158 REVIEW—THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA, 
will always remain tender ; and there is, therefore, but small hope that 
we can ever accustom these glorious tree Rhododendrons to forget the 
earlier springs and autumns of Sikkim-Himalaya, and so perform all 
the necessary functions of growth within our four or five summer 
months, instead of extending it, as in India, over eight or nine; but, 
nevertheless, the skill of the cultivator has already turned to his use 
the valuable property of colour in the tree Rhododendron of Nepal; and 
he will assuredly try, nor is he likely to fail, to extract from these 
tender kinds a still richer product. 
‘* Only four species, R. Dalhousie, R. Campbellia, R. argenteum, 
and &. arboreum, grow near Darjeeling. ‘The second and fourth form 
seattered bushes at 7,400 and 8,000 feet; the R. argenteum is a small 
tree, at 8,000 or 9,000 feet. 
‘¢ Tt was on the ascent of Tonglo, a mountain on the Nepalese fron- 
tier, that I beheld the Rhododendrons in all their magnificence and 
luxuriance. At 7,000 feet, where the woods were still dense and sub- 
tropical, mingling with ferns, pothos, peppers, and figs, the ground was 
strewed with the large lily-like flowers of A. Dalhousie, dropping 
from the epiphytal plants, or the enormous oaks overhead, and mixed 
with the egg-like flowers of a new Magnoliaceous tree, which fall be- 
fore expanding, and diffuse a powerful aromatic odour, more strong 
but far less sweet than that of the Rhododendron. So conspicuous 
were these two blossoms, that my rude guides called out, ‘ Here are 
lilies and eggs, sir, growing out of the ground!’ No bad comparison. 
[Above this occurs &. arboreum]. Along the flat ridges, towards the 
top, the Yew appears with scattered trees of R. argenteum, succeeded 
by &. Campbellie. At the very summit, the majority of the wood 
consists of this last species, amongst which, and next in abundance, 
occurs the &. barbatum, with here and there, especially on the eastern 
slopes, &. Falconeri. 
‘¢ The habits of the species of Rhododendron differ considerably ; 
and confined as I was to one favourable spot by a deluge of rain, I had 
ample time to observe four of them. &. Campbellie, the only one in 
full flower early in May, is the most prevalent. Some were a mass of 
scarlet blossom, displaying a sylvan scene of the most gorgeous descrip- 
tion. Many of their trunks spread from the centre thirty or forty feet 
every way, and together form a hemispherical mass often forty yards 
across, and from twenty to twenty-five feet in height! The stems and 
branches of these aged trees, gnarled and rugged, the bark dark 
coloured, and clothed with spongy moss, often bend down and touch 
the ground: the foliage, moreover, is scanty, dark green, and far from 
graceful, so that, notwithstanding the gorgeous colouring of the blos- 
soms, the trees when out of flower, like the Fuchsias of Cape Horn, 
are the gloomy denizens of a most gloomy region. A. Campbellie 
and FR. barbatum I observed to fringe a little swampy tarn on the 
summit of the mountain—a peculiarly chilly-looking small lake, bor- 
dered with sphagnum, and half-choked with Carices and other sedges : 
the atmosphere was loaded with mist, and the place seemed as if it 
would be aguish if it could, but was checked by the cold climate. 
&. barbatum had almost passed its flowering season; it is a less 
abundant and smaller tree than the last mentioned, but more beautiful, 
with brighter green and denser foliage, clear papery light-coloured 
bark, the whole forming a more picturesque mass. 
