10 DR. THOMSON'S MISSION TO THIBET. 
slope, which was gentle and grassy, they descended along the edge of 
the snow for several hundred feet. The wood which covered the 
greater part of the north face was still almost leafless, but by the 
fallen leaves or the buds I recognised an Acer, a Cerasus, and Pavia. 
Close to the top nothing grew but Birch, known at once by its silvery 
bark peeling off in large flakes: it was only commencing to flower. 
The ground under the trees was still covered with snow, so that 
nothing was to be looked for there. 
The navigable part of the Thelam terminates at the town of Islama- 
bad, and with it also the wide part of the valley. In the neighbour- 
hood of Islamabad five or six streams descending from the mountains 
in different directions unite to form the Thelam. They are separated 
from one another by mountain-ranges, lofty where they branch off from 
the snowy range, but gradually sinking in height, till at last, near 
Islamabad, they sink into the plain. The valley up which my road 
lay, is the most southerly of all, and had consequently the snowy range 
for its south boundary. Two days’ journey from Islamabad brought 
me to the foot of the pass by which I was to leave Kashmir. These 
two days' journey were through a very different country from the great 
plain. The valley was perhaps two miles in width, sloping gently, and 
covered with Rice fields still quite bare, without even any indication of 
approaching cultivation. The abundance of water for irrigation was, 
I presume, the cause of Rice being the universal crop. I did not see 
a single field of Wheat; and with the Wheat and Barley, the whole of 
the weeds, which had been so abundant and constituted by far the 
greater part of the plants in flower, disappeared also. The stream was 
rapid, and had a wide gravelly bed. Myricaria, and a spinous Astra- 
galus, characteristic of a dryish climate, were common on its bank. 
e Banahal Pass, so called from the district of that name which 
lies to the south of it, is less elevated than I anticipated, scarcely above 
10,000 feet. The ravines on the ascent to it were still full of snow, as 
were the woods facing the north, but the ridge up which the road lay 
was almost free. On the top there were large patches of snow, but 
it was not continuous; and the southern slopes were quite free from 
it. To the north, I observed a good deal of wood, composed principally 
of Acer, Pavia, and a Cherry with racemose flowers. On the upper 
part of the ascent, Birch appeared, and near the top it became the 
most abundant tree, and was mixed with a few trees of a Pine (Picea). 
