RAMBLES WITH A TROWEL.' 



109 



explained to him with some particularity why the arrangement 

 was not completely to my satisfaction. 



Probably there is no one present here to-day who does not 

 know as well as myself how to pack Alpine plants, namely, in dry 

 moss, the plants themselves as dry and " unexcited " as possible, 

 consistently with their not drying up, and with such admission of 

 air as is consistent with the same thing. It is far better to bring 

 a limited number in good order than a great number in bad, and 

 small or medium-sized plants are generally better than large 

 ones. The elastic moss packing should therefore be abundant ; 

 the whole of the root, when possible, should be brought away, 

 and when it is unavoidably injured, the head of foliage should 

 be proportionately reduced. Indeed, it is generally well to 

 diminish this in any case, and to remove all flowers. 



But I am packing up and starting home prematurely. Let 

 me get back from Paris to the Alps for a bit. Xo harm has 

 been done if I have said a few things by anticipation, and out of 

 their place. 



Yes, my outfit may be thought a singular one, and you need 

 not imitate it unless you like. My trowel in its scabbard and 

 belt have been mistaken scores of times for a dagger or stiletto, 

 and have in turn evoked the mistrust, curiosity, and, more 

 rarely perhaps, the respect of gendarmes, douaniers, tourist and 

 mountain shepherd, and, I have fancied, of mountain dog. The 

 curiosity at least is not allayed by the association of my very 

 third-rate valise, which is, it must be allowed, an article not often 

 seen on its way towards the clouds, and say seven or eight 

 thousand feet above the sea. I have not been surprised to learn 

 that to tourists I have commonly, as I mounted, presented the 

 appearance of an economical person who, dissatisfied with the 

 too luxurious appearance of the hotel below, is under the 

 impression that he may find a more modest and suitable 

 hostelry if he only climbs high enough, and is thus carrying his 

 luggage thither " on spec." 



For botanical and collecting purposes, the Alps may be con- 

 veniently divided into calcareous or chalky formation, and the 

 non-calcareous, generally granitic, formation. This division 

 answers naturally to a leading distinction in the culture of the 

 Alpine plants at home. 1 There is a considerable number of plants 

 which are found on both formations. But there is also a con- 



