Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 20? 



tongue of land formed by its entrance into the large torrent Matee- 

 sum, which flows 1200 feet below where the castle stands. The sur- 

 rounding country is uninteresting, the vegetation consisting of a few 

 low shrubs and some grasses : of the former the most common are a 

 species of barberry, and a hitherto undescribed genus of Hamamelid<B' 

 No woods can be reached without ascending 1200 or 1500 feet. Bar- 

 ley was the chief cultivation we saw, but the crops alternated with 

 rice, which is here cultivated as high as 6800 feet. In the gardens 

 attached to the cottages, or rather huts, we observed the almond and 

 pear in full blossom : the only other trees were two or three weep- 

 ing cypresses and willows, and a solitary poplar. Nothing could 

 well exceed the discomfort we had to und^go during our tedious 

 stay at this place. Our difficulties were increased subsequently to 

 our arrival by the occurrence of unsettled weather, during which we 

 had ample proofs that Bootan houses are not always water-proof ; 

 we were besides incessantly annoyed with a profusion of rats, bugs, 

 and fleas ; nor was there a single thing to counterbalance all these 

 inconveniences, and we consequently left the place without the sha- 

 dow of a feeling of regret. 



March 24th. To Tchinjipjee. "We commenced by ascending until 

 we had surmounted a ridge about 800 feet above Taseeling ; during 

 the remainder of the march we traversed undulating ground at nearly 

 the same altitude, at first through an open country, afterward through 

 beautiful oak and magnolia woods, until we came on the torrent 

 above which we had been ascending since leaving the Mateesum ; a 

 little further on we came on the finest temple we had seen, and si- 

 tuated in a most romantic spot. It stood on a fine patch of sward^ 

 in a gorge of the ravine, the sides of which were covered with beau- 

 tiful cedar-looking pines ; the back ground was formed by lofty 

 mountains covered with heavy snow. Following the river upwards 

 for about a mile and a half, we reached Tchinjipjee, which is situated 

 on the right bank of the torrent. The march was throughout beau- 

 tiful, particularly through the forest, which abounded in picturesque 

 glades. No villages or cultivation were seen. Tchinjipjee is perhaps 

 the prettiest place we saw in Bootan ; our halting-place stood on fine 

 sward, well ornamented with (Quercus seme carpifoUa }) very pictu- 

 resque oaks, and two fine specimens of weeping cypress. The sur- 

 rounding hills are low, either almost entirely bare or clothed with 

 pines. The village is of ordinary size, and is the only one visible in 

 any direction; its elevation is 786 feet. There is some cultivation 

 about it, chiefly of barley, mixed with radishes. 



March 11 th. We continued following the river upwards, the path 



