122 THE PLANT WORLD. 



very widespread. There are no trees and no tall plants. Intermixed 

 with the grasses are low heavy weeds which give a dark appearance to 

 the prairie where there are a few of them clustered together. There 

 are however usually few and scattered about amonfj the lio^htcr colored 

 o^rasses. 



It is due myself to state that there was no thought of making any 

 public mention of the above facts, and nothing has been done for 

 "stage eflfect'". The thought of setting the old up against the new 

 only occurred when the latter pile of examination papers were being 

 read. 



The interested reader, if there is one and the hope that there 

 would be is the only reason for this paper, is left to conclude as to the 

 better course without any word of comment from me. 



RHODODENDRON FORESTS OF THE HIMALAYAS. 



"Winding down this forest we reached the saddle in the ridsfe at 

 a crumbling cavin or Mani (6,500 feet), when we halted for lunch; 

 and then zig-zagged up through a burned forest, Avhen the array of 

 tall charred stems stood weird and uncanny-looking. Thence we as- 

 cended through a grade of feathery bamboos, through more gnarled 

 oaks, and more stiffly, through dense thickets of dwarf bamboos, re- 

 trieved by the peach -like blossoms of the still leafless paper laurel 

 {Dcqjhne pajpyrifeni)., from whose tough bark the natives make their 

 Japanese-like paper, — to a ridge, at about 9,000 feet elevation, when 

 there burst upon our view the gorgeous Rhododendron forest in full 

 bloom. 



This glorious sight is equalled nowhere else in the world, for this 

 is the home of the Rhododendrons. The whole hill-side for miles was 

 aglow with the brilliant colors of the Rhododendron flowers. These 

 ranged through almost every hue, from the brilliant vermilion of cln- 

 nahartnitm, the flushing scarlet of faJc/rns, to the crimson of arborcuni 

 and harhaturii; the rose-red of nivalc and Hodgsoni^ the purple of 

 virgatiim, the yellow of WlglitU, the bluish of campanulatum, to the 

 cream of Falconerli and the white of T)alhon,sii^ antliopogon and 

 (irgenfiim. The variety in form and size of the flower was equally 

 great, many of them were huge trees, like great oaks, and the profu- 

 sion of their fallen petals carpeted the ground deep with flery flakes 

 like rosy snow, recalling somewhat the aspect of Japan during the gay 

 festival of the Cherry-blossoms." — Major L. A. Waddell m Among the 

 Himalayas. 



