210 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 



rable looking, grey-headed priest. He had fewer attendants, and his 

 room was less richly ornamented than that of the Deb. Around the 

 room sat priests busily employed in muttering charmed sentences 

 from handsome gilt-lettered black books, which reminded me of those 

 used in some parts of Burmah. During our protracted stay at this 

 place nothing particularly worthy of notice occurred. Intrigues 

 seemed to be constantly going on, and the trial of temper on the 

 part of Captain Pemberton must have been very great ; it was how- 

 ever soon evident that no business could be transacted with a Bootea 

 Government without being enabled first to enforce abundance of fear, 

 and consequently any amount of agreement from them ; messages 

 to and fro passed continually, the bearer being a very great rascal, 

 in the shape of the Deb's Bengal Moharrer. Thus he would come 

 and appoint the next day for a meeting ; then he would return and 

 say that such a place was better than such a place ; as evening drew 

 near, he would come and say, unless you agree to such and such, 

 there will be no meeting ; and after bearing a message that no change 

 in this respect would be made, he would make his appearance and 

 say, all the ministers were sick, and so could not meet. My only 

 amusement out of doors was a morning walk up or down the valley: 

 I was prompted to this chiefly by the pangs of hunger, as the Bootea 

 supplies were very short, indeed wild pigeons afforded me at least 

 some relief. During the day I examined such objects as my col- 

 lectors brought in, for it was too hot to think of being out after 9 a.m. 

 The climate of Punukka has but little to recommend it, and in fact 

 nothing, if viewed in comparison with the other places we had seen 

 in Bootan. The greatest annoyance existed in the powerful winds 

 blowing constantly throughout the day up the Valley, and which 

 were often loaded with clouds of dust. The mean temperature of 

 April may be considered as 71°. The maximum heat observed was 

 83°, the minimum 64°. The mean temperature of the first week of 

 May was 75° 3' ; the maximum 80°, and the minimum 70°. The 

 cultivation in the valley, the soil of which seems very poor, contain- 

 ing a large proportion of mica, was during our stay limited to wheat 

 and buck- wheat, but scarcely any of the former seemed likely to 

 come to ear. Ground was preparing for the reception of rice, which 

 is sown and planted in the usual manner. Crops just sown are im- 

 mediately eaten up by the swarms of sacred pigeons that reside in 

 the palace, so that husbandry is by no means profitable ; more espe- 

 cially as there are other means of providing for the crops, such as 

 they may be. Thus we saw several small fields, amounting perhaps 

 to an acre in extent, cut down to provide fodder for some ponies that 



