305 



sert area of India are found many plants of the Persian Flora. 

 The extreme North West Himalaya is so dry, that several of these 

 Desert plants penetrate into the mountains and to considerable 

 elevations. 



Bnrmah, Arracan, Chittagong, Tipperah and Khasia are the 

 extreme North-West corner of the Malay Phytographic area. 

 This flora however cannot be separated by any clear line of de- 

 marcation from the East Himalayan Plora. It would be extra- 

 ordinary indeed if there were any wide difference between the 

 fllora of the Abor Hills on one side of the narrow Upper Assam 

 Valley and the Miker Hills on the other. But in order to draw 

 up the following table, I have taken the Brahmapootra as an in- 

 telligible dividing line between Khasia and the East Himalaya. 

 Dr. T. Anderson was driven to the same line of demai-cation in 

 his table of distribution of the Indian Acanthaceas : and I raised 

 then various objections to it : but I cannot discover a better. 



The Divisions under which I have distributed the Indian 

 Compositge geographically are thus arranged : 



1. Deserta, including Scinde, the South Punjab, and the 



Westem part of Rajpootana. 



2. The ISTorth-West Himalaya, including all the Himalayan 



British Territory West of Nepal. 



3. The Central Himalaya, including Nepal and Sikkim. 



4. The East Himalaya, including Bhotan as shewn on ordi- 



nary English maps : the plants whereof have been very 

 imperfectly collected. 



5. Khasia, including Khasia, Tipperah, Chittagong, Arracan, 



Pegu, and the Andamans. 



6. Gangetic Plain. 



7. Coromandelia, including the whole Peninsula Plateau 



that drains into the Bay of Bengal. 



8. Malabaria, including the whole Peninsula plateau that 



drains into the Indian Ocean. 



9. Ceylon. 



These nine Divisions readily contract into five, viz., Deserta, 

 Himalaya, Khasia, Gangetic Plain, and Deccan. 



