556 
ON THE VEGETATION OF THE DEE. 
which it often exhibits sections 60 or 80 feet high. Then 
comes the Pass of Tulloch, by which we enter the truly 
mountainous district of the river. A long and slightly tor- 
tuous valley, bounded by brown, rounded hills, and abun- 
dantly wooded with pine and birch, extends to near the 
sources of the Dee, in search of which we enter the lateral 
and terminal valleys, destitute of wood, striped with rolled 
stones and gravel, and ascend the central Grampians, co- 
vered wdth debris, furrowed by rills and torrents, and here 
and there presenting precipices and corries of great magni- 
ficence, in which lie patches of snow, and among which the 
alpine plants have found a place best fitted for their de- 
velopment. The whole course of the river is comparative- 
ly sterile. There are no deep alluvial deposits of clay (Sr 
mud, nor any extensive fields of rich soil. Heath, pine 
and birch, are the prevailing plants. Wheat does not 
thrive even at the mouth of the river. Potatoes, turnips, 
oats and bigg, are the only plants extensively cultivated. 
The pastures in the mountainous district are richer than 
those of the lower part, but they are of small extent, and 
in the whole course of the river there is not a single hill 
top or mountain slope covered with verdure. No river in 
Scotland approaches in its characters to the Dee excepting 
the Spey, which has a decided resemblance to it. 
