T2 REPORT ON A BOTANICAL TOUR IN KASHMIR, 1892. 
the lower portion of one of these forests, which extend more or less 
all along the high-level ridges from Astor to Doian. This proved to 
be one of the most interesting bits of botanical ground met with 
during the whole of my tour. The principal trees are Pinus excelsa, 
Pbius Gerardiana^ and the Pencil cedar. Streams of clear water 
cross the road at intervals, and many rare plants may here be found. 
After passing through this forest the road again enters the arid 
waterless tract, unt^l Doian is reached, close to which place the same 
kind of forest extends. 
There is a small bungalow at Doian belonging to Messrs. Spedding 
& Co., the road contractors. As rain came on in the afternoon, I was 
glad to avail myself of it, and so save my tents from getting wet. 
There is a splendid view from here in clear weather looking down 
into the Indus Valley and across to some very high snowy peaks 
beyond. 
It rained steadily all night and the next morning, and remained 
cloudy during the rest of the day. This was an advantage, as the 
next march down to Rdmgh^t is a very hot and trying one on a 
sunny day. The old route over the Hattu Pir must however have 
been very much worse. 
At Rimgh^t there is a bridge over the Astor River, which rushes 
through the gorge here at a furious pace. This spot is known 
locally by the name Shaitan Nira. The camping-ground is about a 
mile beyond this, on the left bank of the Dachkat or Misikin Stream. 
This torrent, like many other glacier streams, rises and falls at 
different times of the day, and during the summer months it is quite 
unfordable towards evening. 
From this place there is a good road mostly over a stony plateau 
to Bunji, the elevation of which is under 5,000 feet. This used to be 
a much more important place until the great flood of 1841 destroyed 
it and laid waste a large extent of cultivated land. There is a very 
good bungalow here and a garden of fruit-trees in which I pitched 
my camp. 
Captain Yeilding, D.S.O., arrived here that evening from Sri- 
nagar, and I had the pleasure of his company as far as Gilgit. I'he 
distance is nearly 40 miles by the new road. It is certainly a 
journey to be undertaken as quickly as possible, for the whole valley 
is extremely hot during the day time, there being no shade what- 
ever until you reach the village of Minawar, about 8 miles from 
Gilgit. Finding that my coolies were a long way behind, I was 
obliged to halt about 6 miles short of this place on a gravelly plain 
near the river.- As some portions of the new road between this- 
