THE PATLI DUN. 55 



Siwalik series may not be spoken of in such a sweeping manner. 

 They are like an old pile of buildings, that have been added to and 

 restored during several historical periods, and that show several 

 styles of architecture; so that, neither in the material, nor in the 

 workmanship, can it be said that they are of one rock, or erected in 

 one age. 



The Patli Dun. 



Under this heading I propose to describe the country which lies 

 in the Sub-Himalayan zone between the parts already disposed of, on 

 the one hand, and the Pelani R. and lower reaches of the Rcim- 

 ganga on the other. This will include the Patli dun itself. The 

 latter is the largest of the duns on this side of the Dehra dun. It is 

 of a somewhat crescent shape, with the concave side facing south. 

 It consists partly of the Recent, and sub-Recent river-bed of the 

 Rcimganga, which has deposited immense terraces of gravels at 

 different heights, and partly of the low slopes of the Siwalik conglo- 

 merate which run up into the hills between the Pa*tli dun and the 

 Pathair (Puthur) pdni (29) . It has no definite orographical commence- 

 ment on the eastern side, but is simply an expansion of the ordinary 

 bed of the Ra*mganga. Its western side is also somewhat indefinite 

 as it merges into the Sona N. On the north it is pretty distinctly 

 marked off by the river itself, which flows at the foot of a low fault- 

 scarp. On the south it imperceptibly ascends into the slopes of the 

 hills in that direction. 



It is one of the most beautiful spots that the north-west prov- 

 inces of India can boast. It is undisfigured by villages and bazars. 

 A solitary forest bungalow, or chowki, is all that breaks the magni- 

 ficent monotony of its billowy forests and grass-grown alluvial flats. 

 But to imagine that here we are in the presence of a real bit of 

 virgin country would be a mistake ; many of the river terraces were 

 once cultivated, and the sites of old fields can still be met with. 

 These forests are in every sense a Government preserve ; so that 

 their richness in tree and jungle is due to the exclusion of agricultur- 



( >>3 ) 



