Armenia and its sorrows

DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 13
after the melting of the snow—that is to say, about
J)) une.
The general aspect of the country is varied in the
extreme, the fertility of the sheltered valleys contrasting
strongly with the rugged bareness of the
wind-swept hills. The road between Erzeroum and
Trebizond is especially noted for its beauty.
After passing the summit, bare, down -like hills
surround the traveller, and then beautiful spruce-fir
forests till the fforo-e, while the g-round beneath them
is a tangle of rhododendrons. Even in mid-winter
the scenery here is very lovely, and in spring, when
the rhododendrons are in flower, and the spruce,
beech, and other trees in full leaf, simply perfect.
Villages soon come into sight, and detached houses
begin to dot the hillside ;
green gi-ass stretches in
glades by the riverside, while every available spot on
the hills is under cultivation. Here and there, near
a village, where fir trees do not hide the view, the
sides of the ravine may be seen rising often in sheer
precipices for hundreds of feet, terminating high up
in the clouds in rugged peaks and crags, on some of
which may be seen the ruins of old stone castles.
Wherever on the cliff" a tree can find root, there
stands a tall tapering spruce, or a dense patch of
rhododendrons. In some parts wear and tear, a
shock of earthquake, or a flash of lightning, has rent
a rocky summit and toppled the greater part of it
down the face of the hill, where masses as big as
cathedrals remain, looking as if the push of a hand
would send them rolling on. Some of these rocks
have fallen into the brook, completely blocking its
course, and the water has risen behind them till it
reached the top and now comes rushing over in a
pretty cascade.
Mr. H. C. Barkley's description of another type
of Armenian scenery is very notable. " It was a