The plain between this and the main range is much broken by ravines caused by rain; it is thinly covered with Kureel, Salsola robusta, Chenopodium, etc. The vegetation along the river is the same as at Mysoor. Durand finds nummulites, but thinks them brought down by the river. The strata or rather debris of slips often intersected by nearly erect projecting lines of a fibrous dyke. There is some wheat cultivation in the fields, a new Plantago, a Ruta, Silenacea, a curious Composita, two Boragineæ, Phalaris, Phleum, Avena, two or three Crucifera, Trigonella, and Melilotus are to be found. The vegetation elsewhere is much the same, Rairoo, Kureel, Ukko, Chenopodium, Lycium albidum re-occurs.
7th.—Proceeded to Dadur, a distance of seven and a half miles, nearly north. The country is a good deal cut up by water: within two and a half miles of Dadur we crossed the Naree, a running stream, with small boulders, and high clayey banks. The country improves towards Dadur, topes becoming more frequent. Salsola lanata abundant: a good deal of cultivation occurs along the river.
10th.—Dadur is a good sized, and more orderly looking place than Bagh, and is ornamented with well wooded gardens, among which the Khujoor holds a conspicuous place. An elegant and large Bheir and a Mimosa, are two other trees of the place; it is situated on the left bank of the Bolan river. The bed of this river until the Levee bund was cut, had been dry, but there is now plenty of water in it. It is in some places much choked by bulrushes, etc., it is eighty yards broad, and is shingly. Dadur stands nearly on the end of a good sized plain, surrounded on all sides by hills, of which those traversed to Nowshera, run NNE. and are lowest. The main range is four or five miles off. The greater part of this plain is uncultivated and covered with Rairoo, Kureel, Joussa, Sal. lanata, and Chenopodium; but along the sides of the river, as well as near that crossed en route to this place from Nowshera, there is a highly luxuriant cultivation of wheat, bearded and beardless, and barley. In some places near the town, are rich gardens of sonff, coriander, Mola, cress, onions, carrots, beet, among which a few poppies and Cannabis occur. These, as well as the fields, are protected with loose Bheir fences. There are a few small villages around, all of the same kucha or temporary construction, together with some remains of cotton, which in these parts is perennial.
There are no wild trees to be found, excepting perhaps an elegant species of willow. The vegetation of the fields is highly interesting, consisting of many European forms, similar to those at Nowshera—Avena, Phleum, Polygonium, Zanthoxyloid, Erodium! Anagallis in abundance, Plantago, Pecagee, Cynodon two species, Andropogon, Melilotus, Medicago, Boraginea, Malva, Tetragonolotus, Astragaloides, Sperguloides, Cruciferæ.
In the bed of the river Nerium, Pæderioides, Crotalaria, etc. of which the former is common every where: Fagonia, Viola found in the bed of the river crossed en route hither, a very curious plant. Antirrhenoid was brought from the hills by Capt. Sanders, singular in the inequality of the calyx and the great development of the posticous sepal.
Altogether this spot is curious in regard to vegetation, for the mean annual temperature must be high, and the winter temperature by no means low enough to account for the appearance presented.
The only novel birds are a jackdaw, with the voice and manners of the red-billed Himalayan species, and which I have only seen at a distance, and a different sort of Pterocles.
11th.—Proceeded to Drubbee, eight miles from Dadur, and about three within the range of hills, the plain towards which is rather elevated, and generally covered with boulders and shingle. The vegetation of this shingly plain is much the same, Chenopodium, Ukko, Salsola, Kureel, Rairoo; the most common shrubby plant, however, is an elegant Mimosa, much like the Babool, with white thorns; Nerium oleander is also very common along cuts.
In some wheat fields I procured Imperata, a new Plantago, and a curious Gnaphalium. The entrance to the pass is gradual; the hills almost entirely bare. I noticed Rairoo, Salvadora, Kureel. The most novel plant is a curious, erect, bushy, thorny Convolvulus, which is one of the most common plants farther in. The pass to Drubbee is wide, say 300 yards; the only obstacle exists in the shingle, which renders the road heavy. No abutments are present, jutting out from the hills, the stream is considerable but easily fordable, and abounds with fish, the Mahaseer, and two or three species of Gonorhynchus. The hills about Drubbee are not more than 500 feet high. They are generally of a coarse breccia, the component parts principally limestone; abundance of nummulites. The chief vegetation of the pass is one or two Andropogoneous grasses, and Apocynum nerioides. There is absolutely no fodder for camels, which however, take readily to grass. Towards the mouth of the pass, Pæderia involucrata, Villarsia, Lycioid, Stenophyllum and Ukko are common, but they are rare inside, although the last continues some distance up the hills and attains a large size, becoming quite arboreous. A Crucifera, a rhubarby sorrel, a Goodyera, and one or two grasses, were the only additional novelties met with.
12th.—Marched on eight miles, after five of which we turned to the right, and the pass became and continued narrow, until we reached our halting place, which is something like what we may suppose to be the remains of a mountain, still a good deal elevated above the bed of river. The mountains continued the same in the gorge, until we came to limestone cliffs, which afforded a peculiar vegetation, Linaria retephioides, Linaria alia pusilla foliis 5-gonis cordatis, floribus luteis minutis pubescens, specimen lost, one or two Rubiaceæ, a Salvia, several very interesting grasses, among which is a Stipa, a Composita, Santanoides, a curious Capparidea, Cassia, etc. etc.