LALP0RE. 



423 



Near Hizarnow, Serissa, Acacise sp., which is the black wood of 

 Madras ; Sissoo, and Bheirs. Hizarnow is a large place, curiously- 

 occupying receding slopes of the base of a low range of hills, but it 

 must be dreadfully hot. We passed several Kaburistans with pol- 

 larded, stunted, excavated Furas trees. One mile before Hizarnow, 

 a curious hill of slate occurred, covered with boulders. 



The road is very winding in consequence of its following the bases 

 of the hills forming the southern boundary of the valley. The Cabul 

 river is visible almost throughout the whole march. 



All houses in the villages are now roofed in this part of the country 

 with straw. Starlings observed in swarms. 



3\st. — Halted at Lalpore, this is a very busy large place: the 

 houses are one- storied, and flat-roofed. The only peculiarity being 

 occasional square towers. The river is here quite open for commerce 

 downwards, and is well adapted to small canoes : the stream is rapid 

 and crossed by a ferry. 



On rocks under which the river flows near this, a species of 

 Fissidens occurs, where the rocky surface has passed into sand. 

 Glycyrrhiza, Rubus, Artemisia, Asparagus, Pommereulla, Andropogon 

 albus, Arundo, Cyrthandracea, an Hyoscyamus of the Bolan Pass, 

 Beebee Nanee, Heliotropium flavum. 



It would be curious to enquire why the powers of variation change 

 so completely in the different families ? Thus for instance in 

 Orchidese, no character can be taken from the vegetation with some 

 limitations, and none from the fruit or seeds ; two products in most 

 orders very fruitful in discriminating marks. This leads one to the 

 idea that in monocotyledonous plants, the fruit is very generally of 

 limited powers of variation ; witness Orchidese, Gramineae, Smila- 

 cinese, etc. this idea deserves to be followed out as much as possible. 

 The river at the ferry is 100 yards wide, and twelve feet in the 

 deepest part, the current five miles an hour, but confined to one and 

 a half towards its centre. 



November 1st. — Marched ten miles : the road from the camp 

 extended up an acclivity, the ground becoming more broken than 

 usual to the mouth of the ghat, which is four miles distant ; thence 

 up to the ghat which resembles much the Bolan Pass, it extends 

 up an inclined plane over a shingly road. The ghat is rather wide 

 throughout, and all the features are the same as the Bolan Pass, 

 slate rocks most common. We passed on the way a large and a 

 deep but dry well, ascribed to the kafirs ; and near it the ruins of 



