1879.] Recent Literature. 443 
strict injunctions to lead us as far as the snow, but not to allow 
us to proceed farther. It is hard to say whether the sheik and 
his people felt any real uneasiness as to the possibility of a casual 
encounter with natives of the Sous valley; but it was pretty clear 
that they had succeeded in frightening our attendants, as our 
Mogador men, usually so active and attentive, soon dropped 
behind and were not again seen till our return in the afternoon. 
We took the most direct course in the ascent, following a slight 
gully down which flowed a mere trickling rivulet, fed by the 
snows on the upper slope of the mountain, and pushed on rather 
fast with a view to get as high on the mountain as possible before 
the sun reached the meridian. 
“ Bearing in mind the great diversity in the vegetable popula- 
tion which is seen in Southern Spain (the high mountain region 
nearest to the great Atlas), where neighboring peaks of different 
` 
“mineral structure exhibit numerdps quite distinct species, and 
: i a 
we confidently reckoned on obtaining still greater evidence of dis- 
tinctness in that of the upper region. It was, therefore, with 
some surprise that, as we continued the ascent, we met, one after 
another, many of the peculiar species that we had first seen in 
the ascent from Arround to the Tagherot pass, and comparatively 
few not already familiar to us. For once, however, it must be 
owned that during part of this day, our emotions as botanists 
yielded to the interest that we felt.in the near prospect of a peep 
into zerra incognita. If but little had hitherto been known of the. 
northern slopes of the Great Atlag from the reports of the few 
travelers who had viewed the range from the low country, or 
had attained its outer slopes, the southern side of the main chain 
remained a sealed book to the geographers, whose reliance on the 
vague reports of native informants has led them, like the char- 
tographers of the middle ages, to fill up the blank space on their 
maps by representations utterly discordant and contradictory. , 
* * Of the physical features of the country we could learn 
“ By the time we reached the lower skirts of a long snow slope 
that stretched upwards towards the summit of the mountain, the 
sun, which had now ascended nearly to the zenith, beat down 
upon us with intense rays, that drove some of the party to seek 
temporary shelter. The guide probably considering that he had 
done his day’s work, and finding a narrow rim of shadow under 
an overhanging rock, lay down with his head screened from the 
blazing heat. Ball, who was suffering from a violent headache, 
also found a spot that gave partial shade. Hooker took advan- 
tage of the halt to push on at a steady pace that soon carried him 
beyond the reach of interference from the guide. When Ball 
felt able to resume the ascent, the guide sprung to his feet, and 
VOL, XI11.—No. VII. 31 : 
