556 
P HO C EE I) IX G S OF SECTION E. 
was raised, and fortified a position on the frontier, 13,500 feet above 
the sea. A peak on their right flank was the key to the position, and 
when this was stormed by the Goorkhas their line was rolled up at 
leisure, and in retiring from such a difficult position onc-tenth of 
their force fell. This unavoidably severe lesson was taken to heart 
by the Tibetans. The treaty that followed defined the frontier 
against Tibet, confirmed the suzerainty of the Empress of India over 
Sikhim, and reaffirmed the principles of the treaty of 1861 with 
regard to roads and trade. 
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 
The following are the principal marriage laws of Sikhim : — If the 
eldest brother takes a wife she is common to all the brothers. If the 
second brother takes a wife she is common to all the brothers younger 
than himself. The eldest brother is not alio wed to cohabit with the 
wives of younger brothers. Three brothers may marry three sisters, 
and all the wives be in common ; but this case does not often occur. 
The marriage ceremony consists almost entirely in feasting, which 
takes place after the usual presents have been given to the girl’s 
relations. These presents constitute the woman’s price, and vary in 
accordance with the circumstances of both parties. The only religious 
ceremony is performed by the village headman, who offers up a bowl 
of marwa to the gods, and, presenting a cup of the same rnarwa to the 
bride and bridegroom, blesses them, and hopes their marriage may be 
a fruitful one. The marriage tie is very slight, and can be dissolved 
at any time by either the man or the woman. 
PRODUCTIONS. 
Minerals are not abundant, or are little sought after; copper, 
iron, and lime being the most important. The crops are rice, millet, 
buckwheat, wheat, barley, sugar-cane, and Indian corn. The principal 
fruits are the orange, mango, peach, walnut, breadfruit, citron, lemon, 
guava, apple, pear, pomegranate, pineapple, and plantain ; and of 
vegetables there are pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, chillies, radishes, 
turnips, onions, garlic, ginger, and yams. Cattle, yaks, sheep, and 
goats are the principal domestic animals kept. 
NATIVE VEGETATION. 
Sir J. D. Hooker divides Sikhim into three zones. The lower, 
stretching from the lowest level up to 5,000 feet above the sea, he 
called the tropical zone ; thence to 13,000 feet, the upper limit of tree 
vegetation, the temperate ; and above, to the perpetual snow line at 
16,000 feet, the alpine. In describing the aspect of the country, 
he says that up “ to an elevation of 12,000 feet Sikhim is covered 
with a dense forest, only interrupted where village clearances have 
bared the slopes for the purpose of cultivation.” At the present 
time, however, this description does not apply below 6,000 feet, the 
upper limit at which Indian corn ripens ; for here, owing to increase 
of population, almost every suitable part has been cleared for culti- 
vation, and trees remain only in the rocky ravines and on the steepest 
slopes. 
The forest consists of tall umbrageous trees, with little underwood 
on the drier slopes, but a luxuriant growth of shrubs along the gullies 
