long detours were necessary, to pass deep lateral ravines.
The valley was in general open, and the hill-sides only
sparingly wooded, though at intervals along the stream
there was a fine and dense forest of oaks, horse-chesnut,
laurels, and Celtis. The ranges of mountains on both
sides were tipped with snow, and from my camp of
the 10th the snowy range in front appeared so close,
that I could scarcely give credence to the assurances of
my guides that I was still a good day’s journey from its
base.
Since I had left Jamu, the weather had been very
uniform. The mornings were generally fine, with a
cloudless sky and little or no wind; towards the afternoon,
or if not then, certainly in the evening or during
the night, clouds collected, and it rained heavily. This
was of daily occurrence; sometimes the rain lasted for
several hours, but before morning the sky was always
serene. The atmosphere was hazy, as is usually the case
in the Himalaya during the dry season, before the accession
of the rains.
On the 11th, I continued to ascend the valley. At
the commencement of the march, the hills were bare
and open, and the vegetation was still entirely that of
the middle zone. There was a good deal of cultivation,
and the wheat was still green. After crossing
several ravines, the road began to ascend rapidly
through a wood of small trees of holly-leaved oak, interspersed
with numerous small patches of cultivation.
Among the com, Adonis aestivalis, and a number of
other common Kashmir weeds, were abundant, and apri-
cot-trees were commonly planted. By degrees, other
trees were mingled with the oaks, and the forest became
very dense, with luxuriant undergrowth of Indi-
goferae, Spiraea Lindleyana, and Philadelphus, and a
vine was common, climbing up the trunks of the trees.
Numerous open glades, covered with a luxuriant herbaceous
vegetation of dock and other rank plants, were
met with in the forest, which, though not so beautiful,
a good deal resembled that of Mahasu, near Simla. On
the opposite and shady side of the valley, the forest
seemed to be chiefly composed of pines. As the elevation
increased, silver fir and alpine oak began to appear,
and soon became the only trees in the forest. The
ravines were now all full of snow, the oaks were still
in flower, and there was little or no vegetation under
their shade, except in swampy places, where a bright
yellow Caltha and a pink Dentaria were in full flower.
I encamped at 10,600 feet, on an open grassy spot overlooking
a deep ravine full of snow, which lay between
me and the snowy range in front.
On emerging from the forest, which extended close to
my camp, I found myself surrounded by a truly alpine
vegetation. Rhododendron campanulatum, which is certainly,
when en masse and in full flower, the pride of our
northern Indian mountains in early spring, was in vast
abundance and great beauty. The hills around were
covered with birch; Rhododendron lepidotum, Gaultheria
trichocarpa, Deutzia corymbosa, willows, and many other
alpine shrubs, covered the rocks, and the moist grassy
sward of the open spots was adorned with the brilliant
flowers of Primula denticulata, Corydalis, Govaniana,
Gagea, Caltha, and other plants. The sky was brilliantly
z