VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF THE PUNJAB AND KASHMIR. 
441 
around the spot where Runjeet Singh, who 
organized the armies lately defeated, lies in a 
humble tomb. The old chief created the host, 
and his successors led it to ruin and destruc- 
tion, and in a few years a conquering British 
army was marching by the spot where his" 
ashes lay, hard by the ancient gardens of 
Shalimar. Beyond Lahore, the country is 
essentially a grazing one, although around the 
villages patches of cultivated land extend. 
Over the jungle, and even the taller trees, the 
convolvulus major twines, and when in full 
bloom affords a pleasing spectacle. Dwarf 
tamarisks and mimosa, with a few cypress 
trees, constitute the chief objects of attraction 
above the monotonous surface of the plain, 
which, covered with luxuriant grapes, is of 
itself sufficient to show the capability of the 
country for the rearing of horses, horned 
cattle, and sheep. 
A species of tree resembling the aspen, but 
still distinct from it, has been observed by 
travellers, but no accurate description has 
been written. Numerous trees and shrubs 
doubtless exist which have not yet been bota- 
nically described. Doubtless, however, with 
the establishment of our power, our knowledge 
will increase, and with the diffusion of infor- 
mation the value of our new possession will 
he more properly appreciated. Enough, how- 
ever, is already known to show that the region 
of the Five Rivers will prove as important in 
a commercial as it is in a political and military 
point of view. Its climate affords all the 
variations between the temperate and the 
tropical, and is particularly adapted to the 
English constitution. Its vegetable produc- 
tions are numerous and varied, and an im- 
proved system of tillage is alone needed to 
develop them in their full costliness and 
beauty. 
No country of the same extent in the world 
is more favoured with regard to irrigation, or 
means of inland transit. One thousand six hun- 
dred and ninety miles of river navigation exist 
in it, whilst in the plains are several large 
pieces of standing water, with pools and small 
streams which water the valleys and slopes. 
We may thus sum up the vegetable produc- 
tions. AVe use this expression in its largest 
sense, as signifying everything which springs 
from the earth, and is refreshed by water or 
nourished by sunshine. Of trees, we may 
enumerate the palm, various species of wil- 
lows, numerous kinds of acacia and tamarisk, 
the ber apple or jujube (Zizyphits jujuba), the 
camel thorn, a tree called sissoo in Eastern 
Hindostan, and sometimes of twelve feet in 
girth, and much used in boat-building, with 
many others not commonly known here, but 
none of great height or size. Of fruits there 
are dates, oranges, pomegranates, mulberries, 
figs, peaches, apricots, plums, quinces, almonds, 
mangoes, and others of less importance, and 
the lime, the guava, the cardamom, and the 
grape. The narcissus and the rose of a hun- 
dred leaves are the most common among the 
flowers. The indigo and cotton crops are 
rich, and one small strip of land, noticed by 
Burrows, afforded its proprietor an annual 
income of seventy- five thousand rupees. To- 
bacco,of good quality, and in much abundance, 
is grown; and the flowers which bloom in so 
great luxuriance, afford nourishment to mil- 
lions of bees, whose wax and honey are much 
prized, both as articles of home consumption 
and as materials of trade. 
Of the magnificent and far-famed valley of 
Kashmir, we speak thus in a distinct portion 
of our sketch, because it appears to claim 
unusual attention. It is an elevated tract to 
the north of the Punjab, in the centre of which 
a beautiful valley, once supposed to be sub- 
merged under the waters of a great lake, may 
be described as among the loveliest portions 
of the earth's surface. The soil is rich and 
productive, and, unlike that of the ^Punjab, 
supports huge forest-trees, valuable as timber 
for building. 
The vegetation of Kashmir is as remarkable 
for its richness as for its variety. From the 
Himalayan cedar to the delicate blossom, all 
kinds of green things flourish. This tree 
merits notice. It attains a great height, and 
a circumference of sometimes thirty feet. Its 
botanical elevation varies between seven and 
twelve thousand feet above the level of the 
sea. "When young, it closely resembles," 
says Thornton, " the real cedar, but never 
sends forth spreading branches. The cone 
resembles that of the cedar, and is preceded 
by a catkin of a bright yellow colour, so that 
the tree when in full blossom appears covered 
with a rich mantle of gold. These catkins 
are loaded with a golden dust, which the wind 
shakes from the branches in such profusion 
that the ground for a considerable distance 
about the tree becomes as it were sheeted with 
gold." This timber is so durable, that some 
wooden bridges over the Jhelum, which were 
examined four hundred years after their erec- 
tion, were found little decayed, notwithstand- 
ing the exposure to the accidents of the atmo- 
sphere, of time, and of constant traffic. We 
also find in the forests of Kashmir, the Pinus 
longifolia, two other species of pine, the fir, 
and the juniper. The cypress is common in 
gardens, but appears to have been introduced. 
The chunar (Platanus orientalis), although 
it is in no region of the earth found in such 
perfection and luxuriance as in this delightful 
valley, is also looked upon as an exotic, but 
its importation must have been in a period 
long past. The tasteful caprice of the Mogul 
