ILLUSTRATIONS (10). THE SNOW-LINE. 77 



thrown on the subject generally by my shortly explaining the 

 state in which I have found the higher parts of the mountains 

 at the different seasons during which I have visited them. 



" In the beginning of May, on the mountains to the east of 

 the Ramganga river, near Namik, I found the ground on the 

 summit of the ridge, called Champ wa, not only perfectly free 

 from snow at an elevation of 12,000 feet, but covered with 

 flowers, in some places golden with calsha and ranunculus 

 polypetalus, in others purple with primulus. The snow had 

 in fact already receded to upwards of 12,500 feet, behind 

 which even a few little gentians proclaimed the advent of 

 spring. 



" Towards the end of the same month, at the end of the 

 Pindur, near the glacier from which that river rises, an open 

 spot on which I could pitch my tent could not be found above 

 12,000 feet. But here the accumulation of snow, which was 

 considerable in all ravines even below 11,000 feet, is mani- 

 festly the result of avalanches and drift. The surface of the 

 glacier, clear ice as well as moraines, was quite free from 

 snow up to nearly 13,000 feet; but the effect of the more 

 retired position of the place in retarding the melting of the 

 snow, was manifest from the less advanced state of the vege- 

 tation. During my stay at Pinduri the weather was very 

 bad, and several inches of snow fell; but, excepting where it 

 had fallen on the old snow, it all melted off again in a few 

 hours, even without the assistance of the sun's direct rays. 

 On the glacier, at 13,000 feet, it had all disappeared twelve 

 hours after it fell. 



" On revisiting Pinduri about the middle of October, the 

 change that had taken place was very striking. Now not a 

 sign of snow was to be seen on any part of the road up to 

 the very head of the glacier; a luxuriant vegetation had 

 sprung up, but had already almost entirely perished, and its 

 remains covered the ground as far as I went. From this 

 elevation, about 13,000 feet, evident signs of vegetation could 

 be seen to extend far up the less precipitous mountains. The 

 place is not one at which the height of the perpetual snow 

 can be easily estimated, for on all sides are glaciers, and the 

 vast accumulations of snow from which they are supplied, and 

 these cannot always be readily distinguished from snow in 

 situ; but as far as I could judge, those places which might be 



