Scutellaria, Scrophularia, Santonicoides, Polygonum fruticosum, Salvia, Artemisia linearifolia, Centaurea angustifolia, Cochlearia, Umbelliferæ of Yonutt, Stellaria, Glaucium, Labiata nova, Hyoscyamus minor, Lactucacea, Linaria, Salsola elegans, Marrubium, common thistle, Rumex, Potentilla anserina, Sinapis of Siah-Sung ravine, Berberis, Secaloides, Statice, Marmots, Statice glauca pedunculata, Stipha of Nakhood, Aconiti sp., Ferula? Spiræa facie frutex, Ribes, Muscoides.
First ridge Dianthoides, Statice three to two glaucous species, one sessile the other pedunculate, Ferula, Scutellaria, Labiata trumpet-shaped calyces, Astragali, Diacanthus, Stipa, Ribes, Arenaria spinosa, Triticum carneo pubescens, Pulmonaria corolla trumpet-shaped, Salvia sparingly, Pommereulla, Artemisia in profusion, Spiræoides, Chenopodium villos., fæmin. parvus, Leguminosæ two or three, Ruwash sparingly.
Not much change beyond 12,000 feet, at that height Glaucium in abundance, with a few Hyoscyamus parvus, Borago.
Labiatifol, inciso dentatis occurs throughout, Sinapis of Siah-Sung straggles to 12,000 feet.
The same vegetation continues down to Topehee; on the red hills over its ravine, the plants are different. Portulacea cana, several pretty Salsolæ, a Polanisia occurs, with Statice two or three, a straggling Astragalus, Ferula, Peganum re-appears! Cerasus canus, Carduacea Frutex of Mailmandah, fructibus combretiformibus, Muscoides which is a Sedum, Polygon. fruticosum common, the usual plants of cultivation, etc. etc.
3rd.—We proceeded from Topehee to Bamean, a distance of twelve miles, for two and a half miles down Topehee ravine. The road is a decent descent, although steepish: from thence turning abruptly at the Bamean valley, we cross the river, which is of considerable size, but fordable, although rapid. The road then extends along the left bank, not in the valley which is occupied by cultivation, but winding over and round the bases of low hills and cliffs, forming a northern boundary; throughout this part the road is villainous, often impeded by huge blocks. After a distance of about ten miles it improves, the valley expanding into a cultivated plain.
Topehee valley narrows towards its mouth or exit, which is walled in by high, red, raviny cliffs; above, in its upper parts it is well cultivated with beans, barley, wheat, and oats, and contains two villages: it opens into the Bamean valley at a village also called Topehee, there the Bamean valley is well cultivated, with oats intermixed with barley or wheat, trefoil, etc., it then narrows, forming the bed of a ravine occupied by Hippophæ, Tamarisk, etc., then it widens again.
The structure of the hills is curious, and generally exhibiting the appearance of having been much acted on by water. They are often cliffy, composed either of limestone or a soil of red clay, with which salt occurs in abundance, conspicuous from the white appearance, or springs. Crystals of carbonate of lime are frequent, limestone, or coarse conglomerate with large rounded stones, occurs; together with a curious laminated clayey rock, with white and ochraceous layers intermixed. The tints most various, as well as the sculpture of the mountains: here ravines representing tracery occur: there, columnar curiously carved cliffs, exhibiting all sorts of fantastic forms: here, as it were, a hill thrown down with numberless blocks into the stream, scattered in every direction; and here, but this is rare, very red horizontal strata, colours various, generally rosy, especially the clayey cliffs: here and there the colour of the rock is ochraceous, at one place its structure is slaty. The curious intermixture of these colours owing to the weather, is striking.
From the head of two of the ravines by which considerable torrents flow into Bamean river, beautiful views are obtained of the Kohi-Baba, whose peaks according to native authority, stretch sixty miles to the westward of Bamean, without much diminution in height. The scenery, however, is less beautiful after emerging into the widened part of the valley, where the hills are less varied both in form and tints, than they are in lower parts: fine views however of Kohi-Baba are occasionally had.