NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



to stop the carriage until we should reach Gordon- 

 town. The excitement increased as we entered the 

 valley, and the road began to wind up the slopes 

 above the right bank of the torrent, where at every 

 yard some new object came into view. It was near 

 eleven a.m. when we reached the little inn, which, with 

 four or five houses, make the station of Gordontown, 

 where the carriage road ends, and horses are hired by 

 those bound for Newcastle or other places in the hills. 

 No time was to be lost, and we were speedily on our 

 way to ramble up the valley, keeping as near as might 

 be to the banks of the torrent. 



The first effect upon one accustomed only to the 

 vegetation of the temperate zone is simply bewilder- 

 ing. As I expressed it at the time, it seemed as if 

 the inmates of the plant-houses at Kew had broken 

 loose and run scrambling up the rocky hills that 

 enclose the valley. These are of a red arenaceous 

 rock, rough and broken, but affording ample hold 

 for trees as well as smaller plants. The torrent at this 

 season was shrunk to slender dimensions, but is never 

 wholly dry ; and I was somewhat surprised to find 

 that on the steep slopes exposed to the full sunshine 

 the vegetation was much less parched than one com- 

 monly finds it in summer in the Mediterranean region, 

 and even to gather a good many ferns on exposed 

 banks. It would appear that, even in the dry season, 

 the air must here be nearly saturated with aqueous 

 vapour, and that abundant dews must supply the 

 needs of delicate plants. Not many species were in 

 flower, but yet there was more than sufficient to 

 occupy the short time available. Malvacece and Con- 



