332 
5r//^ ALPINE AND SUB-AlPlNE VEGETATION 
the last 28 days of July and the first 20 of August. July I spent 
on the outer and more exposed ridges, August chiefly on the inner* 
Reckoning from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., I find that 
For July — 
On 7 days 
11 „ 
For August— 
1 day . 
13 days • 
6 ,, • 
1 day 
rain all day. 
fair for two hours on average* 
>> »j five ,, „ ,, 
»» »* eight ,, ,, ,, 
fair for two hours. 
»> >» six s» 
„ „ eight „ 
t, ,, ten ,, 
In the record there is no day but showed some rain. Heavy down- 
pours were the exception in the upper areas where there was usually a 
steady drizzle. August in the outer ranges was as wet as July and the 
contrast in the records of the two months brings out very well the 
gradual lessening of the daily rainfall as the inner ranges were reached. 
Most of the spurs run east and west and each in succession takes its 
quantum from the southern rainclouds. Oriels position in the area could 
almost be defined during these months by the time the morning rain 
arrived — the more northerly, the later the rain. Considering the limited 
amount of sunshine and the scarcity of the ordinary insect visitors, the 
number of brightly coloured flowers is high. As has been aptly noted 
by Gammie (Sikkim Gazetteer, 1894, page 109), these brightly coloured 
flowers are of the types most favoured by bees which are the most usual 
visitors at these altitudes, other kinds of insects being comparatively rare. 
Homogeneity of tlie Flora, 
The flora of the Chola Range between 10,000 to 15,000 feet is very 
homogeneous and only in the northern area is there a gradual transition to 
the flora of a drier region. The transition proceeds pari passtt with the 
succession of ridges running more or less east aad west. As already 
pointed out, the comparatively low general altitude of the range with the 
absence of lofty protecting ridges, tends to restrict any tendency to 
diversity. 
In its general features there is a similarity to the flora of the Singalela 
Range, but the latter with its extensive alpine meadows protected by very 
lofty ridges is somewhat more prolific in individual species. 
The short vegetative season is one of mist and rain. This in conjunc- 
tion with the low temperature is conducive to the formation of an acid 
soil. The result is a vegetation which is in many aspects xerophytic. 
