DR. WHITE : JARDIN OF THE MONTANVERT. 



93 



place, I, accompanied by two ladies (one of them my wife,) walked up after 

 dinner on the evening of September 4th, to the Montanrert, intending if the 

 following day should be fine to make an excursion to the " garden." 



The Montanvert is a hill bounding the great glacier of the Mer de Glace 

 and on it at a height of 6,303 feet is built a Chalet, on the spot where De 

 Saussure's hut stood. Here we spent the night, and the next morning, 

 (September 5th,) started soon after 6. a.m. for the Jardin. The path for a 

 short way runs parallel with the glacier and goes over some narrow ledges of 

 rock, decorated with Alpen-rosen, {Rliododendron ferrugineum) and Azalea pro- 

 cumhens. We soon however descend upon the ice and pick out our way among 

 the numerous blue crevasses and over various narrow bridges of ice. In this 

 way some miles were soon passed over, till we arrived at a spot where the 

 glacier divides into several branches. Turning to the left we come to the 

 foot of a high moraine ; (for the benefit of^those not acquainted with glacier 

 terms, I may mention that a moraine is a mass of rocks and earth that 

 falHng from the hills above, has accumulated on the glacier, and is carried 

 onwards by it as it descends. If the moraine is in the centre of the glacier 

 it is said to be *' medial" — if at the sides " lateral." These masses are often 

 of considerable size.) This moraine was of the kind termed lateral, and on 

 it I observed several species of Alpine plants, — among them Senecio incanus, 

 Linaria alpina, Achillea nana, etc. On the left of the moraine the glacier 

 Talefre descends a very broken and pinnacled surface ; and part of its rocky 

 bed being uncovered, showed beautiful examples of ice-polished rock. 



After about an hour's fatiguing scramble up the moraine we approached 

 the edge of the glacier where its smooth surface permitted us to cross. As 

 the sun had now begun to make its rays felt, before venturing on the daz- 

 zling snow-covered ice, we thought it advisable for the welfare of the skin 

 of our faces to put on our masks veils and snow spectacles. Thus equipped, 

 we trudged for about half an hour through the snow and reachod the 

 "Jardin." 



" The " Garden" is a somewhat triangular slope, of about seven acres in 

 extent, covered with rocks and grass. The lowest part of it is 9,030 feet 

 above the sea. It is entirely surrounded by ice and snow, and enclosed in a 

 vast amphitheatre of snow-covered rocky hills, some pointed like needles, 

 {Aiguilles) others in long sharp ridges, and culminating in the round summit 

 of Mont Blanc, 15,784 feet above the sea. A terrible silence reigned over 

 all the wide expanse of snow and ice, and barren rock, and was made all the 



