lagers were busy ploughing, both bullocks and men knee-
deep in soft mud. Further on, the valley contracted,
and cultivation only occurred at intervals. In the narrower
parts, the stream was fringed with trees, but the
hill-sides were still quite bare. Round the villages there
were very fine trees, chiefly walnut, horse-chesnut, and
elms, with the ordinary fruit-trees; but the plane and
black poplar do not occur, nor are any vines cultivated
in the valley. The winter is said to be quite as severe
as in Kashmir; and the elevation, so far as I could
determine it by the boiling-point of water, is a little
greater, the lower villages (in one of which I encamped)
being about 5500 feet, while the highest fields are about
6000 feet. In the woods, Fothergilla, cherry, sycamore,
and horse-chesnut were common, just as in Kashmir. The
season was much further advanced than on the north
side of the pass, all these trees being fully in leaf, and
the horse-chesnut in flower! The greater part of the
vegetation was identical with that of Kashmir, but I
saw many more species, probably only from the
more advanced state of the season. The Zizyphus and
rose {E. Webbiana) of Kashmir were still common, and
the white poplar was wild along the banks of the
stream. I did not, however, see Daphne or Myricaria,
In shady lateral ravines an oak was frequent, the more
interesting as I had seen none in Kashmir; it was Q„
floribunda, a species of the middle zone of the outer
Himalaya, which usually occurs at higher levels than
Q. incana, and lower than Q. semecarpifolia.
Though the river of Banahal is a tributary of the
Chenab, yet the district has always been considered as
a dependency of Kashmir, from which it is only a short
day’s journey distant, while for several days in descending
towards the Chenab, the country is almost uninhabited.
Halting one day at Banahal to change my porters, I made
three marches to Nasmon, on the right bank of the
Chenab, following the course of the Banahal river during
the first and part of the second march, but afterwards leaving
it, on account of its increasing ruggedness, to cross
the range on the left hand by a pass about 8000 feet
above the sea, which overhangs the valley of the Chenab.
The bounding spurs which hem in the Banahal valley descend
almost perpendicularly upon the Chenab, and dip
at last very abruptly to that river. At first, large masses
of snow were visible at the sources of all the lateral
valleys, but lower down the elevation was not sufficient,
and the hills were bare. After leaving the last village of
Banahal, the bottom of the valley was for some time level
and covered with fine forest, consisting chiefly of magnificent
trees of Celtis, elm, and alder; the others were
two species of Acer, Fraxinus, Morus, Populus ciliata,
and a willow. Fothergilla now grew to a small tree,
and Marlea made its appearance, the first indication of
an approach to a hot climate. Soon, the banks of the
river became rocky, and left no passage, so that the road
ascended on the right bank, and lay at a considerable
elevation on the hill-sides, looking down upon a richly
wooded and often rocky glen. The hills were steep and
generally bare, but the ravines were often well wooded.
Finns excelsa occurred occasionally; Quercus floribunda
was common, and Q. lanata made its appearance.
Before leaving the Banahal river, I had got down to