It will be more convenient to reserve details for the remarks on the vegetation of this and the Amsmiz valley, which will be found in the Appendix; but it must be owned that the general impression now made, and increased on further acquaintance, was not free from disappointment. As compared with any of the higher mountain masses surrounding the Mediterranean, already known to us, this is singularly unproductive of ornamental species attractive to the eye. The Sierra Nevada of Granada, the Lebanon chain, and the mountain ranges of Asia Minor, all exhibit at this season a multitude of bright-hued plants to delight the traveller, even though they may not rival the splendour of the higher zone of the Alps and Pyrenees to one who sees this a month or two later. Another remarkable feature was the absence of trees, and especially of true conifers. The dwarf evergreen oak that clothes the middle zone of the Atlas was no longer seen, and there was no pine, or spruce, or cedar to take its place. The solitary juniper that we afterwards saw was scarcely noticed at this, our first, visit. It is sometimes said that naturalists take no delight in the beauty of the objects of their study; but this is surely untrue of the great majority. Probably the notion has arisen from the fact that, in addition to the sources of pleasure which he shares with the rest of the world, the naturalist finds food for the sense of beauty as well as scientific interest, unsuspected by his critics, in exploring the internal structure of organised beings. Be this as it may, it is certain that the generally sombre aspect of the vegetation, harmonising as it did with that of the scenery, had a somewhat depressing effect on all the members of our party, while at the same time it only increased our desire to reach the upper part of the rugged barrier of rock that rose some 5,000 feet around the head of the valley where we stood.