placed right against it, and occasionally have a lamp 



Fig. 6g.-rRoad through cliff. 



