Showing 8 results

SUMMARY:
The diary records travel from Bumthang Tang over Bada La, passing Gyema Shong where the headman is asked to collect crab apple and Prunus seeds, with notes on weather, pine forests, and flowering Primula. The party is now under the care of Punso Wangdi, and the next day they move to Pokpe on the west side of Rudo La with an easy ascent and observations of conditions.

CONTENT:
It will again be nice to be away from here, with all the presents & people hanging about. Lhumbe should be the only place now where we may have some ceremony. After that we leave Dzungs till August 15th, back here again.

13th April. Bumthang Tang. 10 miles. Approx 10000'. Little rain last night, but it had begun to clear by 5.0 this morning. We were off at 5.45, in at 11.0. The path goes up over a spur to the Bada La about 3 miles from Bumthang, then down & up over two smaller spurs, the last just close to this place. As we came down from the last spur, we passed the village of Gyema Shong, where there were many crab apples, some Prunus & also currants. I have asked the headman to collect seed of the first two, locally called 'LIGCHUMA' or 'PRAHALI' (crab) & LIKSINGMA (Prunus). By 9.0 the sky was clear & we had the prettiest day we've yet had, mostly sun, but with big cumulus clouds in the sky. The path is uninteresting, because it goes through pine forest (P. excelsa) all the way, & there is little else to be seen, except in small side valleys. Prim. denticulata still everywhere, — occasionally P. gracilipes. We are under Punso Wangdi's care now, & he has sent men ahead with food & all sorts of things for us. I wish we could get away from it all, kind though it be. In Bumthang I again saw several pairs of magpies, & have also seen them here & on the way here.

14th April. Pokpe. Rudo La W. side. 5 miles. BP. 191.8 Temp 58°. 1.30 pm. Ht approx 11494'. A very easy day, even the ascent being an easy one. The day too was good, although there was a little rain last night. Up here there is almost nothing. The forest

SUMMARY:
After heavy overnight rain, the party went from Chamkhar (Bumthang) over the Kyikyi La to camp behind Byakar Dz, receiving food gifts from Pintso Wangdi and Ashi Choden Mother while H.H. added atta; rhododendrons were noted and a film pack was successfully developed. The following day was a rainy halt with more presents, preparations for Lhuntse, and a short excursion with Bette to collect a Prunus and a beautiful crab apple, with supplies sent as far as the Rudo La.

CONTENT:
in July also (perhaps 1st week Aug), they must breed here.

11th April. Chamkhar (Bumthang) 8 miles. c. 9500'. It rained very hard last night for a good many hours, but stopped as we got out at 5.30. We went the quicker way, over the Kyikyi La, 11,600', & down right at Byakar Dz, just behind which we are camped. Here I had expected that we would be left alone, but no sooner were we in than large presents started to arrive from Pintso Wangdi & Ashi Choden Mother. These were of foodstuffs, but still meant something in return. We saw little on the way. Rhod. ciliatum (18683) was a new one for us, we also got a good Barbatum Series Rhododendron (18682). Beside the Dzong (Byakar) another rhodo is in flower, (R. virgatum) 18687 which we last saw in Tongkyuk, but this was a much finer plant. Here everything has been made easy for us. We have ample food: H.H. has produced two mds. of atta to add to our supply, with all the butter & rice we've been given, we need for little. I developed the first film pack, with good results. It will be nice again to have a halt tomorrow. With new people with us, there is much more to do than with old. When we had Pintso & Tendup, Ramzana & Linka, the camp bundobast ran itself. H.H. has given me a very good man in Ngudup Namgyal who has authority to do anything, which makes a very great deal of difference.

12th April. Halt. Rained part of the night, & off & on all day today. We spent most of the day in camp getting things ready for the next jump to Lhuntse. More presents came in, & Pintso Wangdi sent food for us all as far as the Rudo La. Bette & I went up a side valley & found a Prunus 18691, like the Kongbo Nga La one, & a very beautiful Crab apple (18690) which we must try to get seed of.

SUMMARY:
The party traveled along a path that descended to Vugar, where coolies were changed, then ascended past Drula toward Takila, noting the local name KAMGON for a red Prunus as in Pome. On reaching Takila, they reflected it was the same place visited in 1933 when called Tamashu, found the route mostly through dry oak and Pinus longifolia zones, and later met with Ashe Wangmoo for a long visit.

CONTENT:
Nothing else was outstanding, but these three finds were enough to make the day a good one. We got in at a little before 12:00, all rather tired. The path was not steep at first; in fact, it was flat for a good long way before dropping steeply down about 2000' to Vugar, where there is a fine bridge over the river. Here the coolies were changed. The path then is gradually up the rest of the way, with a few steep climbs after the village of Drula. Ashe Wangmoo sent more men to meet us at Vugar, + 3 mules to meet us here. She says she is coming to see us tomorrow. Curiously enough, the red Prunus is called here KAMGON, the same as in Pome. Locals also say there is no seed, as in Pome.

17th April. TAKILA. 11 good miles. 5 1/2 hours. This is exactly the same place as we stopped at in 1933, but then it was called Tamashu. The road today was not interesting. It is nearly all through a 'dry' zone of oak & Pinus longifolia covered hillside alternating with quite extensive areas of cultivation. We saw a number of flowers, but none of any particular interest. We were in at 11:30, then waited for Ashe Wangmoo to arrive. She came an hour later & sat in our tent for three hours while we tried our best to talk intelligent Tibetan to her. That was not easy

SUMMARY:
Captions for Kodachrome roll 29 record plant and landscape photographs around Kongbo Ngala, Nam Dzong, and the Tsangpo near Dzam, dated between 30/4 and 5/5. A Lama of Dzam is noted among the subjects, and there is a note that two films were numbered 31.

CONTENT:
90

Kodachrome 29.
Primula albidocitrina at Kongbo Ngala. 30/4.
Prunus against sky 12426. 30/4.
R. vellereum from near Kongbo Ngala, snow background 1/5
Prim. pumilio No. 12411 1/5
Rhod. vellereum beside river. 1/5.

30.
Towards Nam Dzong from west 2/5
Monastery 6 m W of Nam Dzong. 2/5.
Rose No. 12412 3/5
Podophyllum No. 12419 . 3/5

31.
Podophyllum emodi 12419 3/5.
Lama of Dzam. 5/5
Tsangpo below Dzam 5/5

(Two films numbered 31)

SUMMARY:
Notebook list of Kodachrome photographs showing Clematis, Berberis, Prunus, and Primula, along with scenes including mules, a Mani wall, a monastery, and tsampa-making. Locations mentioned include Nye and Kongbongala, with entries dated across late April.

CONTENT:
88

Kodachrome 26.
Clematis white, blue sky. 27/4.
Mules on path near cliff 28/4.
" " against sky 28/4.
Clematis in mass at stream 28/4.

27.
Clematis in mass at stream & closer up 28/4.
Berberis & Clematis together 28/4.
Prunus close up. 12423 29/4.
Mani wall near Nye. 30/4.
Monastery " Nye 30/4.

28
Monastery Nye with white poplars 30/4
Making Tsampa at Nye 30/4.
Sophora sp. 12424. "
Prunus sp at Kongbongala. 12426 "
Primula atrodentata. "

SUMMARY:
Notes mention local talk about the Coronation and cricket scores, and describe buckwheat and rice nearing ripeness. The writer records travel along the right bank of the Mangde Chu through a gorge with Prunus forest up to m 3 where the Wochen Chu enters, and includes a specimen note (Gent. loureirii 3011, 4000 ft) and spelling confirmations for place names.

CONTENT:
is of Bashaling. Most of the talk is of course about the Coronation, but it is nice to hear cricket scores again. The crops just now are all buckwheat, which will be ripe in a week or so, with the rice.

(Gent. loureirii 3011 4000ft)
(Crops: buckwheat, rice)

I'll remove the parentheses.

One more check: "Küngo Rapten". The 'u' has an umlaut.
"Kyi La" - correct.
"kazis" - correct.
"Bashaling" - correct.
"Mangde Chu" - correct.
"Wochen Chu" - correct.
"Pinus longifolia" - correct.
"Gent. loureirii" - correct.

I'll use "Prunus" for "primus".
I'll use "yards" for "x".
I'll use "mile" for "m".

Actually, I'll keep "m 3" etc. as they are clear.

Final check of the text flow.
"the R bank of the Mangde Chu, sometimes beside the river, sometimes climbing up 100 ft or so. The river flows through a gorge with steep sides. Path rather difficult. On the left bank there is good Prunus forest up till m 3. At m 3 a big nala comes in from a bearing of 250° M, called the Wochen Chu. The R bank of this is followed up for

SUMMARY:
The diarist describes comfortable bamboo hut accommodations and stages from Samri Chu to Taktu and then to Sakden over the Munda La, noting fine weather and elevations. At the first village over the pass, they observe papermaking driven by a waterwheel and efficient turning of wooden drinking bowls; Danang suggests the wood is a kind of Prunus.

CONTENT:
110

structure of bamboo huts - a room each of about 8' square, with a 'hall' in between, and small huts for the men coolies. Certainly travel in Bhutan in many parts is very pleasant and comfortable.

Samri Chu
17th October. to TAKTU 9 miles. 7840' (B.P. 18.1 Temp 60°). Fairly fine, though clouded all day. This makes a much better stage than doing the whole way to Sakden in a day. Even so, it is a longish 9 miles, and very hard work on the coolies. The temp. up here now is perfect.

18th October. To SAKDEN. 5 miles. Ht. 9731'. When we went to bed last night the mist was thick and it was raining. But a few hours later a cold N. wind sprang up, and this morning was clear and perfect, and it has remained so all day. A short march over the Munda La here.

FB
At the first village over the pass, there was considerable activity in paper making and in making small wooden drinking bowls. The paper bark is pulped by an ingenious water wheel machine, driving two hammers which fall into a stone with a well cut in it. The lathe for cutting the small cups is very efficient. I watched a cup finished from a solid lump of wood in about 5-10 minutes. Danang says the wood is some kind of prunus, but I could not make out what it was. Motive power

SUMMARY:
Notes on seeds sent home in 1949 to G.T. at the BM (Nat Hist), with about 12–14 packets sent to Taylor around 16 April. Includes listed taxa and localities such as Rudo La and Kantanang.

CONTENT:
Seed sent home during 1949, all to G.T.
at the BM (Nat Hist).

About 12-14 pkts seed sent to Taylor on or about 16 April. Included
Albizzia sherriffii, Prunus from Rudo La

18907 Sorbus.
18924 Rosa sp. red.
(2) 19058 Berberis sp. Kantanang.
19092 Allium sp white.
18993 Myricaria sp.