INTRODUCTORY ESSAY." 197 



the extreme west from which both classes of plants are ab- 

 sent, or in which these exterior Himalayan trees are found 

 along with forms common in Kunawar and Kishtwar. Fo- 

 thergilla involucrata (first observed by Falconer, in Kashmir) 

 is a curious instance of a tree plentiful in all parts of the 

 temperate zone, from Kashmir to the Ravi, but not found 

 further east. 



The alpine flora of the Western 



eastern 



characteristic forms of Western Asia, which we have ob- 



served in 



The mountains 



umaon are rich in beautiful Nipal 

 Meconopsis, Codonopsis, various 



frages, and many others ; but their number rapidly diminishes 

 as we advance westward, and the vegetation of the higher 

 Alps of Kashmir is almost identical even in species with that 

 of the mountains of Afghanistan, Persia, and Siberia. 



6^ ^ x L11C v ^g 



Western 



Himalaya we are indebted to Dr. Govan, who seems to have 

 explored some parts of Sirmur and Garhwal, and to General 

 Hardwicke, who travelled in Garhwal and mmrmirnpntprl nlrmtc 



t> 



Wallich. The Wallichian Herbar 



tains specimens from both these travellers, and also from 



Simla 



Hardwar and Dehra 



made 



the interior of Kumaon by Blinkworth and others. 



The list of botanists who have investigated the flora of the 

 Western Himalaya, includes the names of Royle, Jacquemont, 

 Falconer, Griffith, Munro, Edgeworth, Madden, Strachey, 

 Winterbottom, and Fleming ; but we have already (pp. G0- 

 70) entered into such details regarding their labours, as to 

 render it unnecessary to dwell upon them here. Mr. Edge- 

 worth collected in Kumaon, Garhwal, Simla, and Kunawar, 

 and he has recently communicated to the Hookerian Her- 

 barium a valuable set of plants from Chamba and Kulu, and 



