396 Observations made on a Botanical Excursion. [Oct. 



From this place onwards up the Soane, there is no road of any kind, 

 and we must be our own road engineers. The sameness of the vegeta- 

 tion, and lateness of the season made me regret this ; having expected 

 both luxuriance and novelty in these seldom visited and never botanized 

 wilds. Before us the valley narrows considerably, the forest becomes 

 denser, the country in the S. side broken with rounded hills, and on 

 the N. the noble cliffs of the Kymaon dip down to the river. The 

 villages are smaller, more scattered and poverty-stricken, with the 

 Mahowa and Mango as the usual trees : the Bangar, Peepul, and Tama- 

 rind being rare. The natives look more of a jungle race, are tall, athle- 

 tic, erect, much less indolent and more spirited than the flat and 

 listless natives of the plains. 



February 2\st. — Started at day -light : but so slowly and with such 

 difficulty, through field and wood, and across deep gorges from the 

 hills, that we only advanced five miles in the day, the elephant's head too 

 was aching too badly to push, and the cattle will not advance when the 

 draught is not equal. What is worse, it is impossible to get them to pull 

 together up the inclined planes we cut, except by placing a man at the 

 head of each of the 6, 8, or 10 in a team, and playing at screwtail ; 

 when the obstinate animal sometimes capsizes the vehicle. The small 

 garrys and hackeries got on better, though it was most nervous to se e 

 them rushing down the steeps, especially those with our fragile instru- 

 ments, &c. 



Kosderah, where we halted, is a pretty place, elevated 473 feet, with 

 a broad stream from the hills flowing past it. These hills are of lime- 

 stone, and rounded, resting upon others of hornstone and jasper. 



The camp was pitched by three small trees of Paper mulberry (I take 

 it) which I had not seen before, and are scarce here. 



Following up the little stream, gathered two species of Potamogeton and 

 the Fallisneria, the latter forming an elegant green carpet in very rapid 

 water, the corkscrew stems always on the stretch. Two JEschynomynes 

 abounded, with a Jussieua, Cyperus, and several grasses. At the 

 rapids the stream is crossed by large beds of hornstone and porphyry 

 rocks, excessively hard, and pitched up at right angles, or with a bold 

 dip to the N. The number of strata was very great, and of only a few 

 inches or even lines thick ; they presented all varieties of jasper, flint- 

 rock, hornstone and quartz of various colours, with occasionally seams 



