he attention in this region. Filling in the spaces
between the trees and larger plants, on every trunk and stump and
branch, are hosts of Orchids, Ferns and Lycopods, which wave and hang
and intertwine in ever-varying complexity. At about 5,000 feet I first
saw horsetails (Equisetum), very like our own species. At 6,000 feet,
raspberries abound, and thence to the summit of the mountain there are
three species of eatable Rubus. At 7,000 feet Cypresses appear, and the
forest trees become reduced in size, and more covered with mosses and
lichens. From this point upward these rapidly increase, so that the
blocks of rock and scoria that form the mountain slope are completely
hidden in a mossy vegetation. At about 5,000 feet European forms of
plants become abundant. Several species of Honeysuckle, St. John's-wort,
and Guelder-rose abound, and at about 9,000 feet we first meet with the
rare and beautiful Royal Cowslip (Primula imperialis), which is said to
be found nowhere else in the world but on this solitary mountain summit.
It has a tall, stout stem, sometimes more than three feet high, the
root leaves are eighteen inches long, and it bears several whorls of
cowslip-like flowers, instead of a terminal cluster only. The forest
trees, gnarled and dwarfed to the dimensions of bushes, reach up to the
very rim of the old crater, but do not extend over the hollow on its
summit. Here we find a good deal of open ground, with thickets of
shrubby Artemisias and Gnaphaliums, like our southernwood and cudweed,
but six or eight feet high; while Buttercups, Violets, Whortleberries,
Sow-thistles, Chickweed, white and yellow Cruciferae Plantain, and
annual grasses everywhere abound. Where there are bushes and shrubs,
the St. John's-wort and Honeysuckle grow abundantly, while the Imperial
Cowslip only exhibits its elegant blossoms under the damp shade of the
thickets.

Mr. Motley, who visited the mountain in the dry season, and paid much
attention to botany, gives the following list of genera of European
plants found on or near the summit: Two species of Violet, three of
Ranunculus, three of Impatiens, eight or ten of Rubus, and species of
Primula, Hypericum, Swertia, Convallaria (Lily of the Valley), Vaccinium
(Cranberry), Rhododendron, Gnaphalium, Polygonum, Digitalis (Foxglove),
Lonicera (Honey-suckle), Plantago (Rib-grass), Artemisia (Wormwood),
Lobelia, Oxalis (Wood-sorrel), Quercus (Oak), and Taxus (Yew). A few of
the smaller plants