INDIAN RHODODENDRONS 17 



constant companion throughout every day's march : on 

 the right hand and on the left of the devious paths the old 

 trees and bushes are seen breast-high or branching over- 

 head, whilst the seedlings cover every mossy bank. At 

 13,000 feet the flanks of the snowy mountains glow with 

 the blood-red blossoms of R. fulgens, whilst the beauty of 

 R. campanulatum and the great elegance and delicacy of 

 the yellow bells of R. campylocarpum excite the more 

 admiration from their being found in such regions of 

 fog and rain. Yet with all these advantages of position 

 and that of an intimate knowledge of the species, I was 

 constantly at a loss to distinguish to which species the 

 seedling plants belonged, especially when they grew inter- 

 mixed, or to recognise others when distant from their 

 parents." 



The Rhododendrons are most abundant in the Raja 

 independent State of Sikkim, and they increase in number 

 in advancing northward from Darjeeling to the snows. 

 Darjeeling is situated at an elevation of 7200 feet, and its 

 mean temperature is 55. It is never so hot in summer 

 nor so cold in winter as it becomes in London. We know 

 that Sikkim Rhododendrons are happiest in those parts of 

 England which are in close proximity to the sea for ex- 

 ample, South Cornwall, South Wales, South-West Ireland, 

 and the West of Scotland. 



A well-marked section of the genus, Vireya, charac- 

 terised by thin valved capsules and long-tailed seeds, inhabits 

 chiefly the high mountain forests of the Malay Peninsula 

 and Islands, New Guinea and Australia. Something like 

 sixty species have been found there, only about half-a- 

 dozen of which have been brought into cultivation, namely, 

 R. Teysmannii, R. jasminiflorum, R. javanicum, R. Lobbii, 



B 



