34 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BOTANY OF 
On desbénding the western passes of the Himalaya, we enter the district of Kunawur, 
which has been described by Captain Herbert as comprehending the valley of the 
Sutlej and its principal feeders, from lat. 31° 33’, long. 77°47’, to lat. 31° 51’, long. 
78° 42/. It is bounded on the north-east and west by Tartar provinces, under the 
influence of China, and may be said to be contained within the Himalayas; for on the 
south it has the Indian snowy range, and on the north the Parkyul ridge, the highest 
peak of which is twenty-two thousand feet. There is no table land, or undulating plain ; 
the mountains are tipped with snow, and the villages of Kunawur are situated in the 
valley of the Sutlej itself, or in glens watered by its principal feeders: their general 
elevation is from eight to nine thousand feet ; though some are below, others are much 
above this height, being at least twelve thousand feet in the interior. 
Lower Kunawur commences near Seran, of which the climate is fine, though Ram- 
pore, the capital of Bissehir, not far distant, elevated: three thousand three hundred feet, 
but situated in a valley, has sultry days (the thermometer as high sometimes as 100°, 
and even 110°) and chilly nights, with hot summers and cold winters. ‘Some of the | 
lower villages are subject to the periodical rains, which make their way up the valley of 
the Sutlej and across the lower part of the Himalaya. Near these, grapes do not 
thrive, but long rank grass, a species of Saccharum, eight or ten feet in length, with 
Aneilema, and other tropical genera, ‘are found; higher up the river, the villages are 
more elevated, and the rains less regular and heavy. Here there are luxuriant vineyards, 
where the delicious grapes are dried as raisins, and converted into a kind of wine ; 
orchards of apricot, apple, walnut, and in-some places of peaches are seen, with pear- 
trees, of which also the fruit is dried. The forest-trees consist of Pinus Deodara and. 
_Gerardiana, with yew, holly, oaks, and horse-chesnuts. | 
Upper Kunawur is still higher up the stream, and completely beyond the influence of 
the periodical rains, the height of the outer chain of the Himalaya being sufficient to 
exclude them from this, as well as from a part.of Lower Kunawur; the climate is there- 
fore dry and cold, the country covered with snow in winter, but insummer enjoying a few 
months of powerful sun. The nights become frosty in the middle of September, and the 
thermometer sinks below the freezing point in the mornings in October, and snow falls 
towards the end of that month, or in the beginning of November, and covers the ground 
until March or April. The climate being sodry, the falls of snow are not heavy, but the 
winters are extremely rigorous. In July and August, there are alternately light clouds 
and sunshine, the air is somewhat humid, and there is occasionally a little rain. In 
some villages, surrounded by high mountains, the sun is not seen for more than nine 
hours, but in others the temperature is high, as the thermometer ranges in July and 
August from 55° to 58° in the morning, to 80° and even 85° at noon, in villages elevated 
‘ten thousand feet. 
Th comparison of the Tartar districts more to the northward, Kunawur exhibits a 
green and lively picture of vegetation, as there are forests of pines, poplars, willows, 
junipers, and cypresses. ‘‘ The pasture zones occupy a belt between the limit of trees 
and 
