.

At 8,500 feet, Rhododendron minus, Rhododendron oblonga, ochroleucum,
Coccineum appears, Ribes, Smilax sanguinea, Gaultheria of Bulphai very
common, arborea stunted, Limonia major, Clematis grata! Rhododendron
hispida, Potentilla, Pteris aquilina, Berberis asiatica, Mespilus
microphyllus, Gnaphalium, Swertia, Viola, Patrinum! Elaeagnus fragrans!
Thymus, which ranges from 6 to 10,000 feet, Euphorbia, Pedicularis,
Cycnii sp., Mimulus, Rhodora deflexa, Pinus pendula, Quercus ilecifolia,
both stunted, Pteris aquilina.

The descent to the village was about 500 feet, Arenarium on rocks,
Mimulus, Viola, Rumex, Juncus, Acorus veronica, Anagallis, Pythonium of
Blake, Euphorbia, Pedicularis, Carex, Mespilus microphyllus: pine
chatterers throughout, at least above 7,000 feet.

The summit, which was certainly 9,500 feet, was completely bare: Pinus
pendula ascends a long way.

Chupcha--Hordeum hexastichor in beautiful order, the chief cultivation.
Red-legged crow; larger dove. The form of the country traversed is as
follows:-

[Teemboo to Chupcha: m291.jpg]

At Diglea we had an opportunity of seeing the mode of building in this
part of Bootan; the houses are made of mud, which is trampled and beat
down by men, who perform sundry strange evolutions while so employed; the
mud is beat down in a frame-work; it is from the different layers formed
that the lines seen outside finished houses result. The mode is slow,
but must give great firmness.

_May 14th_.--Ascended to the Gylong village, above Chupcha, and then to
the naked ridge. The village may be estimated as being 8,700 or 8,800
feet above the sea, and that part of the ridge to which I ascended as
9,800 or 10,000 feet. The ascent is uninterrupted up to the village; it
winds through a fine fir wood, after diverging from the road to Panga,
after that it is quite open, scarcely a shrub being met with until the
ridge is surmounted. On turning to its northern face, woody vegetation
becomes pretty abundant, and 500 feet below, woods occur. This is
contrary to what usually happens; the south faces of mountains being
supposed to be better wooded than the others, but in Bootan the
difference would seem to be due to the piercing winds blowing from south,
or up the ravine of the Teemboo. The scenery was very pretty, both in
the woods before reaching the village, and from the ridge: vast
quantities of snow visible to the north and north-east. I ascended to
within 1,000 feet