INTRODUCTION 
XXXV11 
Cedrus Deodara, 
Picea Morinda. 
Abies Pindrow. 
Taxus baccata. 
Graminece 
Dendrocalamus strictus. 
Cupressus torulosa. 
Totals : — One hundred and thirty-seven Species belonging to 
eighty- three Genera and thirty-six Orders. 
All the earlier travellers were struck by the variety of trees 
of the different altitudinal zones of vegetation. I have quoted 
Lady Dalhousie at p. xxvi. William Griffith during his short 
visit noted that Pinus longifolia, P. excelsa, Cedrus Deodara and 
Picea Morinda characterised successive zones. Mr. (now Sir 
Edward) Buck’s paper on twenty trees of the Simla neighbourhood 
is extremely interesting, and it embodies the impressions of an 
amateur rather than those of a professional botanist ; but he 
frequently cites Dr. G. Watt as his authority. However, I have 
not been able to ascertain whether the latter published anything 
on this subject. Divested of the glowing language of the lecturer 
his main facts merit reproduction. The twenty trees are : seven 
conifers, three oaks, a Rhododendron, an Andromeda [ Pieris ], four 
maples, two species of Cornus and two laurels. One of the 
characteristic features of the neighbourhood is the rapid transition 
from one region or belt of vegetation to another in ascending or 
descending the precipitous sides of the great Himalayan ranges. 
The most prominent elements in each climatic belt are its 
conifers. It must not be understood from this that the charac- 
teristic trees of the successive zones do not intermingle. Approach- 
ing Simla from Kalka by way of Subathu, Pinus longifolia begins 
to appear at elevations between 2,000 and 3,000 ft. ; and this 
thinly clad, inelegant conifer and the prickly Euphorbia Royleana 
constitute the only conspicuous vegetation on the scorching, arid, 
southern slopes for some forty or fifty miles of the upward 
journey. But the southern and western slopes generally are 
bare or ve^y scantily clothed with vegetation, so that we are 
indebted to this by no means always ornamental pine for relieving 
the barren monotony of the scenery. Standing on the summit of 
Huttoo or one of the other peaks north of Simla, and facing 
southward the scene is just the reverse, the whole country appear- 
ing as if covered with forest, in consequence of seeing only 
northern slopes. Pinus longifolia is the prevailing conifer up to 
6,000 ft. ; but near Simla, at elevations of 5,000 to 6,000 ft., it is 
gradually replaced by Pinus excelsa. Cedrus Deodara is the 
next distinguishing conifer. It has almost the same range as 
