1840.] Journal of a trip through Kunawur, fyc. 575 



of apricots. This strip of cultivation is about half a mile in width, and 

 through it rushes the foaming stream of the Darboong river, which 

 takes its rise in the snows of Maneriing Pass above Maness in Spiti. 



The spot partook more of the sweetness of one of those beautiful 

 and picturesque vales in which our Scottish hills are so rich, than of 

 the usual tameness of oriental Highland scenery. 



Here as I walked along, I felt more pleasure than I had experi- 

 enced during all my wanderings, while contrasting the beauty of this 

 scene with the bare black hills of Spiti, to which I had been for so 

 many days accustomed. There, all was cheerless, and almost devoid 

 of vegetation ; while here, around me lay a broad sheet of green 

 fields, above on the mountains' side rose dark forests of neoza 

 and kayloo pines, whose sombre tints were again relieved by the 

 paler hue of the cedar and the willow, while bushes of the dog-rose 

 were scattered at random through the valley, loaded with flowers, 

 and presenting literally a mass of pink of every shade, from the dark 

 bright tint of the opening bud, to the pale hue of the withering 

 flower. About three miles from Soongnum the valley narrows, and 

 becomes a mere mountain glen; cultivation ceasing for about a mile, 

 when it again refreshes the sight around the village of Roopa. Beyond 

 this the road ascends over broken rocks, and winds high above the 

 bed of the torrent, through a forest composed almost entirely of cedar 

 trees. These are mostly stunted, and very crooked, so that it is with 

 difficulty th^ plants of any size fit for economical purposes can be 

 procured. This difficulty has lately been increased by the erection of 

 a large temple at Khanum, for which all the best trees in the district 

 were selected, and few therefore of any size now remain. 



Between Soongnum and Roopa, a large portion of the neoza pines 

 are the property of the Bussaher Rajah, to whom the produce is 

 annually sent down. These are generally situated on estates that 

 have lapsed through the extinction of families, or other causes, and 

 it is not a custom peculiar to Soongnum, but obtains also in other 

 parts of Bussaher. 



Three miles from Roopa, and seven from Soongnum, in the midst 

 of the cedar forests, my guide stopped, and pointing upwards towards 

 the summit of the rocks, which rose boldly and abruptly in rugged 

 cliffs, he showed me a white mark far above the belt of trees, where 



