5234 Notes of a Tour in Switzerland. 



till the snow is gone? It has been suggested, again, that these 

 stumps may have been left by way of defence and security, with a 

 view to arrest the onslaught of an avalanche. 



No mention has yet been made of the magnificent walnut trees 

 with which, in many parts, the country abounds, as at Interlachen, 

 e. g., and other places, and which, on account of their size, age, and 

 highly picturesque character, might well demand more than a passing 

 note of admiration. But the length to which the above rambling 

 remarks have already extended reminds me that it is time to draw 

 them to a close ; but, before I do so, a word or two must yet be added 

 on the subject of ferns. It would be no better than a simple truism 

 to say that ferns abound in Switzerland, and adorn and beautify the 

 rocks and ravines, go wherever you will : that is most true. Never- 

 theless, I do not hesitate to confess that in this particular department 

 of Botany I was greatly disappointed : I mean that I had expected to 

 have found both more species, and several of greater rarity. With 

 the single exception of Cystopteris montana, I met with no fern that 

 was new to me, I mean that I had not previously seen and gathered 

 in a wild state; and, with the further exception of Asplenium septen- 

 trionale, none that I had not repeatedly found in Britain. The last- 

 named species grew sparingly near Chamouni, on rocks by the path, 

 as you begin to ascend to Montanvert. Afterwards, in making the 

 Tete Noire pass, the chinks of the stone walls on either side of the 

 road were seen absolutely infested with the fern : it grew in such 

 abundance one might have thought that in constructing the walls the 

 plant had been employed instead of mortar to cement the stones toge- 

 ther. This occurred near Argentiere, the place where the passports 

 are submitted to the Sardinian authorities. Cystopteris montana I 

 found in two spots only, though I was on the look-out, and searched for 

 it diligently in other likely places. At Rosenlaui, between the glacier 

 and the inn, it grew in a little rocky recess or cupboard, in shape and 

 size not much unlike a small oven open on the side — a most snug 

 birth — of which it seemed to be the sole proprietor, occupying the 

 entire area or floor of the cupboard, which consisted of wet black soil. 

 The fronds, both fertile and barren, were here of a rather diminutive 

 size. On the Gemmi the Cystopteris was met with in far greater 

 abundance, and with much larger fronds, springing up amid a sloping 

 heap of bare loose stones, just as Polypodium calcareum is seen to do 

 in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, &c. ; but here too, as at liosenlaui, it 

 seemed to be confined to one place only, close to the side of the horse- 

 path, near the bottom of the mountain as you descend towards Kan- 





