6 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



later, having marched from the Punjab with a ' hackery,' 

 or bullock cart. 



Those who have ridden by the now little-frequented 

 track from Kaladungi to Naini Tal will recollect the ever- 

 changing experiences of that fifteen mile ride. The 

 ascent is gradual at first ; the road, which is a bridle-path 

 cut through the dense sal forest on the side of the hill, 

 following sometimes the steep spurs of the mountain, 

 and sometimes the narrow valleys with gurgling streams ; 

 generally in the shade of evergreen trees, but often in the 

 glare of a tropical sun. Looking back, there are occa- 

 sional views of the plains below covered with endless 

 dark-green forests of the tall and thick-foliaged sal and 

 saj. The path-like glades and winding courses of the 

 rivers with white, dry, shingly beds, are mapped out 

 beneath. At this season the water which flows from the 

 hills is all underground in the Bhabar, filtering through the 

 shingle which has been swept down from the hills during 

 the rains ; when the rivers are foaming torrents, trending 

 all away to the south till they disappear into the swamps 

 of the Terai, now an ocean of yellow waving grass. The 

 panorama becomes wider and more indistinct as one 

 ascends, losing itself in a horizon of blue distant haze. 

 Above, against the sky-line, there presently appear pillar- 

 like stems, with bright-green tufted fohage, of the long- 

 leaved tropical pine {Ptnus longifolia) , which at 4,000 feet 

 takes the place of the black-stemmed sal. Higher up, the 

 forest changes to evergreen oaks of three or four kinds, 

 and eventually to cypress and rhododendrons with pro- 

 fuse globes of scarlet blossom, now nearly over. There is 

 always a rich undergrowth of elephant creepers and bright 

 flowering begonias, followed by berberis and every sort 

 of shrub and fern. Orchids hang from the tree-stems in 

 quaint fashion, and the dwarf date-palm forms a graceful 



