FROM DARJEELING TO TOtfOLO. 117 



of course a very large variety of species. The present Deputy 

 Commissioner of Darjeeling, J. Ware Edgar, C. S. I., has lately 

 opened a bridle-road which follows the watershed round the head 

 of the little Runjeet river ; so that the Lieut.-Grovernor of Bengal 

 lately rode the twenty-three miles from Tonglo top to Dar- 

 jeeling in three hours. Mr. Edgar is now building a bungalow 

 on the summit of Tonglo ; and when this is completed, the Tonglo 

 excursion will be within the reach of every lady in Darjeeling. 



On the 13th of September last I marched in two days to Tonglo 

 top from Darjeeling, camped one day on Tonglo top, and marched 

 back again in two more days. The day I camped on Tonglo 

 there was so violent a rain, with wind and thunder, that I did 

 not leave my tent ; and my botanic notulae relate, therefore, 

 solely to the two days' march thither and two back. The new 

 route lies wholly above 7000 feet, except a very short dip to the 

 saddle at the head of the little Eunjeet river ; so that it probably 

 affords not more than a third the number of species to be got on 

 Dr. Hooker's route. The present path, after once clearing Dar- 

 jeeling station, lies entirely in the dripping forest-belt between 



7000-8000 feet elevation, with a final ascent to Tonglo of 2000 

 feet more. The flora of the route thus being uniform, is manage- 

 able in quantity, and is a very characteristic one. So dense is 

 the jungle along this path that, except where the natives have 

 cleared a few spots for huts, it is hardly possible to pitch a small 



tent anywhere. 



I determined, immediately on my return to Darjeeling, to 

 jot down, for communication to the Linnean Society, the botanic 

 results of my march out, in the appended list of plants observed — 

 because, while on the one hand these results include three new 

 genera of Cucurbits and various new or improved descriptions of 

 species, on the other hand my own herbarium is tinned down in 

 boxes in Calcutta, and it is not likely that I shall soon be able 

 to work down these rough collections. That is to say, first, I 

 think my Tonglo expedition has supplied me enough new r mate- _ 

 rial to justify a paper for the Society's Journal ; secondly, I can 

 make the paper as complete now as I shall be able to do at 

 any time before my interest in the expedition has died away and 

 the collection of plants has got mixed in my general collections. 



I have made this explanation because the following list of names 

 is given by me almost entirely from memory. I have not got my 

 own set of plants to compare ; and I have very few books ; it 



