Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries Part 66

The water plants are all decidedly tropical; no Epilobium seen since leaving Peshawar: Eclipta, Cyperaceae.

Trichodesma, Cannabis.

Fish have few engaging habits, the tame Mahaseers take no notice of any one until food is thrown to them.

Tagetes, _Sud Buruk_, is a curious genus, on account of its simple tubular involucrum, very entire and pappus florets, conduplicate in aestivation, all florets faeminine are ligulate; are the folded up ones representations of the males?

_22nd_.--To Janika Sung, seventeen miles: the country continues much the same. The road pa.s.ses out of _Hussun Abdul_ over a low stony elevation, and enters another valley, the exit from which is through the Maha Gullah: a large Serai is pa.s.sed about two and a half miles from the Boorgi; in the Gullah near this, is a portion of a formed road. Janika Sung is a small village, about five miles from the Boorgi.

The face of the country is undulated, intersected by ravines, rather thickly covered with the large Mimosa and _Bheir_: the same may be seen in every direction.

Affghan plants have nearly ended, Moacurra and Euonymus alone continuing.

At the Maha Gullah a Carissa, and a _Zaitoon_, Ehretioides. This defile is picturesque, the wood prettily contrasted with bits of gra.s.sy ground.

Adhatoda in abundance.

The Maha Gullah was formerly a notorious place for robbers, but is now quite safe, which says much for the Seikh rule.

There was not much cultivation pa.s.sed to-day, although most of the surface is fit for it: water is near the surface. The Maha Gullah range is composed of limestone.

The white-spined Mimosa and crooked-spined one change places, the former occupies uncultivated plains, the latter stony, undulated, or hilly ground.

Carissa certainly represents Jasminum.

On the Kaliki Serai plain the chief plant is Mimosa albispina, then _Bheir_--here and there patches of Leguminosa, like the Cytisoides, so common in Affghanistan. In the _Bheir_ thickets Schoenanthus is common; Andropogon and Pommereullioid also occur.

In the Hussun Abdul river there is a species of Perilampus approaching to Leuciscus, but with faint bars. In the sacred stream there is a small Cyprinoid, probably a Systomus, with a conspicuous spot on either side near the tail: there is also a small loach.

The Mahaseer in the water is a handsome fish, the edges of the scales being then blackish, as is also the longitudinal line.

It is curious that all plants. .h.i.therto found parasitical on roots, have no green leaves; to this, marked exceptions exists in Cuscuta and Ca.s.sytha, such true-leaved parasites being found only on the ascending axis; this rule is so permanent, that species of certain genera, such as Burmannia, the bulk of which are not parasitical, have no leaves. The mode of attachment of all parasitical plants is I think the same, otherwise I should suspect the above difference to point to a marked one in the nature of the fluid derived from the stock: thus leafless plants might be supposed to induce no particular change in the fluid they imbibe, while the others might be supposed to elaborate their own from that of the stock.

There is another very remarkable circ.u.mstance connected with the most typical leafless parasites, in their very frequent limitation to the genus Cissus, on which perhaps all Rafflesiaceae and Cynomorieae are exclusively found.

My chief reason for supposing Sarcocodon to be Monocotyledonous, or rather Endogenous, is the ternary division of its parts, and if my supposition be correct, it tends to establish, if indeed other ample evidence did not exist, the great permanence and consequent value of this numerical character.

And with respect to Sarcocoidalis I shall adopt the same opinion, if I find on enquiry that a binary number, and imperfection of the female as compared with the male, are more characteristic of Endogenous than of Exogenous growth. This same genus I consider in both these characters to allude to some a.n.a.logy with one or more Acrogenous divisions.

The establishment of the order of Rhizanths, as well as that of Gymnosperms, I consider as a retrograde step in Botanical science. It is totally opposed to all sound principles of cla.s.sification, and is a proof that, in the nineteenth century, arbitrary characters are still sought for, and when found are obstinately maintained.

Even in the arbitrary character, which is considered as destructive of all their other claims to ordinary vegetable rank, there is no unison whatever, for Rafflesiaceae have ordinary ovula, while Sarcocoidalis very extraordinary.

The amount of testimony proving their a.n.a.logy in germination to be with Acrogens, must be very strong before I am convinced that plants with perfect ovula as Rafflesia, etc. germinate from an indeterminate point, the existence of an aperture in the coats, points in the most marked manner to some part representing a radicle. With the exception perhaps of Sarcocoidalis, these plants differ in no respect whatever from other Phaenogamous vegetables; we have instances of the same parasitical growth, and instances of the same apparent want of a radicle or h.o.m.ogeneousness of embryo, and in the structure of the parts of the flower there is tolerably absolute general ident.i.ty.

It may be worthy of remark, as tending to prove the soundness of Mr.

Brown's views with regard to the affinity of Rafflesia with Aristolochia, that a certain large and fleshy flowered species of the latter genus has the same putrescent smelling flowers.

In Rhizantheae, as proposed by Endlicher, we have an a.s.semblage of discordant characters; we have plants a.s.sociated, differing in the number of their parts; we have some of comparatively simple roots a.s.sociated with others of decidedly complex organization; we have Rafflesia in which highly complex female parts exist, a.s.sociated with Sarcocoidalis, in which these are very simple. But besides the objection of combining discrepancies on the strength of one agreement, the establishment of divisions upon such pretexts is objectionable in another point of view; viz., that of making a transition of structure on one point, instead of in several.

We might as well form into one division all the ternarily formed Dicotyledons, and into another all those Monocotyledonous plants with evident distinction between the calyx and corolla.

But in addition to reasons founded on structure, I have this theoretical one, that it is as requisite that Endogens should establish a similar relation with Acrogens; otherwise a gradation exists between the first and third cla.s.ses, and none between the second and third, between which, gradations ought to be the more frequent.

As Rafflesia approaches Aristolochia, so does Sarcocodon, Taccaceae.

_23rd_.--Rawil Pendi. The country continues much the same to within five or six miles of this place, viz. high raviny ground, well covered with Mimosa, _Bheir_, etc.

Thence to Pendi, the country is open, bare, and much cultivated. From high ground near Pendi a considerable tract is visible, consisting of low ridges running nearly due south, interrupted here and there, and apparently quite bare.

_24th_.--To Manikyala, distance nineteen miles, over an elevated country, with not much cultivation; broken ground occurs here and there, especially near the river Hoomook, now a small stream, the road winding through Mimosa jungle. _Moacurra_, _Bheir_, Euonymus.

At a place about three miles from Manikyala, are the remains of a Serai now in ruins. From this to Metope, the road extends over an open country capable of cultivation, but neglected. Water in wells is thirty feet perhaps below the surface: the country about Tope very bare of trees.

A curious low chain of sandstone rocks here occurs, and occasionally protrudes in places from below the soil, seldom rising above five feet and occasionally dilated into undulated tracts.

Drill husbandry, (i.e. seeds sown after the plough,) seems much in practice here. The late noise about improving pasture gra.s.ses has been made with little reference to the nature of an Indian climate, or the genius of the Indian people. Pasture gra.s.ses only excel in countries where there is no division of climate into hot, rainy, and cold seasons; but not in those in which rain is equally, or nearly so distributed throughout the year. So far as I know, no place in India is calculated for pasture gra.s.s cultivation, because as none of excellent kinds can succeed without irrigation, this element of Indian agriculture is applied to more profitable cultures, such as artificial gra.s.ses. In the cold season and the rains, nature supplies _dhoob_ gra.s.s bountifully, leaving the natives to apply their agricultural labour to other objects, and in such seasons the condition of cattle is decidedly good.

Manikyala Tope, seen from near Rawil Pendi, is an insignificant building, and presents the same architecture as other topes, and as the Cabul tower, although it is not of the same materials. The lower part of the base is of pure sandstone, the upper of a stalact.i.tal conglomerate of small pebbles, often perforated. The terraces at the base are now almost hid by rubbish, so that the whole looks like an overgrown dome or a low mound. There are three stone ledges below, with flat pilasters between the middle and lower ledge on the sides. The dome is much damaged. The stones of which the building was erected, were not hewn inside, but I do not know whether they have not been cemented together. Access is easy to the top partly by means of broken steps, otherwise the stones gave good footing. The top of the ruin is now open and discloses a square _funnel_, penetrating half the height of building; thence modern handiwork has caused a broken irregular perforation. The building is not remarkable for great size, nor are any of the stones large, still as a piece of architecture it is far superior to any thing in modern Affghanistan. The country around is very bare and sufficiently open. It is curious that there are many Indian plants found on or about the building, all indicating a decided approach to Hindoostan. A Sida, Euonymus, Bheir, Lantana, and a Menispermum, are common shrubs on the building, also Solanum quercifolium, spinis albis floribus coeruleo purpureis.

_25th_.--To Puttiana, seventeen to eighteen miles; the country much the same, little wood but bushes of the old trees: it is tolerably open until Pukkee Serai is approached, when it becomes very much broken and intersected by ravines in every direction, showing most forcibly the action of water, many of the cliffs thus formed are picturesque. At Pukkee a small river is forded, thence to near Puttiana the country then becomes almost as raviny as before.

AErua, Bheir, Mudar, a Kochia, much like one of the Cutch ones, and the before-mentioned plants continue.

_26th_.--To Bukriala, twenty-two miles. From Puttiana the road is good, extended over a high open country, except where it crosses two ravines; the first of these containing a stream of water, about ten miles from Puttiana. From Tammuch the road descends steeply into the Bukriala Kakhudd ravine, which takes you to Bukriala.

This ravine runs through a system of sandstone hills, of a blueish muddy aspect, and red clayey earth, often conglomerate. In colours not unlike the Bamean district. Water is plentiful in pools throughout the lower half of the road, which is all descent. Bukriala stands on the right bank of the Khudd river towards its mouth, the vegetation about this place resembles that of the open country, and is unchanged in the Khudd river, consisting of Kochia, _Phulahi_, and Mimosa albispina, Euonymus, _Bheir_, Adhatoda, Barleria, _Kureel_, and Capparis of Gundamuck; also Pommereullioid, Andropogon, Schoenanthus, Holcus, and Stipa of Kuta Sung, Carallunia, Grewia and Menispermum of Manikyala.

Also two plants not before seen, and neither common, one is a Butea, leguminous velutino p.u.b.escent arbor, it is the _Chuchra_ of the natives, and is used for paper. The other is a curious, leafless, scandent, monocotyledon. Asparaginea, and an Apocynea.

Alhaji Maurorum is not found between this and Hussun Abdul, which is a curious thing.

_27th_.--To Rotas. The country to Mittian is very much broken and consequently difficult, consisting entirely of ups and downs: the road is only practicable for cattle; the bad part of it commences with an abrupt ascent. About Puttiana, four miles from Bukriala, it becomes better, but it continues partially raviny until within four miles of Rotas, when the country becomes open, and the road good.

Vegetation continues precisely the same, being still in the region of _Phulahi_: observed the Asparaginea again, Euonymus continues, also Astragalus, a Kochia, and an Affghan Chenopodium.

A beautiful _bhowli_ or spring is pa.s.sed on the way two miles from Rotas, it is covered with masonry, and the descent is by means of steps; the water pa.s.ses under large arches, a work worthy of the Mogul emperors.

Sissoo, Peroplocea of Bolan, common. Rotas is an immense irregular fortress, with the usual faults: it is much too large, and situated on a rocky plain partially commanded. It must have once contained a large number of inhabitants. Nelumbium, Potamogeton: half a mile from Rotas towards Peshawur, a square Serai, enclosing a garden, is pa.s.sed.

The country immediately about it on the west is open: and well cultivated: there is but little water in the river. The town or village is of no size.

Butea not uncommon.

_28th_.--Proceeded to Jhilun. The road is at first steep, as it pa.s.ses down along the Rotas river, about three miles from thence it is good, extending over a plain to the Jhilun. Fine cultivation observed on all sides, and of various sorts, chiefly _Bajra_ and _Kureel_. Dhah abundant, but not arborescent, Euonymus, Peganum, _Bheir_, and _Phulahi_, the latter very dwarfish. Mimosa albispina and Adhatoda very common. The commonest tree in these countries is _Bheir_, and a very handsome tree it is; _Nihi-joari_ cultivated.

_Sun_ and _Tel_ occur, the last is very common. Yesterday a new cultivation presented of a Composite plant, called _Kalizeen_, used as spice or _musala_ for horses. The birds observed were Haematornis, Crateropod, Sylvia, Alauda cristata, Alauda alia in flocks.

The town of Jhilun stands immediately on the right bank of the river of that name, it is a large and flouris.h.i.+ng place. The river is about 200 yards broad, not rapid, but here and there deep, and the bed at this place forms one undivided channel. The right bank on which the town stands has a stony sloping sh.o.r.e, the left is sandy.

It is a mistake to suppose that the hilly country ceases here, on the contrary, it crosses the Jhilun. At the ferry this river runs through a large valley, bounded to the west by hills like those to which we have been accustomed; to the east it is bounded by a low chain, which runs parallel with the general course of the river. The valley is open only to the north and south.