1846.] and Boorun Passes over the Himalaya. 129 



herstiana, Primula denticulata, Pedicularis megalantha, Gypsophila ceras- 

 tioides, " Bhatlee," several beautiful species of Impatiens ; and in the 

 deepest recesses of the woods Actaea acuminata, Aconitum palmatum, 

 Angelica glauca, Adenostemma, Strobilanthes, Lilium giganteum, called 

 " Book," and Arum speciosum, " Gangsh or Jungoosh," a curious plant, 

 the spathe of which beautifully striated with green, and ending in a long 

 thread, bears an alarming resemblance to the hood of the cobra di capello. 

 In autumn the bushes towards Kotgurh are matted with the leafless and 

 sweet-scented Dodder (Cuscuta grandiflora), which, having no root, the 

 natives may safely promise boundless wealth to the lucky man who finds 

 it. The Akash-bel, or heavenly twiner of the plains, Cuscuta reflexa, 

 may be considered the Mistletoe of the Brahmans. 



Huttoo only requires a deep lake and a slide of Alpnach to be a mine 

 of wealth in its timber ; at present it lives, dies, and rots uselessly. In 

 several places large tracts of pine have been killed, perhaps by lightning, 

 and remind us of Milton : — 



" As when heaven's fire 

 Hath scathed the forest oaks or mountain pines, 

 With singed top, their stately growth, though bare, 

 Stands on the blasted heath." 



The Berbery at Nagkunda, &c. is a distinct species, which is now 

 covered with the most profuse crop of fruit, of a fine blue, with a bloom 

 of a pink or lilac colour. It makes excellent jam, and I have had the 

 pleasure of seeing young plants raised in Dublin from seeds which had 

 undergone that fiery ordeal unscathed. 



The descent to Nagkunda occupied us one hour and twenty- five 

 minutes ; there is a good bungalow, and two or three buneeas. As is 

 frequently the case in this direction, the waters flow on one side to the 

 Bay of Bengal, and on the other to the Arabian sea. The elevation of 

 the bungalow is 9,000 feet. In one of the shady glens to the north, 

 and about 1,000 feet below, there is a most copious chalybeate spring, 

 known as the Lal-panee. 



The Polygonum molle or polystachyium is very luxuriant about 

 Nagkunda. 



October 1st. — From Nagkunda to Muteeana, by the Pugdundee route, 

 over the back of the Kumuloree or Sheerkot mountain, about ten miles, 

 which we walked in three and three-quarter hours. The path rises 



