CLIMATE AND VEGETATION OF TIIE HIMALAYAS. 
19 
of Fungi. Besides Agaricus, including many of its sub-genera, there are Lentinus, a few Boleti and 
Polypori, Hexagonium, and Merulias, Hydnum, Thelephora, and Auricularia, Clavaria, Tremella, and 
Exidia; Gasteromycetes are much rarer; Dr. Hooker did not meet with the ubiquitous genus Nidularia, 
Ascemycetes were far from abundant, as also Pezizce, Helvellae, and Spheeriae. Dr. H. found no 
1 necrophytes, as Caterpillar Fungi, &c. 
Billets of decayed wood were noticed beautifully phosphorescent, from the presence of a Mycelium. 
The Agarici were considerably larger than those seen elsewhere—the pileus of one was observed 
fourteen inches in diameter.—J. S. B. 
Dr. Hooker has contributed some valuable facts to Physical Geography, and a map and plan of the 
Himalayas in his letter to the Baron von Humboldt, a ‘translation of which we think will be 
acceptable to our readers. Writing from Darjeeling, he says :— 
“Between 80 and 90 degrees east longitude (from Greenwich), lie the following masses in this 
order* :—1. Djawahir; 2. Dhawalgiri; 3. Gossainthan; 4. Deoghangha; 5. Kanchain ; 6. Chumalari; 
and 7. two unnamed, not accurately measured peaks in Bhotan. Hodgson pointed out that the great 
rivers of the sub-Himalaya have their sources in those masses; that the water descends from the opposite 
declivities of each of two neighbouring peaks, and converging, as they pass through into Sub-Hima¬ 
laya, form delta-like basins. We propose to divide the whole Himalaya, by means of these basins, 
not merely geographically and ethnographically, but also in reference to zoology and botany. 
For example, Sikkim is the basin of the Teester, the tributaries of which all arise from Kan chain 
and run towards the east, to meet the waters of the Chumalari, which are thrown toward the west. 
Further west, we observe that the waters from the facing declivities of contiguous peaks meet within 
the sub-Himalaya. Here this is not the case ; but between the great Southern spire of the Kanchain 
(Singalelah), stretching from its summit to the plains, and the great southern branch of the Chuma¬ 
lari, which also reaches to the plains, it is one water basin. To make this more clear, I send a little 
sketch of a map, which may also serve to explain my most recent excursions. (See page 12.) 
Unfortunately, the season of 1848 was so bad, and the Rajah of Sikkim so obstinately opposed my 
intention of visiting the Kanchain in Sikkim, that I was compelled to put off my undertaking till the 
end of the month of October, and to make a detour through Nepal. In this way I became acquainted 
with two Thibet passes,—the easternmost in Nepal,—and was led to an investigation of the north¬ 
western, western, south-western, and finally the southern limits of the eternal snow resting upon the 
great mountains. My map is scarcely finished; the toil of such a task within mountain-chains 
where no known point is ever visible, is, as you may imagine, very great. 
Going from Darjeeling to the west, I climbed the Singalelah chain of the Kanchain to a height of 
7000 feet, and descended to the tributaries of the Mai and Myong. Then I turned northward, with 
the intention of going along the chain to Kanchain, before I turned westward to the passes. My 
foolish bearers ran away from me here ; they were people from Bhotan, and, I believe, are the only 
race that can be made use of both in the hot valleys and the mountains. I was therefore obliged to 
be patient, and wait till the middle of November, on a mountain 11,000 feet high, where I employed 
myself in meteorological observations and botanical rambles, while the remainder of my people had 
gone to distant villages to find other bearers. 
When I had enough of that, I packed up my things and set out on my road again, which ran west¬ 
ward, through deep defiles, (3000 feet above the sea), and leading up a very high cross chain running out 
from Singalelah, ascends to a height of 11,000 feet. Thus I made my way to the Tambur river, in the 
valley of which runs the eastern highway leading from Ham (or Ilam ?) to Walloong, on the Thibetian 
* I. Kanchain- (Kunchin- or Kinchin-) junga is by far the 
highest of the peaks that have as yet been accurately measured; 
1. According to the measurements from three stations. 
28,125-7, 28,182-6, and 28,192-5 feet; 
2. According to the measurements from four stations in 
Sub-Himalaya, 28,177-4, 28,183-0, 28,162-5, and 
28,212-8 feet; mean result 28,176-6 feet. 
The proof obtained gives the following result:— 
Length of the base line, by measurement . 36,685-77 
The same according to a triangular measure¬ 
ment, extending over more than 350 
miles (resting on another base), . 36,685-30 
2. Dhaivalagiri was measured anew, not long since, by Colo¬ 
nel Waugh. He believes that the height has been estimated 
considerably too low, and that it null be found as high as the 
Kanchain, Dhaivalagiri, Deodangha, and Kanchain are nearly of 
a height, being about 28,000 English feet. None of the other 
peaks approach these. 
3. There is a peak between Gossainthan and Kanchain, 
visible both from the Nepal valley, where it is called Deodangha, 
and from Sikkim. This has not yet been measured, and has not 
been shown in any map. But Colonel Waugh conjecturally re¬ 
gards it as a little higher than Kanchain and Dhawalgiri. 
4. Of Djuwahir, or Nanda-Deur, I cannot tell any thing new ; 
however, in any case, it must be included in the second class of 
the Himalaya peaks, in regard to height, being 24,162 Paris feet. 
Difference in English feet, 
0-47 
1 
