1862.] Account of a visit to Pwppa doung. 223 



I turned up several three toed quails in the grass, but saw scarcely 

 any other birds. The only large animal common on the hill is said 

 to be the goat antelope, hemorhedus, which I had not the good for- 

 tune to see, although I came upon fresh tracks. They are said to 

 keep mostly in the jungle, only occasionally venturing out upon the 

 grass slopes to feed. The same animal is common on the Shan hills, 

 East of Ava. The tigers said to abound upon Puppa are, I imagine, 

 of nearly as dubious authenticity as the Nats and Bilus which also 

 have the credit of taking up their residence there. 



I found very few land shells, the only species which were abundant 

 were an Alyccsns and a Diplommatina, both undescribed species. 

 Somewhat to my surprise also I found Helix Huttoni, Pfr., a shell 

 which occurs upon the Himalayas from Landour to Sikkim, and 

 which I have also met with on the Nilgiris of Southern India. It 

 was not very common. A smaller helix completed the list. Not 

 many species, however, could be expected from an isolated peak. 

 Near the base I found Cycloplwrus fulguratus which I had not met 

 with further North and one or two other species. 



29th. — I passed the day in a partial examination of the -rocks at 

 the foot of Puppa, in the hopes of ascertaining the geological age of 

 the volcanic outburst. I went first to the very singular hill of 

 Toung-gala, which lies W. by S. of the principal peak and is almost 

 detached from the terrace before mentioned. It is a mass of very 

 beautiful augite porphyry (somewhat trachytic in its composition,) 

 and is evidently a comparatively isolated outburst, sandstones occur- 

 ring between it and the large hill. It has, possibly, formed the 

 nucleus of a lateral outburst of lava, but, if so, subsequent denuda- 



What rule goveims the limit of grass on Indian mountains ? 



On the moist Sikkim Himalayas it is not found below 12,000 feet at least, 

 on the drier eastern portion of that range it is, I believe, considerably lower. 

 On the eastern side of the Nilgiris, it is about 6000 feet. On the Kolamullies 

 near Trichinopolye (as I have been informed by Mr. Foote) grass occurs at about 

 5000. On Shwe oo toung, North of Ava, in a much damper climate than Pa- 

 gan, only the topmost peak as seen from Male appears to be covered with grass. 

 This mountain is certainly I think higher than Puppa, and Dr. Oldham estimat- 

 ed it at 6000 feet. So far we might suppose, that the drier the climate the low- 

 er the level of the grass slopes. But on the other hand, the level is much lower 

 on the wet western side of the Nilgiris than on their drier eastern watershed, 

 and on the wettist of all the Indian hills, viz., the Khasi range, it is said to be 

 as low as 4000 feet. On the mountains west of Moulmain it is between 7000 and 

 8000 feet according to Major Tickell. The rocks on Puppa are peculiar, but 

 nearly all the other mountains mentioned consist of gneiss. 



2 G 



