Nov. 1899.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 241 



servants escape unscathed, even when they pass through 

 plague villages. Exactly the same explanations apply 

 to this case as to the case of the pilgrims. 



13. Northern Garhwi'il is divided into four pargunas — 

 Painkhanda, to the north-east ; Nagpur, with its Sadabart 

 pattis, to the north-west ; Badhan, to the south ; Dasoli, in 

 the centre. The habits of the people are identical, and 

 the climate is very much the same in all the four. 

 There is, however, a very great difference in their com- 

 parative liability to plague. Dr. Eenny, in his notes 

 for a report on Mah;imari, dated 19th August 1850, 

 writes in paragraph 1 : " This remarkable distemper first 

 broke out in Garhwiil in the year 1823. It began 

 near Kedarnath, and for some years confined its ravages 

 to parganas Nagpur and Badhan." Nearly twenty-seven 

 years have elapsed since Dr. Eenny wrote this, and during 

 these twenty-seven years there have been repeated out- 

 breaks of plague in these two parganas, while there 

 has rarely been any plague in Painkhanda or Dasoli, 

 and yet the whole of Dasoli and part of Painkhanda 

 lie between Nagpur and Badhan, separating the one 

 plague district from the other. This year, in accordance 

 with the usual law, there have been a great many deaths 

 from plague in Nagpur and Badhan. There has not 

 been a single death from plague in Painkhanda or Dasoli. 

 I do not think sufficient attention has been paid to this 

 remarkable phenomenon, and no explanation, as far as 

 I know, has ever been attempted. From the year 1823 

 to the year 1877, that is to say, for fifty- four years, 

 two tracts of country have suffered in the most frightful 

 way from a very peculiar disease, and two other tracts, 

 which may be said to lie between them, have scarcely 

 suffered at all. Temperature will not explain it. Of 

 the two very cold parganas, Painkhanda and Nagpur, one 

 is healthy and the other not. Of the two comparatively 

 warm parganas, Dasoli and Badhan, one is healthy and 

 the other not. The only possible explanation I can see 

 is, that the main pilgrim road to Badriuath passes through 

 the two healthy parganas, and that consequently the 

 people have always had a good market for their grain. 



