128 Diary of an Excursion to the Shatool [No. 170. 



ed towards the last in the darkly wooded summit of Kot, below which to 

 the right is Nowagurh, once a garrison of the Ghoorkas, who had also 

 several posts, now dilapidated, on Huttoo, and who indeed, Kenite-like, 

 made their nests on the rocks of every commanding height in these pro- 

 vinces. Half way between the Choor and Kunchooa range in Tiroch (the 

 Ootroj of the map,) appears an isolated summit, probably Deobun, on the 

 Mussooree road, between the Tons and the Jumna. On the W. and SW. 

 are the Shallee and Muhasoo mountains, and on a clear day the houses 

 of Simla may be discovered on the distant and hummock-like Jaka, 

 which, after the grander features of the interior, looks small indeed. All 

 around is the same ocean of summits and ranges which render the 

 Himalaya rather one vast mountain of 1,500 or 2,000 miles in length, 

 than a series of mountains ; for no where do we find the comparatively 

 broad vallies of other systems, and this character may be best expressed 

 by a different reading of one of Campbell's lines, " its peaks are a thou- 

 sand, their bases are one." In the absence of lakes it is apparently 

 parallel to the Andes. Including the charming walk from the summit 

 of Huttoo down to Kotgurh, and the ascent thence to Nagkunda, the 

 botanist will enjoy a rich treat on Huttoo and its great buttresses. The 

 summit pastures are alive with Fritillaria verticillata, Morina longi folia, 

 Aster alpina, Anemone discolor, Gorydalis govaniana, Potentilla atrosan- 

 guinea, Viola reniformis, Hemiphragma heterophylla, Veronica, &c. &c. ; 

 and the crags with Lloydia Himalensis, Saxifraga ligulata and parnas- 

 sisefolia, the shrubby Potentilla rigida or arbuscula, Anemone villosa 

 (which is very common on the rocky banks of rivulets above the forest 

 belt of the great range), two species of Lonicera, one of which greatly 

 resembles L. alpigena, Ribes acuminata, Pyrus foliolosa and lanata, 

 and a few very stunted specimens of Rhododendron lepidotum. The 

 Roscoea alpina is found up to 9,500 feet. The declivities of the moun- 

 tain are clothed by a magnificent forest of Abies smithiana, Picea pin- 

 drow, Quercus semicarpifolia, maple, yew, and towards Nagkunda, 

 sweet scented Viburnum (Thelain), Kadsura grandiflora, Deutzia corym- 

 bosa, Philadelphus tomentosa, Symplocos paniculata (Lodh, Loj — a sheet 

 of white bloom in May), the scanitent Hydrangea, (H. altissima), Rhus 

 buckiamela, Jasminum revolutum, and many species of Desmodium, 

 Indigofera, Berberis, Clematis, &c. form a dense brushwood or coppice ; 

 while the mossy rocks and shady banks are covered with Wulfenia am- 



