+ 84 SCIENTIFIC MISSION 
journey, and stop no more for at least a fortnight. My commu- 
nication with India will be hence-forward very irregular, and you 
must not be surprised at not hearing from me by every Mail. H 
shall write, at least, once a month, as materials accumulate ; and 
my letters, though they may travel slowly, will (unless something 
unfortunate occurs) reach you very safely. 
“The road from Simla hither is beaten ground. We march on 
the very track which Jacquemont followed ; though, being a month 
later, I miss many of the plants he mentions. The first four 
marches are high, except in one place, where tropical forms just 
begin to appear, Cedrela Toona being one of the first trees which 
indicates the commencement of tropical vegetation. The first 
day I did not leave Simla till four p.m., and got thoroughly wet 
ere reaching the end of my day’s journey. The second day 
was also unfortunately wet ; but we have since had good weather, 
perfectly dry till to-day, when there is rain again. Our third 
halting-place, Nagkunda, is about 9,000 feet above the sea, and 
Hattoo, a mountain over-looking it, is 1,700 feet higher. We 
were compelled to stop a day at Nagkunda, to await a large quan- 
tity of our luggage, which was still behind, and took the opportu- 
nity of ascending the mountain-top, which is richly wooded to 
within a very short distance from the summit. Quercus semicarpi- 
Jolia is the tree which rises highest; a few bushes of it occur 
close to the peak: the common Tarus, Abies Smithiana, and 
A, Webbiana? (Royle’s Pindron). T cannot call to mind any dif- 
ference between the tree of these hills and 4. Webbiana, which I 
have from Kamaoon ; but I will compare the two when I retum — 
to the plains. It is very remarkable that Pinus longifolia seems — 3 
to have entirely disappeared since leaving Simla, and to be re- | 
placed by P. excelsa, which descends at least as low as 6,000 feet. — — 
Since quitting Simla, I have been accumulating new species with — : 
great rapidity, but have not yet got them into order. Our fourth  — 
. march was to Kotgurh, elevated about 6,600 feet. The road passed — 
a beautiful glen, probably a thousand feet lower, where I made a a 
very fine collection. From Kotgurh we descended into the valley 2 
of the Sutlej, which we joined where its elevation might bea 
