24 



5lh 9<A February, 1868. Varioua excursions in different directions kent me fully at 

 work, the forests being chiefly upper mixed forests on syenitic, schistose and otiier metamor- 

 phio strata ; low Eng forests on laterite and detritus of metamorphio rocks. A few small patches 

 of evergreen tropical forests, and a bordering swamp forest at the out-skirt of the Sittang 

 alluvium fully employed me for some days. 



lOth February, 1868. Moved on to Ohoungmenah, a Karen village, on a choung of the 

 same name. The cart-road led chiefly through upper mixed forests, witli wapyu gelay and 

 occasionally tin wa and teiwa as undergrowth, with rather indifferently grown teak. Hugo 

 boulders of granite are strewn all over the terrain, which seems to rest on sliistose substrata. 

 Branching off to the right, and following a footpath we soon entered evergreen tropical 

 forests, which were soon succeeded by eng forests. I put up at the zyat of Ohoung meuah 

 and prolonged my stay for the following week. The ranges all round were explored and 

 these shewed regularly upper mixed forests with scanty teak along the slopes, while small 

 patches of evergreens border the bottom of the valleys. Hill eng-forests appeared regularly 

 on the higher crests and summits, in which especially oaks fQuereus Brandmana) along with 

 eng Symplocos, banbwe, yingat ^Gardenia obiusifolia), lambo, etc. were conspicuous. Thurs- 

 day was spent on an excursion eastwards across the ridges (over 1000 feet high) which extend 

 in the direction of the Myitgnan ohoung. These were covered by typical hill eng forests 

 growing on laterite. 



I4:th February, 1 868. Rode back to Toungoo in order to make arrangements with Mr. 

 Graham for a proposed tour to the Karen hills and returned to Choungraenah on the 16th. 



17/A February, 1868. Started for Palawa Zeik and took the road along the Toukyeghat 

 river. Upper mixed forests with Kyattounwa were the forests along sunny slopes, while 

 evergreens usually occupied the lower grounds along the choungs. The crests of the ridges 

 were all covered with hill-eng-forests. On arriving at the Saraong we had to encamp, as it 

 was found impracticable for the elephants to ascend the same day the very steep ridge before 

 us. 



18ih February, 1868. In order to cross- the steep and almost vertical, ascent we had to 

 unload our elephants, and get the baggage carried by men up the crest, which was covered by 

 hill eng forests and in which beside eug grew two other interesting wood-oil trees {Di2)ferocar- 

 pus costatus and D. obtusifolius) and oaks. Descending to a narrow gorge with evergreens 

 we soon joined again the Toukyeghat along which we proceeded chiefly through upper 

 mixed forests with teak. About a mile from Palawa we crossed the Toukyeghat stream, 

 which is rather deep here and followed the left bank over rocky ground, on which chiefly 

 Ajuga with skyblue and Lindenbergia with golden flowers flourished. We put up at Palawa 

 zeik, which consists of only a few bamboo sheds not inhabited. This place is situated rather 

 romantically at the fork of the Palawa choung and the Toukyeghat, offering a fine opportuni- 

 ty for studying the influence of exposure, the shady slopes around being covered with ever- 

 greens, while the opposite sunny slopes have nothing but leaf-shedders. I made up my mind 

 to stop here for several weeks, the country all round being exceedingly favourable for collect- 

 ing a large variety of arboreous species. 



\Qth February to 28<A February, 1868. These ten days were spent in making excursions 

 in all directions, visiting the Bogelay ridges, and those that stretch out on the opposite bank 

 of the Toukyeghat, and up the Palawa and other choungs. Another and very tiresome 

 excursion up the Touhkyegoat stream was accomplished, when we had to construct rafts for 

 crossing at several places as the slopes along the banks became vertical and impassable. The 

 distribution of forests all over these tracts was regulated only by the factors of exposure and 

 light, for the substratum consisted chiefly of syenitic and schistose rooks, both having a very 

 similar influence upon tree- vegetation. Wapyu gyi and another gigantic bamboo, wabo or 

 Kyellowa, is characteristic to the evergreen tropical forests on metamorphio rooks ; only the 

 latter (Kyellowa), is sparingly and only locally found also on the soft sandstone ol the Pegu 

 Yomah. 



2Sith February, 1868. Mr. W. Graham, Deputy Conservator of Forests, arrived at noon 

 and brought with him the required number of Shan and Karen coolies, whom I engaged at 

 Tounghoo for our trip into the hills. Everything was packed rather hurriedly, and leaving 

 behind my camp at Palawa, we started at once for Bogelay. Ascending the watershed between 

 the Palawa choung and another feeder of the Toukyeghat, through extensive hill poonzohs, 

 on which chiefly Kyattoun and tinwa with Sponia orientalis were found, we soon reached the 

 crest of the Bogelay ridges, here covered by debris of primary rocks and hill eng forests, in 

 which two kinds of oaks (Quercus Brandisiana and Q. Bancana) appeared ; but these forests, 

 were soon replaced by hill-poouzohs which continued all along, leaving only a few patches of 

 wretchedly cut out upper mixed forests, with a little teak along a slope, to our right. These 

 no doubt are the remains of the teak-forests that existed here in former times. The whole 

 country is as far as the eye can reach deprived of all its forests, and only in a few sheltered 

 localities, or ratlier where the inaccessibility of rocks prevented a remunerative toungja culti- 

 vation, are patches of forests still to be seen. In the depths of the valleys plantations of 



