74 MOUNTAIN FAUNAS 



security, due to the rugged nature of the surface. 

 Further, the peculiar climatic conditions, together 

 probably with the rapidity of mechanical erosion, 

 promote the growth, in certain locaUties at least, of 



^"atr^.rr^^'T'r. 



Pig. 11. A Swiss Alp. The absence of trees, the presence of a close 

 short turf and of low bushes (mostly berry-bearing), are very charac- 

 teristic of the upper regions of the Alps as weU as of many other 

 mountain and plateau regions. The richness of the pasture is suggested 

 by the number of cows 



particularly nourishing fodder plants. A large part 

 of the pastoral industry of Switzerland is due to the 

 pasturage obtainable on the high mountain shelves 

 or alps. In Tibet, though wild herbivores exist in 

 flocks of thousands, according to some observers, yet 

 there is pasturage enough to spare to feed the domes- 

 ticated animals upon which the community largely 

 depends. 



