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CLIMATE AND VEGETATION OF THE HIMALAYAS. 
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THE TWO GREAT PEAKS OF THE BUNDERPOOCH AND VALLEY 
OF THE JUMNA. 
quarter Lauri, with a scattering of Birch, Alder, 
Maple, Holly, Pruni, Pyri, Cerasus, Styrax, Sym- 
plocos, and Limonia. Neither Juglans, Tree-ferns, 
nor Castanea ascend so high; nor, of course, 
Palms or Bananas, Pothos or Peppers. The 
rarity of Leguminosee was most remarkable, and must be a pro¬ 
minent feature in the vegetation of this region ; it is too high for 
the tropical tribes of the warmer elevations, too low and too moist 
for the Galegese and Astragalese ; still, why are there no Viceae, nor 
the pretty Parochoetus, he had left only 1,000 feet below P Except 
Isopyrum, Banunculese were totally absent ; though there may 
be a few species of Clematis; Cruciferee, too, were wanting; and 
more remarkable still, the Grasses, of which our traveller found but 
one native species. Poa annua and Trifolium flourished where ac¬ 
cidentally disseminated in artificially cleared spots. 
The cryptogamous vegetation, though most luxuriant, Dr. 
Hooker describes as very inferior to that of New Zealand, where, 
he says, “ he could gather double the number of noble Ferns in an 
hour, than he could here in a day."’ The superiority of this region, 
consists in the number of forest-trees and dicotyledonous plants, in 
the absence, in the usual proportion, of such plebeian orders among 
them as Composite, Leguminosae, Cruciferae, and Banunculaceae 
and of Gramineae among monocotyledons; and above all, in the predominance WT£. 
of the rarer and more local families, Magnoliae, arborescent Ericeae, Araliaceae, 
Corneae, Caprifoliaceae, Saxifrageae, and Ternstrcemiaceae. 
The magnificent grandeur of the scenery of old Darjeeling seems to have made 
a profound impression upon our traveller. It is delightful to follow him in his 
description; while his little touches and comparisons, and tender allusions to his 
far off English home, proclaim him a man of deep feelings and warm and kindly 
heart. We regret our space obliges us to confine ourselves to his Botany. 
The lofty mountain ridge upon which Darjeeling stands is called Sinchul. 
Elevated at least 1,000 or 1,500 feet above Darjeeling, it is even more subalpine than Pacheem, but 
still does not rise into the regions of Ranunculaceae, Primroses, or herbaceous Saxifrages. A heavy 
VOL. ii. D 
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