Showing 22 results

SUMMARY:
Travel notes record heavy rain, difficult marching, and a camp on the Gyara Phu Chu, followed by a fine day reaching Gyara (Nepar). Common Primula species were noted, Lerwa with young were observed, and there is disappointment at few notable finds, with hopes to visit passes east of Lilung; transport delays prevent moving on to Pamse.

CONTENT:
Langong Trip has not been a great success (S. 647)

Last night and rain most of today with a few fine intervals. I have not been out much here yet, as we were late in, due to meeting a string of mules on a bad part of the path. The mules had come from Lhasa to summer in Langong for the grazing. I think this side of the Langong Chu must be a little drier than the south, though it does not appear to be much. Here P. hopeana, P. dryadifolia, P. macrophylla are very common, but we have seen nothing of interest.

To
22nd June. Camp on GYARA PHU CHU. 6 miles. BP. 191.1 T. 55° T. 3.0pm. Ht approx. 11832'.
Heavy rain last night, and very heavy all day today from 8.0am till 2.0pm. Then fine but cloudy. Our intention was to camp above the fir forest, but Chulla distinguished himself and came on another 4 miles. It did not matter as it happened, because we found no flowers to delay us high up. We saw Lerwa at 15,000 - 4 adult birds with a clutch of young. The adults all kept together looking after the young as if it were a joint family. On the N. of the pass P. kansuensis was very common, and some P. hopeana and dryadifolia. The forest was too dense on the way down for us to see much, and we could not see up any side valleys. The rain was really awful for two hours and soaked us through. This is a big river at the moment, and I suppose comes in from the Pacha Peaks. It is sad to think that the longest day is past, and I don't feel that I have got very much yet. It has been disappointing so far, but I hope for better finds further East, if only we can get where we want to go. There are three Passes East of Lilung, the Magu, Shoka and Namdo Las, each of which I hope to visit, but I feel that we will be lucky indeed if that all comes off. Ludlow and Sherriff will also I expect have found that this is not such a good area as that we visited in 1936. Or it may only be that everything in East Tsari is considerably later, due to more snow. Today was very cold indeed, and I don't remember any days as cold as this in Tsari.

To
23rd June. GYARA (Nepar). 4 miles. A really fine day at last, with a shower or two, but hot real sun in between. We have dried all our bedding and everything. I hoped to get on to Pamse, but transport changes here and at Pamse as well. There are no horses here, all are up the valley and won't be down till the evening. So here we must remain.

SUMMARY:
Notes describe a valley with contrasting north and south faces, a bout of fever for Gulia, and halts on 9th and 10th May to explore and collect plants. Finds include rhododendrons, abundant P. bellidifolia (not yet out), and P. roylei and macrophylla in bloom near a terminal moraine; each member shot one crossoptilon.

CONTENT:
66

seeing. We chased crossoptilon, but with no luck. Gulia has fever on head: it may only be the snow thrush, I hope so. The valley here has a very marked N & S face. The South face appears quite bare, though there are small plants growing on it. The North face is densely covered with fine fir trees, up to about 13000 or 13500, then even more densely covered with rhododendron. Here there are some larches too.

9th May. Halt. We spread out in all directions to see what we could find. I had hoped for more, but I suppose we are still a bit early. One very nice rhododendron was found in the fir forest (1564) - the dwarf 2 ft bush 1565, which looks much like a pink lapponicum of kinds. Many of these have pure white flowers, the majority being a pale pink. Ludlow found a little more P. bellidifolia, P. 1562 is everywhere. We each shot one crossoptilon.

10th May. Halt. Went up the nala immediately north of camp to about 15000 ft. There is not much to be seen yet, though it is a good place. P. bellidifolia is everywhere, but not yet out. Both P. Roylei & macrophylla 1561 were in bloom at the terminal moraine at the head of the valley. A little

SUMMARY:
Notes describe S. and T. climbing toward Bimbi La via a good track through rhododendron forest to an alpine meadow and rocky, snowy ground. Plant collections at Bimbi La are listed for June 4 and June 5, including several Rhododendron, Primula, Iris, Anemone, and Vaccinium specimens with numbers.

CONTENT:
L. p. 108. S. & T. climbed to the Bimbi La - almost. The track, which was a good one, led to the junction of two valleys and on the level. Then proceeded to ascend quickly by means of easy zig-zags through rhododendron forest for 1000 feet. We then got to an alpine meadow and another 1000 feet brought us to rocks, boulders, and a little snow.

Bimbi La June 4
Rh. agglutinatum 1770
" calostrotum 1771

Bimbi La June 5
Rh. fragariflorum 1772
pumilum 1773
lopsangianum 1776
P. macrophylla 1777
P. " var. macrocarpa 1778
cf. no. P. " jucunda var. ponticola
Rh. paludosum 1779.
Iris kumaonensis 1781
Anemone rupicola 1774
Vaccinium sikkimensis 1775

SUMMARY:
At Bimbi La Camp, Tenduk brought in plants and a Tsongpen sent seed from Chuchar; subsequent halts record collecting seeds of Primula and Gentiana near a pass, with fine weather followed by rain. On the 9th, Lumsden, D and Tenduk accompanied the diarist toward Bimbi La and a talao, collected Androsace seed, and shot three partridges, while mail from Sanga Choling was delayed.

CONTENT:
Bimbi La 157

Cyananthus wardii 2557 sp. nov.
It, under No. 2557. Tenduk brought in a beautiful allardia
allardia glabra 2553
2553, a Tsongpen sent some seed from Chuchar.

Bimbi La Camp
8th Sept. Halt. Went with Danong below camp then up E to a
Gentian
pass about 15500 & collected seed of P. macrophylla & G. przewalskii
P. muscoides 2567 P. macrophylla 2560, 2561
It was fine again again, a perfect night, & only a small
thunder shower in the day. Lovely evening again. Took what
may be another gentian like the Chusam one, up the hill
Gent. trichotoma var. brevicaulis 2558, Gentian phyllocalyx seed 2559
a bit, much paler, not so tall, under No. 2558.

Bimbi La Camp
9th Sept. Halt. Lumsden, D, Tenduk & I went up towards the Bimbi
La, collected some androsace seed, then on to the talao, where
we found some partridges & shot three. Lumsden got one in flight
with No. 2 dust shot. Also saw a lot of G. ornata (?) &
higher up some fine specimens of G. stictantha & some seed
of P. glabra. Then we went on past a dying glacier, over the
ridge to the right & down an awful scree to where Lumsden
had shot kuling before. A lovely day: fine all day. Out
from 7.0 till 3.0pm.

Bimbi La Camp
10th Sept. Halt. Stayed in camp. Rain most of the day, though
P. sikkimensis pantlingii 2568
never very heavy. Still no sign of our mail, which the Sanga
Choling people must be delaying, damn them.

SUMMARY:
Notes from a camp east of Lang La on June 20 mention Ludlow at Lang La and describe the pass with rhododendron, juniper, and fir forest. Plant records include P. macrophylla (1843, 1844), Mec. simplicifolia (1845), and Corydalis (1846).

CONTENT:
L. p. 174 June 20 Camp east of Lang La. 14290 Ludlow at Lang La
Description of pass. - Rhod. Junip. Fir forest P. macrophylla 1843, 1844
Mec. simplicifolia 1845
Corydalis 1846

SUMMARY:
Notes on unsuccessful searches for bird eggs near Black mountain, observations of Primula involucrata, and receipt of fresh vegetables from HM at Bumthang with a return letter mentioning Bumthang forests and George. On 23rd June at camp on Dungshinggang south of Nabzi La, fine weather accompanied a long collecting day with Tenduk, yielding few flowers but adding a primula (No. 3301), likely P. umbratilis, which was difficult to photograph.

CONTENT:
Black mountain - if we are not too early. All the coolies went out for blood pheasant's eggs today, but no result, except one woodcock's nest with four eggs. In this boggy meadow P. involucrata is common. It has a slight pink tinge. This evening a man arrived from HM at Bumthang, bearing a load of fresh vegetables - lettuce etc - a most welcome gift. I am sending him back tomorrow with a letter in which I have just mentioned the question of Bumthang forests, but have not said anything of George coming.

23rd June. Camp on Dungshinggang S of Nabzi La. 8 miles. Ht. 14000 app.
A most lovely day with not a drop of rain yet (5.0 pm). Clouded over of course after 7.30, but bright sunny patches all day. Still we have a very small collection of flowers - only two - although Tenduk and I were out from 6.0 am till 3.30 pm. But I never mind how few when the list of primulas is added to. Today we got No 3301, which we had seen last time just coming up, now in full flower, but rather scarce. It is a pretty primula, colour of P. macrophylla exactly, and growing in many ways very like P. Cawdoriana. It is a brute to get a photo of, as it won't keep still in the slightest breeze. I presume it is P. umbratilis, but

SUMMARY:
Notes record Parnassius butterflies, a woodcock nest with four eggs found on 22 June, and a list of Primula species observed. The writer describes the steep peaks of Dungshinggang, clear views toward Sikkim and beyond Chomolahri, getting soaked in a noon storm, and a 25 June entry noting rain overnight, a clear morning, and later cloud.

CONTENT:
that he will not let you know when he has fever. Saw lots of Parnassius butterflies in good condition, but fancy all are common. We put up four pairs of woodcock, which I think were nesting, as the coolies found one nest with four eggs on 22nd June. We saw no eggs or young chicks.

We expected rather too much today and did not take any waterproofs, so were wet pretty well through in the heavy storm at noon, but dried before getting home. I suppose we have not really done badly with primulas. We now have 26, 11 of which are different to last year's, and seven of which I have not collected before. Two are, I hope, new.

The three peaks of Dungshinggang are very steep, the rock rotten, but I think that they should be possible to get up, though difficult. I had hoped we might try, but camp would have to be a good deal nearer than this, especially if one were to get up before the mist covered everything. The snows were again very clear, some cloud in Sikkim, but none away to the East as far west as beyond Chomolahri. The following primulas
were seen here: P. strumosa, P. glabra, P. pusilla, P. Menziesiana,
P. umbratilis, P. sapphirina, P. macrophylla, P. Roylei (over), the small
P. nivalis sp., and P. atrodentata. P. Hopeana not yet in flower.

25th June. Hall - Rain all last night, clear early morning, cloudy rest.

SUMMARY:
Notes from Dungshinggang describe abundant Primula species, comparisons to a specimen from Bimbi La, and a sighting of Primula waddellii. The author records clear morning views of the Himalayas including Chomolhari and the Kangchenjunga group, with later heavy rain, and remarks on plentiful monal.

CONTENT:
58
Primulas

No. 3271, which reminds me very much of one we had on the Bimbi La, but which I think the Prof. put down as P. macrophylla. It was bigger there, but stands out in having the pale lemon yellow eye, as here. There were only a very few in flower, one will have to visit the spot again on our return.

P. shitoriana (3258) has taken the place of P. tenella, & grows in masses, in huge clumps & small clumps on rock faces, usually preferring any face but the south. P. macrophylla is also very common, & there are some fine ones to be seen. I believe I could shoot half a dozen monal a day up here, they are so plentiful.

Dungshinggang
18th June. Halt. Rained in the night. Fine & clear in the morning till just after 7.30. Fine till 1.0pm, then heavy rain. The Himalayas were clear this morning, though there must have been some storms to the north in Tibet. I could see Chomolhari easily, & at 280° Mag what must have been the Kangchenjunga group. Right round to the East was clear, past Kula Kangri, Sangto-pelri down to the Mago peaks, or dare say even beyond, though those we saw might have been anything. The only thing of interest we saw today was Prim. waddellii (3281). What I had taken as

SUMMARY:
The author considers Meconopsis 2531 to be Bailey's var. argemonantha and marks plants for seed collection. From 2–5 September, they halt near Nga La and Pang La, receive news of a dak from Tsona, recover and butcher a lost sheep, and record further hunting by Tsongpen, Dawang, and Tenduk; they then move via Migyitun to Bimbi La, photograph three lamas, and note coolie difficulties.

CONTENT:
L.P. 177. I think the white poppy we found the day before yesterday (2531) must be Bailey's var. argemonantha of which only the flowers and leaves are preserved. 155

The Meconopsis 2531 we think may be Bailey's var. argemonantha. I have marked a dozen plants for seeds.

2nd Sept. Halt. Camp above Nga La.
Pang La.
P. macrophylla 2538
P. rhodochroa 2539
G. prolata 2540
Last night was perfect, and today was again fine with no rain, but clouds coming up fast in the evening. Tsongpen shot two kuling females. Collected a few seeds, but found nothing of much interest. News came to Migyitun of a dak having been sent from Tsona. The lost sheep was found, brought up here, and within 5 minutes was in 4 pieces — one for Pintso and Co, 1 for the Kashmiris and one for us, with some odds.

3rd Sept. Halt. Nga La Camp. Mist all day and some rain. Dawang and Tenduk went out with the gun and got one more kuling, in good condition.

4th September. Migyitun. 9500' 5 miles. Rain in the hills all morning, mostly fine in the Migyitun valley. Dak said to be in S. Chöling, but nothing more known about it.

5th September. Bimbi La Camp. 11 m. 12500'. A fine morning, and hardly any rain all day. Three lamas turned up and wanted to pose for their photographs, so I took them in colour. Coolies are getting a bit difficult, and poor Pintso has a hard time.

SUMMARY:
In Haat, persistent rain kept the party in camp where photos were developed and seeds and bulbs packed; the writer collected young P. macrophylla roots and observed a large, unalarmed herd of burrhel, noting their abundance in Bhutan even in wet areas. With some sun returning, Tundru was ill with diarrhoea, and a dispute arose when Ngudup asked for a letter to H.H. for more butter despite rations lasting until 7th October.

CONTENT:
accounts are about all for their three days absence. Poor Tundru has diarrhoea again badly which has kept him from doing much. I took nice roots of young P. macrophylla from high up, will take them home. Again I saw a fine herd of burrhel, and got a fine picture of them as they went up the hill and over the skyline. They were not really frightened. Burrhel are obviously not animals of the dry Tibetan plateau only. There must be thousands in Bhutan, and in very wet parts too.

17th September. Haat. Very wet night, and very wet again all day today. One would say it was much wetter this month than July was, and I wonder when we will have a definite let up. Stayed in camp and developed photos and packed seed and bulbs.

18th September. Haat. At last some sun again. There was remarkable activity in camp as a result, and we are all feeling and looking considerably cleaner than we were. Ngudup came and asked me if I would write to H.H. for more butter, as it would only last a few days now. I refused, seeing he has rations for everyone up till 7th October. I really don't know how he can dispose of all the butter he does. I told him he could take and divide up one of the two huge 10 lb lumps I had. He told me I had finished one of these myself already - at which I was very angry with him. I have had one small tin of about 1/2 lb so far.