This article was downloaded by: [McGill University Library] On: 04 November 2014, At: 20:04 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tped18 I. Botanical Trip to Mont Cenis and the Maritime Alps. By GEORGE MAW, F.G.S., F.L.S George Maw F.G.S. F.L.S. Published online: 29 Nov 2010. To cite this article: George Maw F.G.S. F.L.S. (1873) I. Botanical Trip to Mont Cenis and the Maritime Alps. By GEORGE MAW, F.G.S., F.L.S, Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 12:1-4, 211-221, DOI: 10.1080/03746607309469519 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03746607309469519 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and- conditions Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 20:04 04 November 2014 Botanical Trip to Mont Omit, 211 llio bnso of tlio atom, and one in tlio middle; the lowest -licatlm without any lamina. Male spike about \ inch long, fusiform, fmiale Pinko \ to \ in<h long. Fruit about { inch long. Tlio male spikes in Mr Sadler's specimens imvo ono or two female flowers towards the base. "The leaves rcscmblo those of Cat (X binrrvis, but tlio spikes and fruit are quite unliko those of any other British Carex, though similar to those of Carcx fuliyinosa, which differs by its crespitoso growth, narrower leaves, white margined iuternal edges of teeth of the fruit and clavate male spike, with female flowers at tlio apex." 10th December 1874.—ALEXANDER BUCHAN, M.A., in the Chair. Tbo following Communications were read :— I, Botanical Trip to Moid Cents ami the Maritime Alps. By GEORGE MAW, F.G.S., F.L.S. Mr Ball, in his " Guide to the Western Alps," says of Mont Cenis that " it is one of tlio best headquarters for a naturalist in the entire chain of tbe Alps." There is no part of the Alps more easily accessible. You may breakfast in London, and on tbe evening of the following day find yourself comfortably quartered on tbe summit of the Pass, be­ tween G000 and 7000 feet above the sea, almost within sight of tbe glowing plain of Lomhardy, and surrounded by mountains abounding in tbe richest gems of the alpine flora. Soon after daybreak, just twenty-four hours from leaving London, you are entering a picturesque valley through tbo Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 20:04 04 November 2014 chain of tbe Jura, shut in by noble escarpments of oolitic limestone, clothed with a luxuriant growth of Box and a rich subalpine flora. Many interesting plants are seen from tbe railway, including Orchis luxijlora, Caihanthiis avgua- ti/olius, with pale rose-coloured flowers. Here ami there, at the margins of the woods. Spit a a A i minis displays its ftrttbtry sprays of elegant in am-coloured flowers, and iu 'be early autumn Saiitbwus ra<imosu is conspicuous with >ts bunches of coral-red fruit. One of the commonest plants 212 Mi George Maw on a Botanical Trip to b\ the hide of the nilway ami on the shingle beds of the btiuiin is Epilubium rosmarinifoliuiii—perl tips the most ornamental speeies of the beautiful genus. It attains a height of 3 feet, and in the higher alps assumes a dwarfer habit, under the name of Epilubium Dodonozi. Salvia pralcnsis is a frequent weed on the railway banks, and here and there may be seen Salvia Sclarca and S. glu- tinosa. Amongst the other commoner plants may be enu­ merated Suxifraga rotundifolia, Sedum altissimum, Primula farinosa, Saponaria ovymvides (which forms lovely rose- coloured patches on the rocks), Genista sagitlalis, Teucrium Chamadrys, and T. montanum. At 9 A.M. Culoz Junction is reached, and after half an hour's delay for the division of the Swiss from the Italian train, we turn south, cross the Rhone, skirt the beautiful lake of Bourget, and enter, after passing Chambery, the Yal de Marienne. The line gradually ascends through a picturesque subalpine district. HippopJiae rhamnoides, laden with orange-scarlet berries, is remarkably abundant on the shingle beds of the valley, and Berbcris vulgaris, in full fruit, is one of the commonest shrubs. Here and there the remains of ancient moraines form dams across the ravine, through which the turbid river has cut narrow chan­ nels, and rushes amid huge boulders in its course towards the Isiire. Deeply striated rock surfaces are occasionally seen where the glacial debris has been removed, indicating the former existence of a great glacier that filled up the valley, and has now receded 20 miles in distance, and 4000 or 5000 feet in altitude. The valley gradually narrows, and up the lateral ravines glimpses are occasionally obtained of the snow-capped summits of the Mount Tabor range to the south, and the Dent Parassee to the north. Picturesque Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 20:04 04 November 2014 cliffs of contorted strata of the age of our lias and upper trias shut in the valley through which the rail ascends, and here and there are so twisted as to completely invert by great folds the succession of the beds. Soon after one o'clock Modane is reached, and the entrance of the great tunnel high overhead approached by a double bend in the railway, and a steep incline of three miles. Mont Cenis is, how­ ever, still fifteen miles off, and leaving the rail at Modane, a drive of three or four hours brings me at nightfall to the (V,i« and the Maritime Alps. 213 village of Lans le Bourg. Here at a lieight of 4465 feet I am at the foot of the Pass, and on the following morning, after an early breakfast, climb up the steep northern slope of 2000 feet, a long straight incline of alpine pasture, enli­ vened by the bright blue flowers of Gcntiana ciliata, and I reach the summit of the Pass at nine o'clock. I know of no point in the Alps more beautiful than this; northwards I look down between 2000 and 3000 feet into the deep ditch-like valley of the Maurienne, and on to the very roofs of Lans le Bourg, overhung on the opposite side by the snow-capped summits of the Dent Parassee, and the Grand Casse between 12,000 and 13,000 feet high, and 7000 feet above where I stand, the view to the right being completed by the wild valley of Bonneval. The Pass of Mont Cenis is an irregular plateau 6 miles across, with an average altitude of between 6000 and 7000 feet, and bounded on the right and left by mountains exceeding it in lieight by 3000 or 4000 feet. The tout ensemble is charming. Soon after reaching the top of the Pass., I look down on a pretty blue lake occupying the middle of the plateau, and on a terrace of crystalline white sulphate of lime. Overhanging it is an inn, which affords tolerable quarters. The brilliant alpine flora has passed its prime, but the scene is full of attractions, both of form and colour. The marshy meadows surrounding the lake are of a rich golden brown seared by " the mellowing year," and bright with patches of Saxifraga aizoidcs, and a band of fresh emerald-green vegetation separates this from the blue waters of the lake. The foreground is very singular; the terrace of several hundred acres of white saccharoid lime­ stone overhanging the lake has been perforated with thou­ sands of " pot-holes," due to the gradual dissolution of the Downloaded by [McGill University Library] at 20:04 04 November 2014 limestone by watery percolation. Some of these are 30 feet deep, and they are in such close juxtaposition that the whole terrace has been wrought into an intricate network of narrow ridges environing deep pits, forming a complete honey-combed surface, across which it is difficult to climb without making a long and sinuous detour. On the opposite side of the lake the brown mountains shut in the view, the Petit Mont Cenis to the right, and Mont d'Ambin to the left, their picturesque outliuc-s deve- 214 Mr George Maw on a Botanical Trip to loped by a fresh sprinkling of autumnal enow, and framing in the more distant ranges over the Gorge of Savalain.