North india — wood 311 



the water held up in springs as a reservoir. The authorities in the 

 Punjab also know that the rain which falls in Kashmir will be held 

 up by the forests till the cold weather, when it is wanted for the 

 canals which are taken off from the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers 

 flowing out of Kashmir territory. 



Of the trees that flourish in the level portions of the valley, the 

 chenar is by far the most striking. As it grows in Kashmir it is a 

 king among trees, and its autumn foliage is one of the many attrac- 

 tions which go to make Kashmir one of the supremely beautiful 

 spots in the world. Its botanical name is Platanus orientalis, one 

 of the varieties of the plane tree. The chief characteristic is the 

 massiveness of its foliage. It grows to a considerable height and 

 has long outstanding branches and great girth. One that Lawrence 

 measured was 63 feet around the base. As the leaves, that remotely 

 resemble those of our sugar maple, are broad and flat, the whole 

 mass of foliage is immense and so thick that both sun and rain are 

 practically excluded from anyone sitting under it. Under the chenar 

 trees in the residency garden at Srinagar one can sit through a hot 

 summer day without a hat and through a summer shower without 

 getting wet. All this mass of foliage turned purple, claret, red, and 

 yellow in the autumn tinting, backed against a clear blue skj^ and 

 overhanging the glittering, placid waters of the Dal Lake or the 

 Jhelum River, forms a picture which can be seen in no other country. 



The elm tree of Kashmir, though not so striking as the chenar, 

 is still a very graceful object. One in the Lolab Valley has been 

 measured as 43 feet in girth, and in the residency garden at Srina- 

 gar are some fine specimens. The walnut is more common, and 

 around the villages many handsome examples of this tree are seen. 

 The poplar is now very common, and is planted alongside the road 

 to what is to the tourist quite a distressing extent, for though these 

 trees furnish desirable shade they also cut off the view. The timber 

 is used a good deal for building, though it is of poor quality. The 

 willow is a more useful tree and is much planted in moist places. 

 Its leaves are used for fodder and its shoots are to some extent 

 employed for basket making. 



Of the many herbaceous forms that delight the eye in the 

 Himalayan region perhaps that gorgeous lily, Gloriosa superba, is 

 the most curious and attractive. Other plants and shrubby vegeta- 

 tion are chiefly representatives of European and Asiatic growths. 

 One may see on the foothills and in the unexposed interiors almost 

 identical examples of such well-known plants as clematis, gentian, 

 primula, saxifrage, geranium, potentilla, and berberis, while species 

 of holly, birch, alder, maple, elm, ash, walnut, yew, horse chestnut, 

 as well as many coniferae and junipers, are well represented. 



