close to the road, near the mouth of a valley, in a
remarkably pretty spot. They are, of course, objects
of worship; and a ruined temple stands close behind
them, with three very conspicuous trees—a peepul, a
banyan, and a white, thick-stemmed, leafless Sterculia,
whose branches bore dense clusters of greenish foetid
flowers. The hot springs are four in number, and rise
in as many ruined brick tanks, each about two yards
across. Another tank, fed by a cold spring, about
twice that size, flows between two of the hot, only two
or three paces distant from one of the latter on either
hand. All meet in one stream after a few yards, and
are conducted by bricked canals to a pool about eighty
yards off.
The water of the cold spring is sweet but not good,
and emits gaseous bubbles; it was covered with a
green floating Conferva. Of the four hot springs, the
most copious is about three feet deep, bubbles constantly,
boils eggs, and though brilliantly clear, has an
exceedingly nauseous taste.
Confervce abound in the warm stream from the
springs, and two species, one ochreous brown, and the
other green, occur on the margins of the tanks themselves,
and in the hottest water; the brown is the best
salamander, and forms a belt in deeper water than the
green; both appear in broad luxuriant strata, wherever
the temp, is cooled down to 168°, and as low as 90°.
Of flowering plants, three showed in an eminent degree
a constitution capable of resisting the heat, if not a
predilection for it; these were all Cyperacece, having
their roots in water of 100°, and where they are
probably exposed to greater heat; all were very luxuriant.
From the margins of the four hot springs I
gathered sixteen species of flowering plants, and from
the cold tank five, which did not grow in the hot. A
water-beetle abounded in water at 112°, with quantities
of dead shells; at 90° frogs were very lively, with live
shells, and various water-beetles.
I left Belcuppee on the 8th of February, following
Mr. Williams’ camp: the morning was clear and cold,
the temperature being only 56°. I crossed the nearly
dry broad bed of the Burkutta river, a noble stream
during the rains, carrying along huge boulders of
granite. Near this I passed the Cholera-tree, a famous
peepul, so called from a detachment of infantry having
been attacked and decimated at the spot by that fell
disease: it was covered with. inscriptions and votive
tokens in the shape of rags, &c. The road continued
to ascend to 1360 feet, where I came upon a small
forest of the Indian Olibanum (Boswellia tlmrifera),
conspicuous from its pale bark, and spreading curved
branches, leafy at their tips ; its general appearance is
a good deal like that of the mountain ash. The very
fragrant and transparent gum, celebrated throughout
the East, was flowing abundantly from the trunks.
Descending to the village of Burshoot, we lost sight
of the Olibanum, and came upon a magnificent tope of
mango, banyan, and peepul, so far superior to anything
hitherto met with, that we were glad to choose such a
pleasant halting-place for breakfast. There were a few
lofty fan-palms here too, great rarities in this soil and
at this elevation: one, about eighty feet high, towered
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