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SUMMARY:
Diary notes from Lang La record snow, limited rhododendrons in the valley bottom, and plant collections. The route passes through the Nepar-Molo district with references to paths toward Se La and Langong, and previous finds at Natrampa and Bimbi La. On 14 April they reach Molo, noting measurements and that the headman is away while much of the population has been sent to carry timber to Lhasa.

CONTENT:
Lang La 13th April. Rh. lanatum var. luciferum 3620. Mec. betonicifolia 3621, Prim. bryoides 3622

L bank. These two villages, one either side of the river are in a district called Nepar, the whole area being called Nepar-Molo. A path goes up the valley to the south before reaching Kethong to the Se La, so to Langong, not open for 2 months yet. Distance 2 1/2 marches. We are in for bad weather it seems. It is now snowing hard - 1.0 pm. Saw little of interest today. P. atrodentata continues as far as here, but rhododendrons are few in the valley bottom, though the north face is covered dense with them & abies. Down here most of the rhododendrons are R. cinnabarinum, the beautifully coloured one we got in Natrampa & on the Bimbi La.

14th April. To Molo. 4 miles. B.P. 193.0° Temp. 56° Time 1.30 pm. Ht. 10700 ap. At last we have reached the place we are aiming at. But our luck is not yet in. There is nothing out here, except the local people. We find that the headman is away & not only that but 2/3rds of the population have been made to carry timber to Lhasa to make or remake a

SUMMARY:
The party moved up the valley with coolies burdened by heavy loads and delays at Molo, noted weather changes, and observed several rhododendrons and primulas. On 22 April at a camp above Singo Samba, a hazardous bridge crossing led Ramzana to cross while Ludlow forded downstream with Tseringpen. On 23 April, despite fresh snow and the coolies’ refusal to move, Ludlow, Tseringpen, and the diarist scouted and broke a path to the Lo La pass, checking known plant sites now under snow.

CONTENT:
have weighed at least 130 lbs. In most cases the coolies also carried a lot of stuff to trade in Pachakshiri, so they have very heavy loads. We left at 7:15 and were in at 12:15, but transport did not arrive until about 4:00 pm, chiefly because they all went to Molo to drink chang and get extra loads to take for themselves. A small shower of rain at 4:00 pm, but evening clear. Rhododendrons are more in flower up this valley than at Molo, R. 3624 (3631) is common. R. cinnabarinum is just coming into flower and R. vellereum is in flower in a good many places. P. Roylei just in flower common.

22nd April. Camp 4 m. above Singo Samba. 7 miles. Rained and snowed a good deal during the night. Fine but clouded all morning. Fine rain and mist by 12:00 noon and for rest of the day. No flowers today, and really rather few signs of them. Nearly up here, Primula prenantha is common, but only leaves visible yet. P. glabra is just in flower beside camp. P. atrodentata also shown here. The bridge at Singo Samba is not nice - it consists of only one usable plank, with another a foot lower and very wavy. The length is about 30 yards and the height above water 15 ft. Ramzana crossed first in good style, but Ludlow preferred to ford the river 200 yards further down. Poor Ramzana ran, or did his best to, twice more across the bridge when he saw Ludlow about to ford. I'm afraid I was angry with Ludlow for telling no-one but Tseringpen, whom he took with him, what he was going to do. The valley up here looks lovely and should hold good flowers when they come on. Isopyrum is just showing new leaves on the cliffs on the R. bank. A few seed were found.

23rd April, Halted Camp. Clouded early, fine and bright till 2:00 pm, then cloudy and some rain. We were all ready to cross the Lo La and expected an early start, but woke up to find 2" of fresh snow in camp. That really made no difference, but the coolies refused to move, so here we still are after a perfect clear sunny day. As there was nothing else to be done Ludlow, Tseringpen and I went up to the Pass to make a path, ordering a dozen men to follow and stamp it down. Deep snow lay just beyond camp and continued to the pass, but it was not very often that one went through. It only took us 3 hours to reach the top, and we are convinced the coolies could have gone up. I was shown the places P. Elizabethae, Omphalogramma minus and brachysiphon and some rhododendrons were - all under snow now. On our way back we dug down near the P. Elizabethae

SUMMARY:
Rain in Yatung limited collecting to a few rhododendrons and a viburnum, and ponies were arranged for travel to Gangtok amid staffing issues due to Williamson’s wedding. The next day the journey from Yatung to Tsomgo crossed the Natu La in mist and soft snow, with a small avalanche observed and a pony falling.

CONTENT:
of much the same style as the Kashmir houses, but ever so much more pukka-built. The Tibetans we meet are all very cheerful, & invariably greet one by taking off their hats & salaaming.

17th May YATUNG. Rained most of the day, & after two & a half hours on the hill behind the bungalow we only got one bird. Took R. cinnabarinum (L&S. 748), R. cephalanthum (L&S. 9), a few rhododendrons & a viburnum V. cordifolium (L&S. 10). Arranged for ponies (three) for Gangtok. I take Ahmad Sheikh with me, & therefore Ludlow is left without a cook. He wired Williamson for permission to use the chowkidar while I was away & got the helpful answer that he had no objection provided the B.T.A agreed. The B.T.A is in Gyantse. In fact W's wedding is a perfect curse.

Sherriff returns to Gangtok for Williamson's wedding.

18th May. TSOMGO. 22 miles. 11 hours. It was a lovely clear morning in Yatung, so I left at 6.15 & decided to cross the Natu La while the going was good. Ahmad Sheikh & I each rode a mule, while our bedding was on a third one. Up to Chushithang it was lovely & the view perfect. As we reached the pass the clouds came down, & actually on the top we were in thick mist. The track was easy so far, though there is still nearly as much snow as when we crossed before. On this side there appeared to be the same amount of snow, & it was very wet & soft. A short way this side of the pass, a small avalanche passed about 10 yds in front of me, & when I stopped to watch it, I heard that the last pony had fallen. It had been caught in an even

SUMMARY:
Collected several flowers including scented Maddenii-series rhododendrons (specimens 2332, 2334, 2338); noted dense jungle like near Lao in Bhutan, scarce leeches, numerous ticks, and no Pnoepyga, and considered marching down the Chayul Chu. On 11 July, traveled 7 miles to Natrampa in heavy rain and shot two birds near arrival, the same species previously sought near Lung.

CONTENT:
Didymocarpus aromatica 2333, Pedic. integrifolia 2339. 120

This afternoon we got several flowers, the two most interesting were two rhododendrons. One No. 2332 (Rhod. crassum 2332, 2338), 2338 is the same, a beautiful Maddenii ser. rhododendron with a scent which we got from a long way away. Another pretty one 2334 ("igneum" 2334 sp. nov.), like a R. cinnabarinum, only bigger I think, with fewer flowers. These were rather surprises to me, but I have seen Maddenii in flower nearly as late as this at Sanden. Got a few butterflies too, but all are in bad condition. The jungle 4 miles down is very dense, like that near Lao in Bhutan. Leeches were scarce however, and ticks still pretty numerous. Saw no Pnoepyga at all, although the jungle is just what they should be in, nor other birds of interest. It would be interesting to go 3–4 marches down the Chayul Chu in June or even now. All L. giganteum are over now.

11th July. Natrampa. 7 miles. Rained hard all night, and most of today. Nothing of interest on the way up, except two birds I shot just before reaching here, the same as I had tried to get on my way to Lung. The heavy rain had swollen all the side