Nov. 1848. EUROPEAN PLANTS. 221 



abundance of a little Andromeda, exactly like ling, with 

 woody stems and tufted branches, gave a heathery appear- 

 ance to the hill-sides. The prevalence of lichens, common 

 to this country and to Scotland (especially L. geographicus), 

 which coloured the rocks, added an additional feature to the 

 resemblance to Scotch Highland scenery. Along the narrow 

 path I found the two commonest of all British weeds, a 

 grass (Poa annua), and the shepherd's purse ! They had 

 evidently been imported by man and yaks, and as they do 

 not occur in India, I could not but regard these little wan- 

 derers from the north with the deepest interest. 



Such incidents as these give rise to trains of reflection 

 in the mind of the naturalist traveller ; and the farther he 

 may be from home and friends, the more wild and desolate 

 the country he is exploring, the greater the difficulties 

 and dangers under which he encounters these subjects of his 

 earliest studies in science ; so much keener is the delight 

 with which he recognises them, and the more lasting is the 

 impression which they leave. At this moment these common 

 weeds more vividly recal to me that wild scene than does 

 all my journal, and remind me how I went on my way, 

 taxing my memory for all it ever knew of the geographical 

 distribution of the shepherd's purse, and musing on the 

 probability of the plant having found its way thither over 

 all Central Asia, and the ages that may have been occupied 

 in its march. 



On reaching 13,000 feet, the ground was everywhere 

 hard and frozen, and I experienced the first symptoms of 

 lassitude, headache, and giddiness ; which however, were 

 but slight, and only came on with severe exertion. 



We encountered a group of Tibetans, encamped to lee- 

 ward of an immense boulder of gneiss, against which they 

 had raised a shelter with their salt-bags, removed from their 



