Vegetation of Ourika valley — Destruction of the native trees — Our progress checked — Enforced return — Shelluh village — Ride from Ourika to Reraya — Trouble with our escort — A friendly Shelluh sheik — Native desire for medical advice — Characteristics of the Shelluhs — Zaouia of Moulaï Ibrahim — Camp in Aït Mesan valley — Excursion to the head of the valley — Reach the snow — Night travelling in the Atlas. At sunrise, on April 10, the thermometer stood at 60°, and in this delightful climate we were in the best spirits for undertaking the work that seemed to be ready cut out for us, by exploring the fine valley that led directly from our station to the heart of the great mountain chain. Our expectations were, indeed, somewhat damped by the discussions that had already taken place with the Vice-Governor and with Kaïd el Hasbi. They did not deny that we might travel some way up the valley, but asserted that it would not be practicable for us to ‘reach the snow.’ It was impossible to leave the spot where we encamped without giving a little time for collecting some of the very interesting plants that grew close at hand. Foremost amongst these was a leguminous shrub that seems destined to become an ornament to the gardens of Europe. This—_Adenocarpus anagyrifolius_, of Cosson—was first found in 1867, by M. Balansa, and seems to be common, especially near the banks of streams, between 3,000 and 5,000 feet above the sea level throughout this part of the Great Atlas. The long racemes of bright yellow flowers were conspicuous from a distance, and we afterwards found the pods, densely covered with black glands, but nowhere containing ripe seed. Another new bush belonging to the same natural order was also seen for the first time—_Hedysarum membranaceum_, of Cosson. Unlike the other, this is rare, and seems to be limited to the lower zone at the foot of the mountains. We failed to find either flower or fruit, though M. Balansa gathered both, perhaps at a lower level, in May 1867. We also collected fine specimens of two new and very distinct species, first seen on the preceding day—_Lotononis maroccana_, Ball, and _Lotus maroccanus_, Ball. Soon after 8 we got under way, and, after a short ride along the right bank, reached the stream above the part where the water is carried off for irrigation purposes. It was now seen to be a rapid torrent, from twenty to forty yards in width, and nearly two feet deep. For some distance the narrow floor of the valley was nearly flat, and the moist soil was covered with poplars and willows, and a dense undergrowth of grasses and herbaceous flowering plants. Among these were two large _Ranunculi_, and a gigantic orchid, growing four or five feet high, only a variety of our common _Orchis latifolia_.