was Pampur, seven miles from the town of Kashmir.
After traversing the magnificent avenue of poplars, which
runs north-west from the town, the road winds round
the base of the Takht, the eastern face of which is only
separated from the Jelam by a low swampy tract, a few
hundred yards in breadth. East of the Takht a succession
of rugged trap hills skirt the road, but beyond
these the more distant mountains are evidently stratified.
The road was grassy and quite level, and passed through
much cultivation, the young wheat and barley being
dripping with a heavy dew which had fallen during the
night. A scarlet poppy and Adonis were common weeds
among the corn.
Next day I travelled to Avantipura, seven miles further.
The lacustrine formations, which had made their appearance
on the bank of the river a little west of Pampur,
continued to occur more or less constantly as we proceeded
eastward, and the road traversed for some miles
an-elevated plain, quite bare of trees, and only partially
cultivated, while the remainder was covered with grass.
The surface of this plain was eroded by wide transverse
valleys, formed by little streams which ran towards the
Jelam: these were flat, and well cultivated, some of
the wheat being already in ear. On the highest parts
of the platform the cultivation of saffron is carried on,
in beds four or five feet square, separated by deep ditches
or furrows from one another. The plant, which flowers
in autumn, was now in full leaf.
Behind Avantipura lies a high mountain, called Was-
terwan, rising to a height of 10,000 feet above the sea
by the determination of Jacquemont, or 4700 feet above
the plain. It projects forward in an almost isolated
manner, though it is connected by a narrow ridge behind
with the general mass of the range on the north
side of the valley. On the 4th of May I ascended to
the summit of this mountain, which I found to be entirely
formed of trap, partly homogeneous, and partly
amygdaloidal. Several gigantic Umbettiferce, already in
full flower, were abundant in the lower parts of the open
valley by which I ascended. One of these was Francos
pabularia, which formed dense thickets four or five feet
high. From this open valley I got upon a sharp ridge,
grassy below but very rocky above, along which I proceeded
almost to the top; but being stopped by a precipice,
I was obliged to enter a narrow rocky ravine,
by ascending which I managed to gain the summit,
which was grassy and rounded, and covered with a few
patches of snow. On the northern face of the hill snow
still lay in great quantity. The view from the top was
very fine, the day being in every respect favourable : the
greater part of the valley of Kashmir was seen spread
out far below, and a complete circle of snowy mountains
bounded the horizon. The mountains to the north were
seen to be distinctly stratified.
The commonest plants on the ascent were a beautiful
rose-coloured Oxytropis, and a tulip (T. stellata), the
flowers of which, when fully expanded, spread out like
a star. A few trees of Pinus excelsa were seen on the
upper part of the ridge; and in a hollow close to the top
there were about a dozen yew-trees. On the summit,
though the vegetation was not generally alpine, most
of the plants of the middle zone extending to the very