466 PAUNCHGUNNY. Chap. XXYIT. 



that is, that plants confined to the highest ground in hit. 18° 

 are found at a much lower level in lat. 15° ; and that 

 members of the family of Chinchonaceae increase in the 

 number of genera and species as we travel south from 

 Mahabaleshwur, along the summit of the range, to lat. 15°, 



The road down into the Deccan, fi-om Malcolm-penth, leads 

 to the eastward over hills bare of jungle, and sprinkled over 

 with a scanty growth of Lmiosiphons and ferns. After six 

 miles it begins to pass along a ridge or saddle, with the deep 

 valley of the Krishna on one side, and that of the Yena on 

 the other. The hills which bound these valleys are very pre- 

 cipitous, and, at this season, look grey and barren, with ridges 

 of rock cropping out, entirely destitute of all vegetation. The 

 valleys and lower slopes of the hills are covered with fields of 

 grain, now in stubble, but which must look bright and green 

 during the rainy season. 



At a distance of ten miles from Maleolm-j)enth, on a slope 

 overlooking the Krishna valley, there are some small expe- 

 rimental farms, belonging to apothecaries in Sir Jamsetjee 

 Jeejeebhoy's hospital at Bombay, at a place called Paunch- 

 gunny. An application was made for some chinchona-plants, 

 to be raised at Paunchgunny ; no doubt all possible care and 

 attention would have been bestowed upon them ; and I, 

 therefore, regret that it should be a locality where they are 

 not at all likely to flourish. Here the road descends the Tai 

 ghaut into the Deccan, and in a couple of hours we reached 

 the bungalow on the banks of the river Krishna, opposite the 

 town of Waee. 



The town on the other side of the river, ^\ ith its numerous 

 temples, was by far the most interesting j)lace, in an archi- 

 tectural point of view, that we had yet seen. Long flights of 

 stone steps lead up from the waters of the sacred Krishna to 

 the paved platform on which the temples are built. Crowds 

 of women and children in blue di-esses, and men in white 



