The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir

CHAPTER V

Trans-Himalayan Climate.—Spití, Lahul, and Ladákh are outside the meteorological influences which affect the rest of the Indian Empire. The lofty ranges of the Himálaya interpose an almost insurmountable barrier between them and the clouds of the monsoon. The rainfall is extraordinarily small, and, considering the elevation of the inhabited parts, 10,000 to 14,000 feet, the snowfall there is not heavy. The air is intensely dry and clear, and the daily and seasonal range of temperature is extreme. Leh, the capital of Ladákh (11,500 feet), has an average rainfall (including snow) of about 3 inches. The mean temperature is 43° Fahr., varying from 19° in January to 64° in July. But these figures give no idea of the rigours of the severe but healthy climate. The daily range is from 25 to 30 degrees, or double what we are accustomed to in England. Once 17° below zero was recorded. In the rare dry clear atmosphere the power of the solar rays is extraordinary. "Rocks exposed to the sun may be too hot to lay the hand upon at the same time that it is freezing in the shade."

The Indian Zones—Meteorological factors.—The distribution of pressure in India, determined mainly by changes of temperature, and itself determining the direction of the winds and the character of the weather, is shown graphically in figures 17 and 18. The winter or north-east monsoon does not penetrate into the Panjáb, where light westernly and northernly winds prevail during the cold season. What rain is received is due to land storms originating beyond the western frontier. The branch of the summer or south-west monsoon which chiefly affects the Panjáb is that which blows up the Bay of Bengal. The rain-clouds striking the Eastern Himálaya are deflected to the west and forced up the Gangetic plain by south-westernly winds. The lower ranges of the Panjáb Himálaya receive in this way very heavy downpours. The rain extends into the plains, but exhausts itself and dies away pretty rapidly to the south and west. The Bombay branch of the monsoon mostly spends itself on the Gháts and in the Deccan. But a part of it penetrates from time to time to the south-east Panjáb, and, if it is sucked into the Bay current, the result is widespread rain.

Himalayan Zone.—The impressions which English people get of the climate of the Himálaya, or in Indian phrase "the Hills," are derived mainly from stations like Simla and Murree perched at a height of from 6500 to 7500 feet on the outer ranges. The data of meteorologists are mainly taken from the same localities. Places between 8000 and 10,000 feet in height and further from the plains enjoy a finer climate, being both cooler and drier in summer. But they are less accessible, and weakly persons would find the greater rarity of the air trying.

In the first fortnight of April the plains become disagreeably warm, and it is well to take European children to the Hills. The Panjáb Government moves to Simla in the first fortnight of May. By that time Simla is pretty warm in the middle of the day, but the nights are pleasant. The mean temperature of the 24 hours in May and June is 65° or 66°, the mean maximum and minimum being 78° and 59°. Thunderstorms with or without hail are not uncommon in April, May, and June. In a normal year the monsoon clouds drift up in the end of June, and the next three months are "the Rains." Usually it does not rain either all day or every day; but sometimes for weeks together Simla is smothered in a blanket of grey mist. Normally the rain comes in bursts with longer or shorter breaks between. About the third week of September the rains often cease quite suddenly, the end being usually proclaimed by a thunderstorm. Next morning one wakes to a new heaven and a new earth, a perfectly cloudless sky, and clean, crisp, cool air. This ideal weather lasts for the next three months. Even in December the days are made pleasant by bright sunshine, and the range of temperature is much less than in the plains. In the end of December or beginning of January the night thermometer often falls lower at Ambála and Ráwalpindí than at Simla and Murree. After Christmas the weather becomes broken, and in January and February falls of snow occur. It is a disagreeable time, and English residents are glad to descend to the plains. In March also the weather is often unsettled. The really heavy falls of snow occur at levels much higher than Simla. These remarks apply mutatis mutandis to Dharmsála, Dalhousie, and Murree. Owing to its position right under a lofty mountain wall Dharmsála is a far wetter place than Simla. Murree gets its monsoon later, and the summer rainfall is a good deal lighter. In winter it has more snow, being nearer the source of origin of the storms. Himalayan valleys at an elevation of 5000 feet, such as the Vale of Kashmír, have a pleasant climate. The mean temperature of Srínagar (5255 feet) varies from 33° in January to 75° in July, when it is unpleasantly hot, and Europeans often move to Gulmarg. Kashmír has a heavy snowfall even in the Jhelam valley. Below 4000 feet, especially in confined river valleys the Himalayan climate is often disagreeably hot and stuffy.

Climate of the Plains.—The course of the seasons is the same in the plains. The jaded resident finds relief when the rains cease in the end of September. The days are still warm, but the skies are clear, the air dry, and the nights cool. November is rainless and in every way a pleasant month. The clouds begin to gather before Christmas, but rain often holds off till January. Pleasant though the early months of the cold weather are, they lay traps for the unwary. In October and November the daily range of temperature is very large, exceeding 30°, and the fall at sunset very sudden. Care is needed to avoid a chill and the fever that follows. Clear and dry though the air is, the blue of the skies is pale owing to a light dust haze in the upper atmosphere. For the same reason the Himalayan snows except after rain are veiled from dwellers in the plains at a distance of 30 miles from the foot-hills. The air in these months before the winter rains is wonderfully still. In the three months after Christmas the Panjáb is the pathway of a series of small storms from the west, preceded by close weather and occurring usually at intervals of a few weeks. After a day or two of wet weather the sky clears, and the storm is followed by a great drop in the temperature. The traveller who shivers after a January rain-storm finds it hard to believe that the Panjáb plain is a part of the hottest region of the Old World which stretches from the Sahára to Delhi. If he had to spend the period from May to July there he would have small doubts on the subject. The heat begins to be unpleasant in April, when hot westernly winds prevail. An occasional thunderstorm with hail relieves the strain for a little. The warmest period of the year is May and June. But the intense dry heat is healthier and to many less trying than the mugginess of the rainy season. The dust-storms which used to be common have become rarer and lighter with the spread of canal irrigation in the western Panjáb. The rains ought to break at Delhi in the end of June and at Lahore ten days or a fortnight later. There is often a long break when the climate is particularly trying. The nights are terribly hot. The outer air is then less stifling than that of the house, and there is the chance of a little comparative coolness shortly before dawn. Many therefore prefer to sleep on the roof or in the verandah. September, when the rains slacken, is a muggy, unpleasant, and unhealthy month. But in the latter half of it cooler nights give promise of a better time.

Special features of Plain Zones.—The submontane zone has the most equable and the pleasantest climate in the plains. It has a rainfall of from 30 to 40 inches, five-sevenths or more of which belongs to the monsoon period (June-September). The north-western area has a longer and colder winter and spring. In the end of December and in January the keen dry cold is distinctly trying. The figures in Statement I, for Ráwalpindí and Pesháwar, are not very characteristic of the zone as a whole. The average of the rainfall figures, 13 inches for Pesháwar and 32 for Ráwalpindí, would give a truer result. The monsoon rains come later and are much less abundant than in the submontane zone. Their influence is very feeble in the western and south-western part of the area. On the other hand the winter rains, are heavier than in any other part of the province. Delhi and Lahore represent the extreme conditions of the central and south-eastern plains. The latter is really on the edge of the dry south-western area. The eastern districts of the zone have a shorter and less severe cold weather than the western, an earlier and heavier monsoon, but scantier winter rains. The total rainfall varies from 16 to 30 inches. The south-western zone, with a rainfall of from 5 to 15 inches, is the driest part of India proper except northern Sindh and western Rájputána. Neither monsoon current affects it much. At Multán there are only about fifteen days in the whole year on which any rain falls.

CHAPTER VI

Affinities of Panjáb Flora.—It is hopeless to describe except in the broadest outline the flora of a tract covering an area of 250,000 square miles and ranging in altitude from a few hundred feet to a height 10,000 feet above the limit of flowering plants. The nature of the vegetation of any tract depends on rainfall and temperature, and only secondarily on soil. A desert is a tract with a dry substratum and dry air, great heat during some part of the year, and bright sunshine. The soil may be loam or sand, and as regards vegetation a sandy desert is the worst owing to the rapid drying up of the subsoil after rain. In the third of the maps appended to Schimper's Plant Geography by far the greater part of the area dealt with in this book is shown as part of the vast desert extending from the Sahára to Manchuria. Seeing that the monsoon penetrates into the province and that it is traversed by large snow-fed rivers the Panjáb, except in parts of the extreme western and south-western districts, is not a desert like the Sahára or Gobí, and Schimper recognised this by marking most of the area as semi-desert. Still the flora outside the Hills and the submontane tract is predominantly of the desert type, being xerophilous or drought-resisting. The adaptations which enable plants to survive in a tract deficient in moisture are of various kinds. The roots may be greatly developed to enable them to tap the subsoil moisture, the leaves may be reduced in size, converted into thorns, or entirely dispensed with, in order to check rapid evaporation, they may be covered with silky or felted hairs, a modification which produces the same result, or their internal tissue may be succulent or mucilaginous. In the plants of the Panjáb plains there is no difficulty in recognising these features of a drought-resisting flora. Schimper's map shows in the north-east of the area a wedge thrust in between the plains' desert and the dry elevated alpine desert cut off from the influence of the monsoon by the lofty barrier of the Inner Himálaya. This consists of two parts, monsoon forest, corresponding roughly with the Himalayan area Cis Ráví above the 5000 feet contour, and dry woodland of a semi-tropical stamp, consisting, of the adjoining foot-hills and submontane tract. This wedge is in fact treated as part of the zone, which in the map (after Drude) prefixed to Willis' Manual and Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns, is called Indo-Malayan, and which embraces the Malayan Archipelago and part of North Australia, Burma, and practically the whole of India except the Panjáb, Sindh, and Rájputána. In Drude's map the three countries last mentioned are included in a large zone called "the Mediterranean and Orient." This is a very broad classification, and in tracing the relationships of the Panjáb flora it is better to treat the desert area of North Africa, which in Tripoli and Egypt extends to the coast, apart from the Mediterranean zone. It is a familiar fact that, as we ascend lofty mountains like those of the Himálaya, we pass through belts or regions of vegetation of different types. The air steadily becomes rarer and therefore colder, especially at night, and at the higher levels there is a marked reduction in the rainfall. When the alpine region, which in the Himálaya may be taken as beginning at 11,000 feet, is reached, the plants have as a rule bigger roots, shorter stems, smaller leaves, but often larger and more brilliantly coloured flowers. These are adaptations of a drought-resisting kind.

Regions.—In this sketch it will suffice to divide the tract into six regions:

Of course a flora does not fit itself into compartments, and the changes of type are gradual.

Panjáb Dry Plain.—The affinities of the flora of the Panjáb plains south of the Salt Range and the submontane tract are, especially in the west, with the desert areas of Persia, Arabia, and North Africa, though the spread of canal irrigation is modifying somewhat the character of the vegetation. The soil and climate are unsuited to the growth of large trees, but adapted to scrub jungle of a drought-resisting type, which at one time covered very large areas from the Jamna to the Jhelam. The soil on which this sparse scrub grew is a good strong loam, but the rainfall was too scanty and the water-level too deep to admit of much cultivation outside the valleys of the rivers till the labours of canal engineers carried their waters to the uplands. East of the Sutlej the Bikaner desert thrusts northwards a great wedge of sandy land which occupies a large area in Baháwalpur, Hissár, Ferozepur, and Patiála. Soil of this description is free of forest growth, and the monsoon rainfall in this part of the province is sufficient to encourage an easy, but very precarious, cultivation of autumn millets and pulses. The great Thal desert to the south of the Salt Range between the valleys of the Jhelam and the Indus has a similar soil, but the scantiness of the rainfall has confined cultivation within much narrower limits. Between the Sutlej and the Jhelam the uplands between the river valleys are known locally as Bárs. The largest of the truly indigenous trees of the Panjáb plains are the farásh (Tamarix articulata) and the thorny kíkar (Acacia Arabica). The latter yields excellent wood for agricultural implements, and fortunately it grows well in sour soils. Smaller thorny acacias are the nímbar or raunj (Acacia leucophloea) and the khair (Acacia Senegal). The dwarf tamarisk, pilchí or jhao (Tamarix dioica), grows freely in moist sandy soils near rivers. The scrub jungle consists mostly of jand (Prosopis spicigera), a near relation of the Acacias, jál or van (Salvadora oleoides), and the coral-flowered karíl or leafless caper (Capparis aphylla). All these show their desert affinities, the jand by its long root and its thorns, the jál by its small leathery leaves, and the karíl by the fact that it has managed to dispense with leaves altogether. The jand is a useful little tree, and wherever it grows the natural qualities of the soil are good. The sweetish fruit of the jál, known as pílu, is liked by the people, and in famines they will even eat the berries of the leafless caper. Other characteristic plants of the Panjáb plains are under Leguminosae, the khip (Crotalaria burhia), two Farsetias (faríd kí búti), and the jawása or camel thorn (Alhagi camelorum), practically leafless, but with very long and stout spines; under Capparidaceae several Cleomes, species of Corchorus (Tiliaceae), under Zygophyllaceae three Mediterranean genera, Tribulus, Zygophyllum, and Fagonia, under Solanaceae several Solanums and Withanias, and various salsolaceous Chenopods known as lána.

In the sandier tracts the ak (Calotropis procera, N.O. Asclepiadaceae), the harmal (Peganum harmala, N.O. Rutaceae), and the colocynth gourd (Citrullus colocynthis, N.O. Cucurbitaceae), which, owing to the size of its roots, manages to flourish in the sands of African and Indian deserts, grow abundantly. Common weeds of cultivation are Fumaria parviflora, a near relation of the English fumitory, Silene conoidea, and two Spergulas (Caryophyllaceae), and Sisymbrium Irio (Cruciferae). A curious little Orchid, Zeuxine sulcata, is found growing among the grass on canal banks. The American yellow poppy, Argemone Mexicana, a noxious weed, has unfortunately established itself widely in the Panjáb plain. Two trees of the order Leguminosae, the shisham or tálí (Dalbergia Sissoo) and the siris (Albizzia lebbek), are commonly planted on Panjáb roads. The true home of the former is in river beds in the low hills or in ravines below the hills. But it is a favourite tree on roads and near wells throughout the province, and deservedly so, for it yields excellent timber. The siris on the other hand is an untidy useless tree. The kíkar might be planted as a roadside tree to a greater extent. Several species of figs, especially the pípal (Ficus religiosa) and bor or banian (Ficus Indica) are popular trees.

Salt Range and North-West Plains.—-Our second region may be taken as extending from the Pabbí hills on the east of the Jhelam in Gujrát to our administrative boundary beyond the Indus, its southern limit being the Salt Range. Here the flora is of a distinctly Mediterranean type. Poppies are as familiar in Ráwalpindi as they are in England or Italy, and Hypecoum procumbens, a curious Italian plant of the same order, is found in Attock. The abundance of Crucifers is also a Mediterranean feature. Eruca sativa, the oil-seed known as táramíra or jamián, which sows itself freely in waste land and may be found growing even on railway tracks in the Ráwalpindí division, is an Italian and Spanish weed. Malcolmia strigosa, which spreads a reddish carpet over the ground, and Malcolmia Africana are common Crucifers near Ráwalpindí. The latter is a Mediterranean species. The Salt Range genera Diplotaxis and Moricandia are Italian, and the peculiar Notoceras Canariensis found in Attock is also a native of the Canary Islands. Another order, Boraginaceae, which is very prominent in the Mediterranean region, is also important in the North-West Panjáb, though the showier plants of the order are wanting. One curious Borage, Arnebia Griffithii, seems to be purely Asiatic. It has five brown spots on its petals, which fade and disappear in the noonday sunshine. These are supposed to be drops of sweat which fell from Muhammad's forehead, hence the plant is called paighambarí phúl or the prophet's flower. Among Composites Calendulas and Carthamus oxyacantha or the pohlí, a near relation of the Carthamus which yields the saffron dye, are abundant. Both are common Mediterranean genera. Silybum Marianum, a handsome thistle with large leaves mottled with white, extends from Britain to Ráwalpindí. Interesting species are Tulipa stellata and Tulipa chrysantha. The latter is a Salt Range plant, as is the crocus-like Merendera Persica, and the yellow Iris Aitchisoni. A curious plant found in the same hills is the cactus-like Boucerosia (N.O. Asclepiadaceae), recalling to botanists the more familiar Stapelias of the same order. Another leafless Asclepiad, Periploca aphylla, which extends westwards to Arabia and Nubia and southwards to Sindh, is, like Boucerosia, a typical xerophyte adapted to a very dry soil and atmosphere. The thorny Acacias, A. eburnea and A. modesta (vern. phuláhí), of the low bare hills of the N.W. Panjáb are also drought-resisting plants.

Submontane Region.—The Submontane region consists of a broad belt below the Siwáliks extending from the Jamna nearly to the Jhelam, and may be said to include the districts of Ambála, Karnál (part), Hoshyárpur, Kángra (part), Hazára (part), Jalandhar, Gurdáspur, Siálkot, Gujrát (part). In its flora there is a strong infusion of Indo-Malayan elements. An interesting member of it is the Butea frondosa, a small tree of the order Leguminosae. It is known by several names, dhák, chichra, paláh, and palás. Putting out its large orange-red flowers in April it ushers in the hot weather. It has a wide range from Ceylon to Bengal, where it has given its name to the town of Dacca and the battlefield of Plassy (Palási). From Bengal it extends all the way to Hazára. There can be no doubt that a large part of the submontane region was once dhák forest. Tracts in the north of Karnál—Chachra, in Jalandhar—Dardhák, and in Gujrát—Paláhí, have taken their names from this tree. It coppices very freely, furnishes excellent firewood and good timber for the wooden frames on which the masonry cylinders of wells are reared, it exudes a valuable gum, its flowers yield a dye, and the dry leaves are eaten by buffaloes. A tree commonly planted near wells and villages in the submontane tract is the dhrek (Melia azedarach, N.O. Meliaceae), which is found as far west as Persia and is often called by English people the Persian lilac. The bahera (Terminalia belerica, N.O. Combretaceae), a much larger tree, is Indo-Malayan. Common shrubs are the marwan (Vitex negundo, N.O. Verbenaceae), Plumbago Zeylanica (Plumbaginaceae), the bánsa or bhekar (Adhatoda vasica, N.O. Acanthaceae). The last is Indo-Malayan. Among herbs Cassias, which do not occur in Europe, are common. The curious cactus-like Euphorbia Royleana grows abundantly and is used for making hedges.

Sub-Himálaya.—A large part of the Sub-Himalayan region belongs to the Siwáliks. The climate is fairly moist and subject to less extremes of heat and cold than the regions described above. A strong infusion of Indo-Malayan types is found and a noticeable feature is the large number of flowering trees and shrubs. Such beautiful flowering trees as the simal or silk-cotton tree (Bombax Malabaricum, N.O. Malvaceae), the amaltás (Cassia fistula), Albizzia mollis and Albizzia stipulata, Erythrina suberosa, Bauhinia purpurea and Bauhinia variegata, all belonging to the order Leguminosae, are unknown in Europe, but common in the Indo-Malayan region. This is true also of Oroxylum Indicum (N.O. Bignoniaceae) with its remarkable long sword-like capsules, and of the kamíla (Mallotus Philippinensis), which abounds in the low hills, but may escape the traveller's notice as its flowers have no charm of form or colour. He will in spring hardly fail to observe another Indo-Malayan tree, the dháwí (Woodfordia floribunda, N.O. Lythraceae) with its bright red flowers. Shrubs with conspicuous flowers are also common, among which may be noted species of Clematis, Capparis spinosa, Kydia calycina, Mimosa rubicaulis, Hamiltonia suaveolens, Caryopteris Wallichiana, and Nerium Oleander. The latter grows freely in sandy torrent beds. Rhus cotinus, which reddens the hillsides in May, is a native also of Syria, Italy, and Southern France. Other trees to be noticed are a wild pear (Pyrus pashia), the olive (Olea cuspidata), the khair (Acacia catechu) useful to tanners, the tun (Cedrela toona), whose wood is often used for furniture, the dháman (Grewia oppositifolia, N.O. Tiliaceae), and several species of fig. The most valuable products however of the forests of the lower hills are the chír or chíl pine (Pinus longifolia), and a giant grass, the bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), which attains a height of from 20 to 40 feet. Shrubs which grow freely on stony hills are the sanattha or mendru (Dodonaea viscosa, N.O. Sapindaceae), which is a valuable protection against denudation, as goats pass it by, the garna, which is a species of Carissa, and Plectranthus rugosus. Climbers are common. The great Hiptage madablota (N.O. Malpighiaceae), the Bauhinia Vahlii or elephant creeper, and some species of the parasitic Loranthus, deserve mention, also Acacia caesia, Pueraria tuberosa, Vallaris Heynei, Porana paniculata, and several vines, especially Vitis lanata with its large rusty leaves. Characteristic herbs are the sweet-scented Viola patrinii, the slender milkwort; Polygala Abyssinica, a handsome pea, Vigna vexillata, a borage, Trichodesma Indicum, a balsam, Impatiens balsamina, familiar in English gardens, the beautiful delicate little blue Evolvulus alsinoides, the showy purple convolvulus, Ipomaea hederacea, and a curious lily, Gloriosa superba.

Temperate Himálaya.—The richest part of the temperate Himalayan flora is probably in the 7500-10,000 zone. Above 10,000 feet sup-alpine conditions begin, and at 12,000 feet tree growth becomes very scanty and the flora is distinctly alpine. The chír pine so common in sub-Himalayan forests extends up to 6500 feet. At this height and 1000 feet lower the ban oak (Quercus incana), grey on the lower side of the leaf, which is so common at Simla, abounds. Where the chíl stops, the kail or blue pine (Pinus excelsa), after the deodár the most valuable product of Himalayan forests, begins. Its zone may be taken as from 7000 to 9000 feet. To the same zone belong the kelu or deodár (Cedrus Libani), the glossy leaved mohru oak (Quercus dilatata), whose wood is used for making charcoal, and two small trees of the Heath order, Rhododendron arborea and Pieris ovalifolia. The former in April and May lightens up with its bright red flowers the sombre Simla forests. The kharshu or rusty-leaved oak (Quercus semecarpifolia) affects a colder climate than its more beautiful glossy-leaved relation, and may almost be considered sub-alpine. It is common on Hattu, and the oaks there present a forlorn appearance after rain with funereal mosses dripping with moisture hanging from their trunks. The firs, Picea morinda, with its grey tassels, and Abies Pindrow with its dark green yew-like foliage, succeed the blue pine. Picea may be said to range from 8000 to 10,000 feet, and the upper limit of Abies is from 1000 to 2000 feet higher. These splendid trees are unfortunately of small commercial value. The yew, Taxus baccata, is found associated with them. Between 5000 and 8000 feet, besides the oaks and other broad-leaved trees already noticed, two relations of the dogwood, Cornus capitata and Cornus macrophylla, a large poplar, Populus ciliata, a pear, Pyrus lanata, a holly, Ilex dipyrena, an elm and its near relation, Celtis australis, and species of Rhus and Euonymus, may be mentioned. Cornus capitata is a small tree, but it attracts notice because the heads of flowers surrounded by bracts of a pale yellow colour have a curious likeness to a rose, and the fruit is in semblance not unlike a strawberry. Above 8000 feet several species of maple abound. which has been introduced into English shrubberies. The great vine, The chinár or Platanus orientalis, found as far west as Sicily, grows to splendid proportions by the quiet waterways of the Vale of Kashmír. The undergrowth in temperate Himalayan forests consists largely of barberries, Desmodiums, Indigoferas, roses, brambles, Spiraeas, Viburnums, honeysuckles with their near relation, Leycesteria formosa, Vitis Himalayana, whose leaves turn red in autumn, climbs up many of the trees. Of the flowers it is impossible to give any adequate account. The flora is distinctly Mediterranean in type; the orders in Collett's Flora Simlensis which are not represented in the Italian flora contain hardly more than 5 per cent. of the total genera. The plants included in some of these non-Mediterranean orders are very beautiful, for example, the Begonias, the Amphicomes (Bignoniaceae), Chirita bifolia and Platystemma violoides (Gesneraceae), and Hedychium (Scitamineae). More important members of the flora are species of Clematis, including the beautiful white Clematis montana, anemones, larkspurs, columbine, monkshoods, St John's worts, geraniums, balsams, species of Astragalus, Potentillas, Asters, ragworts, species of Cynoglossum, gentians and Swertias, Androsaces and primroses, Wulfenia and louseworts, species of Strobilanthes, Salvias and Nepetas, orchids, irises, Ophiopogon, Smilax, Alliums, lilies, and Solomon's seal. Snake plants (Arisaema) and their relation Sauromatum guttatum of the order Araceae are very common in the woods. The striped spathe in some species of Arisaema bears a curious resemblance to the head of a cobra uplifted to strike. Orchids decrease as one proceeds westwards, but irises are much more common in Kashmír than in the Simla hills. The Kashmír fritillaries include the beautiful Crown Imperial.

Alpine Himálaya.—In the Alpine Himálaya the scanty tree-growth is represented by willows, junipers, and birches. After 12,000 or 12,500 feet it practically disappears. A dwarf shrub, Juniperus recurva, is found clothing hillsides a good way above the two trees of the same genus. Other alpine shrubs which may be noticed are two rhododendrons, which grow on cliffs at an elevation of 10,000 to 14,000 feet, R. campanulatum and R. lepidotum, Gaultheria nummularioides with its black-purple berry, and Cassiope fastigiata, all belonging to the order Ericaceae. The herbs include beautiful primulas, saxifrages, and gentians, and in the bellflower order species of Codonopsis and Cyananthus. Among Composites may be mentioned the tansies, Saussureas, and the fine Erigeron multiradiatus common in the forest above Narkanda. In the bleak uplands beyond the Himálaya tree-growth is very scanty, but in favoured localities willows and the pencil cedar, Juniperus pseudosabina, are found. The people depend for fuel largely on a hoary bush of the Chenopod order, Eurotia ceratoides. In places a profusion of the red Tibetan roses, Rosa Webbiana, lightens up the otherwise dreary scene.

CHAPTER VII

The first are forests of deodár, blue pine, fir, and oak in the Himálaya above the level of 5000 feet. The hill forests occupy the lower spurs, the Siwáliks in Hoshyárpur, etc., and the low dry hills of the north-west. A strong growth of chír pine (Pinus longifolia) is often found in the Himálaya between 3000 and 5000 feet. Below 3000 feet is scrub forest, the only really valuable product being bamboo. The hills in the north-western districts of the Panjáb and N.W.F. Province, when nature is allowed to have its way, are covered with low scrub including in some parts a dwarf palm (Nannorhops Ritchieana), useful for mat making, and with a taller, but scantier growth of phuláhí (Acacia modesta) and wild olive. What remains of the scrub and grass jangal of the plains is to be found chiefly in the Bár tracts between the Sutlej and the Jhelam. Much of it has disappeared, or is about to disappear, with the advance of canal irrigation. Dry though the climate is the Bár was in good seasons a famous grazing area. The scrub consisted mainly of jand (Prosopis spicigera), jál (Salvadora oleoides), the karíl (Capparis aphylla) and the farásh (Tamarix articulata).

Management and Income of Forests.—The Forest Department of the Panjáb has existed singe 1864, when the first Conservator was appointed. In 1911-12 it managed 8359 square miles in the Panjáb consisting of:

It was also in charge of 235 square miles of reserved forest in the Hazára district of the N.W.F. Province, and of 364 miles of fine mountain forest in the native State of Bashahr. In addition a few reserved forests have been made over as grazing areas to the Military Department, and Deputy Commissioners are in charge of a very large area of unclassed forest.

No forest can be declared "reserved" or "protected" unless it is owned in whole or in part by the State. It is enough if the trees or some of them are the property of the Government. In order to safeguard all private rights a special forest settlement must be made before a forest can be declared to be "reserved." In the case of a protected forest it is enough if Government is satisfied that the rights of the State and of private persons have been recorded at a land revenue settlement. After deducting income belonging to the year 1909-10 realized in 1910-11, the average income of the two years ending 1911-12 was £81,805 (Rs. 1,227,082) and the average expenditure £50,954 (Rs. 764,309).

Sources of Income.—In the mountain forests the chief source of income is the deodár, which is valuable both for railway sleepers and as building timber. The blue pine is also of commercial value. Deodár, blue pine, and some chír are floated down the rivers to depots in the plains. Firwood is inferior to cedar and pine, and the great fir forests are too remote for profitable working at present. There are fine mountain forests in Chitrál, on the Safed Koh, and in Western Wazíristán, but these have so far not even been fully explored. The value of the hill forests may be increased by the success which has attended the experimental extraction of turpentine from the resin of the chír pine. The bamboo forests of Kángra are profitable. At present an attempt is being made to acclimatize several species of Eucalyptus in the low hills. The scrub jangal in the plains yields good fuel. As the area is constantly shrinking it is fortunate that the railways have ceased to depend on this source of supply, coal having to a great extent taken the place of wood. To prevent shortage of fuel considerable areas in the tracts commanded by the new canals are being reserved for irrigated forests. A forest of this class covering an area of 37 square miles and irrigated from the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal has long existed at Changa Manga in the Lahore district.

Forests in Kashmír.—The extensive and valuable Kashmír forests are mountain and hill forests, the former, which cover much the larger area yielding, deodár, blue pine, and firs, and the latter chír pine. The total area exceeds 2600 square miles.

CHAPTER VIII

Fauna.—With the spread of cultivation and drainage the Panjáb plains have ceased to be to anything like the old extent the haunt of wild beasts and wild fowl. The lion has long been extinct and the tiger has practically disappeared. Leopards are to be found in low hills, and sometimes stray into the plains. Wolves are seen occasionally, and jackals are very common. The black buck (Antilope cerricapra) can still be shot in many places. The graceful little chinkára or ravine deer (Gazella Bennetti) is found in sandy tracts, and the hogdeer or párha (Cervus porcinus) near rivers. The nílgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is less common. Monkeys abound in the hills and in canal-irrigated tracts in the Eastern districts, where their sacred character protects them from destruction, though they do much damage to crops. Peafowl are to be seen in certain tracts, especially in the eastern Panjáb. They should not be shot where the people are Hindus or anywhere near a Hindu shrine. The great and lesser bustards and several kinds of sand grouse are to be found in sandy districts. The grey partridge is everywhere, and the black can be got near the rivers. The sísí and the chikor are the partridges of the hills, which are also the home of fine varieties of pheasants including the monál. Quail frequent the ripening fields in April and late in September. Duck of various kinds abound where there are jhíls, and snipe are to be got in marshy ground. The green parrots, crows, and vultures are familiar sights. Both the sharp-nosed (Garialis Gangetica, vern. ghariál) and the blunt-nosed (Crocodilus palustris, vern. magar) crocodiles haunt the rivers. The fish are tasteless; the rohu and mahseer are the best. Poisonous snakes are the karait, the cobra, and Russell's viper. The first is sometimes an intruder into houses. Lizards and mongooses are less unwelcome visitors. White ants attack timber and ruin books, and mosquitoes and sandflies add to the unpleasant features of the hot weather. The best known insect pest is the locust, but visitations on a large scale are rare. Of late years much more damage has been done by an insect which harbours in the cotton bolls.