XXXVlii INTRODUCTION 
Pinus excelsa, though occurring at both lower and higher eleva- 
tions ; but it is very capricious in its distribution. For instance, 
after passing the seventh mile from Simla, on tjie way to Huttoo, 
a distance of forty miles, it is conspicuous by its absence. Under 
favourable conditions it attains a large size, and the trunk of one 
at Kotgurh was twenty feet in girth. Passing from Simla to 
Mashobra Abies Smithiana [. Picea Morinda] is first encountered, 
and it ranges from 7,500 to 9,500 ft., forming a belt distinctly above 
the cedar. Ascending Huttoo the lofty Abies Webbiana [ Abies 
Pindrow ] is met with at about 8,000 ft. Thus there are five 
conifer steps. The cheer pine {Pinus longifolia), from 2,000 to 
6,000 ft. ; the blue pine {Pinus excelsa), from 5,000 to 7,000 ft. ; the 
deodar, up to 8,000 ft. ; the spruce fir {Picea Morinda), from 7,000 
to 9,000 ft. ; and the silver fir {Abies Pindrow), at 8,000 to 10,000 ft. 
Each of the three upper coniferous belts has its characteristic 
oak. In the lowest the white oak {Quercus incana) is associated 
with the deodar ; in the middle the green oak {Q. dilatata) inter- 
mingles with Picea Morinda ; and in the upper, along with Abies 
Pindrow, the brown oak {Q. semecarpifolia) is the prevailing 
species. The yew ( Taxus baccata) is most abundant in the silver 
fir belt ; and the cypress {Gupressus torulosa) is found only on 
the north slopes of Shali at 8,000 to 9,000 ft. Of the two hollies 
in the Simla district Ilex dipyrena is much the commoner, occur- 
ring in all three of the upper belts. The showy Rhododendron 
arboreum ranges between 5,000 and 8,000 ft., with a preference for 
the lower elevations on the north side. Andromeda ovalifolia 
[ Pieris ovalifolia ], a member of the same Natural Order, is often 
associated with this Rhododendron. Cornus capitata, along with 
the barberry, the white rose and the pomegranate, constitutes in 
June a blaze of yellow, white and red flowering bushes between 
Simla and Mashobra. Cornus macrophylla belongs more especially 
to the belt characterised by Pinus excelsa. The two laurels 
included by Mr. Buck in his twenty trees are not clearly identifiable 
on account of an evident confusion of names, but most probably 
Machilus Duthiei and Litsea consimilis were intended. His four 
species of maple — Acer ccesium, A. caudatum, A. cultratum and 
A. villosum — are mostly at home in the forests of Narkunda and 
Huttoo. Mr. Buck in his concluding remarks refers to the folly 
of destroying the forests to grow potatoes for a decade or so, by 
which time the rains had denuded the rocky substratum of its 
soil and produced a permanent barren. 
