THE NEPAUL SUN-BIRD. 179 



are never frozen, nor is there any great severity 

 of climate. 



For some distance up the mountain sides, you 

 find yourself in all the rich vegetation of the Tro- 

 pics. Nay, in the deep sheltered valleys, which 

 wind into the heart of the mountains, the same 

 brilliant flora prevails. Here are palms and 

 acacias, here are trees clothed with the grotesque 

 orchis, and here are the feathery tufts of the 

 bamboo. 



Higher still, are oaks and forest trees of a more 

 northern growth, and even the pine. 



The musk-deer is a source of wealth to the 

 inhabitants of Nepaul. They hunt it for the sake 

 of the musk that it secretes, and that is so much 

 prized as a perfume. 



The deer leads a solitary life, in the wild rocky 

 places on the borders of the snow. It has no 

 horns or antlers, and differs in other respects from 

 the stag or the antelope. 



In winter it comes down to more temperate 

 spots, and this is the only time when the hunter 

 has a chance of capturing it. Even then his task 



