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SUMMARY:
Entries describe marches and halts from Trimo to Le, Pangchen, Shakti and Karteng with snow, rain and heat, while collecting seeds and specimens including rhododendrons. Notes include Ludlow’s rapid travel from S. Chöling, recovery of Pintso and Tsungpen, efficient Monba coolies, Tawang people wishing to come under Assam while taxed by Tsona, and Guha going missing after taking a wrong path.

CONTENT:
85

Trimo
11th November. Halt. Clouded all day: no sun: snow falling on hills & slight rain here. Much colder than I expected. Pintso & Tsungpen both recovered, Pintso not fully yet. Collected odd rhododendron & other seed. Ludlow moved quickly here from S. Chöling, the same marches as I did, & apparently quite easily because he was able to use dzong-dzong transport, which I could not.
I hear the Tawang people are all anxious to come under Assam, but are still paying large taxes to Tsona in the form of wooden planks.

To
12th November. Le. Clouded all day till 4.0pm. Snowed all night right down to Trimo village, & rained all day till we reached here at 3.0pm. As Tsering has taken 150 specimens between Trimo & Shakti, I am not likely to find anything that he has not got. Got a few seeds & about 15 specimens. Clothed for snow as I was, found it very hot marching down here. But the evening is cool enough. These Monba coolies are very good & fast, waste no time on the road.
R. crassum 6676.

To
13th November. Pangchen. Fine all day. First clear sky in morning. Clouds low in evening. Nice & warm down here at 7000 ft. Found Rhod. rhabdotum (Dalhousie 6694) at the same place just above Pangchen that we took R. lindleyi from in 1936, but seeds not begun yet to turn brown.
P. prunifer

To
14th November. Shakti. Heavy rain last night. Fine today: clouded in evening. It was very hot coming up from the bridge over the Nyam Jang Chu — a long steep climb. I sent Guha on from the bridge at 11.30, he must have taken the wrong path, as he has not turned up at 5.0pm. Poor old Guha, he will be sorry for himself. Got a few more seeds today & took about 15 specimens.
Codonopsis ovata 6702, Crawfurdia Campanulaceae 6703, Prunus cerasoides 6708, Wightia gigantea 6700

To
15th November. Karteng (Kapleng). Clouded nearly all day, with rain in the evening. Rather nice having rain now as it keeps it cool. Changed transport twice, & should have changed a third time too. Karteng is directly opposite the bridge leading across the river. The people here — & from below Pangchen are all Takpas; only Monbas are above Pangchen. Both seem a good crowd. Took seed of what I think is Albizzia Sherriffii & saw near here a good deal of Luculia gratissima, which always strikes me as a most beautiful shrub. It is a pity it is not hardy.
Kapleng & Jy-iper. Sarcococca hookeriana 6716, Luculia gratissima 6720, Lindenbergia grandiflora 6721

SUMMARY:
Notes describe eggs and nesting of Trochalopteron henrici near Migyitun, including egg color, nest placement, and clutch size, with laying in May and early June. A list of plant taxa with specimen numbers (including several Rhododendron and Corydalis) is recorded.

CONTENT:
L. 100 Set eggs c/3 of Trochalopteron henrici (Prince Henri's Laughing Thrush).
Pale greenish. They are exactly like those of the common Song Thrush at home.
L. Dis 77. I do not think it occurs south of the main range except at Migyitun.
We found numerous nests, they are generally placed in bushes, seldom at no
great distance from the ground. They are rather untidy structures of dried
grass, dead leaves, strips of birch bark, moss etc. lined with dry twisted
grass. Clutches vary from 2-3. Eggs laid in May & early June.

Migyitun May 26.
R. lindleyi 1702 1715
sp. nov. miniatum 1710
? Prim. sandemaniana 1708
(Cawdorii)
yargongensis 1709
tsariensis 1711
macrophylla 1712
sikkimensis 1714
Corydalis 1705

SUMMARY:
At Lung the diarist halted, collected several ripe rhododendron seeds (including R. lindleyi, R. edgeworthii, R. kendrickii, R. sherruffii, R. fulvum, and R. arizelum), and noted ticks, frost, bamboo and pines, and a river running north then east in a narrow, steep valley, with no signs of tragopan. They went further up the hill and spoke with the Trün gyimpu.

CONTENT:
185

R. lindleyi 2744 seed
bush, with ripe capsules. As the capsules are so much longer I have collected it under a new number 2744 - seeds are perfectly ripe. A few other odd things also collected, including one rhododendron, which we did not see in flower in July, with very thick tomentum, & capsules covered with the same tomentum (2745).
R. edgeworthii 2745 seed

R. kendrickii common. 2748 seed
Ticks pretty bad, as there is a good deal of bamboo on the path. The trees are mostly rhododendron, bamboo, deciduous of various kinds & a good many pines. The river flows nearly North for a bit then turns E again; the path is always steep & the valley is very narrow & steep sided. The left bank of the river is mostly covered with pines down below.

Lung
23rd October. Halt. Fine down here all day, with some snow on the hills for an hour or two. Went up the hill again, further than I had been before, but saw no sign or marks of tragopan.

R. sherruffii seeds 2751
R. fulvum seeds 2752 R. arizelum seeds 2753
R. fulvum seeds 2754
Rhododendrons disappointing, but I got two which are ripe, & have taken a few more which may come to something. Ticks again pretty bad. There has been quite a hard frost down here the last two mornings, especially this morning.

Lung
24th October. Halt. Some rain last night & this morning. Mostly fine but clouded over. Talking to the Trün gyimpu today, he

SUMMARY:
At Lo La, the diarist collected Primula and Rhododendron specimens around a small lake amid frost, snow, and sun, noting Jill’s reluctance to collect seeds and the coolies’ hardiness. On October 8 a halt was made; a circuit to the southwest of the lakes yielded a few bulbs, and Tsongpen arrived reporting difficulties obtaining ripe seed, fears of Lhopas on the route, and a theft problem with a dismissed man.

CONTENT:
Lo La. Oct 7. P. chamaethauma 6551, P. calderiana 6552, P. subularia 6553, tsangpoensis 6554.
Oct 8. Gent. hamberxii f. caulibaccans 6555, Rh. pumilum 6556, R. concatenans 6560.
Rh. lopsangianum 6561, 6567 R. lindleyi 6562, R. xeriflorum 6563, R. haysii 6565.
R. elatum 6568, R. brachyanthum v. hypolepidotum 6576, R. sulphureum 6580.
abrivale 6558, normaniana 6574.
laccata 6575, Omph. minor 6585.

On Gonyi-re the other day, so it seems common to Omphalifolia primulas. I thought I had P. laeta, with leaves all withered (6552), but a nice winter bud, but when on the way down, I decided it was P. calderiana so went up again to the little lake. There I took 6551, which does not seem to be P. tsariensis, which has more cordate leaves & a red winter bud. So I hope this will be P. laeta. Jill hates seed collecting, & does her best to get me to come on. We were four hours in one small patch, getting two full packets of P. valentiniana. I'm sorry not to have been here in the flowering season, to know more exactly where things are. Snow & a hot sun has withered everything completely. It is very cold at night, with a heavy white frost. But my coolies lie outside with hardly any covering at all. But they don't seem to feel the cold, as there is the fir forest only 100 yards away, where they could lie under cover & have a fire all night. One man comes into me each day, this is quite good. I give him cigarettes for helping to collect seeds, & that keeps him perfectly happy.

8th October. Halt. Rain & snow last night. Thick mist this morning till 9.00 am then clear with some sun. The really clear spell has gone, but it does not look as if we should have a great deal of rain or snow yet. I went to the SW round about the lakes, & took some bulbs of Nom. souliei, & a few odd seeds. In the afternoon Tsongpen came in. He has done well, but could not get seeds of a good many wanted things, especially the Cortusoides primula growing with P. normaniana, & the little Prim 3640. Most of the rhododendrons too are not really ripe, though we may make something of the seeds of most. His two men were very frightened about Lhopas, as is everyone on that route. The Lhopas have carried off 5 near the Chudi-Cun this summer. They saw a few & were warned not to come over again. Tsongpen had three men originally, but one was so useless he was returned. Besides being useless he is a thief. He stole a knife from the cookhouse at Molo, then stole my gun oil & cloth from Tsongpen. I found the tin with him here, but he has removed all the oil, so that I have none with me at all now. Since he has been here in camp he has continued to steal, & today when all the rest had gone for wood, he was seen to take the leather from one of the yak saddles, & to...

SUMMARY:
Notes from Lo La (with mention of Chudi Chu) documenting several specimens, including Rhododendron (e.g., aff. pruniflorum, tsangpoense, repens) and Primula taxa, with observations on calyx scales, filament hairs, and scape length. Additional entries note Bergenia purpurascens and a Sax. specimen from the same place.

CONTENT:
Lo La
27a
lindleyi Chudi Chu

3741. Rhod. Maddenii Ser. Lindleyi? This is a magnificent sight here now. I cannot make out if it is R. lindleyi or another. It is the same as 3667, but probably differs from No. 3665. Pink is distinct even in full flower.

charitope pruniflorum, or campylogynum? Lo La
3752 Rhod. aff. pruniflorum. Scales far apart - not contiguous. Hairs on filaments run up to anthers. Calyx lobes densely scaly at margins.

charitope Lo La

3751. Rhod. aff. tsangpoense. Differs from above chiefly in calyx lobes. At first put together in collection.

lopsangianum Lo La
3753 Rhod. aff. repens. Not time to work this out.

chionogenes Lo La

3754. Prim. Pet. sp. nov. = 3648. Some farina evident in tube and on fresh scapes.

Bergenia purpurascens Lo La

3755. Sax. from same place.

P. geraldinae Lo La
3756 = 3650 Primula. Scape slightly longer, otherwise no change. Flowers almost over.

P. laciniata Lo La

3759. = 3649 Primula Cortusoides Sect

SUMMARY:
After a snowfall delay, the party crossed the Lo La on April 24 and descended the steep south side into the Rhododendron–Abies forest. Along the Chudi Chu they observed numerous Rhododendron and Primula species, including the new Primula P. chionogenes and another unnamed Primula on an inaccessible cliff.

CONTENT:
were in bud, and a few Rhododendrons - e.g. R. hirtipes, and R. cinnabarinum var. roylei were just in bloom. But we did not expect very much on the North side. Owing to fresh soft snow falling, we had to wait one day before crossing the Lo La, but early on April 24th we crossed while the snow was still frozen with no difficulty. The ascent up the North side is easy and gradual, but the descent on the South is almost precipitous. Except in the valley bed, there was little snow on the South face, and we came upon our first flower - P. atrodentata - almost at once, covering ledges of a cliff. A short way down we reached the Rhododendron - Abies forest. We were still a little too early for the majority of Rhododendrons, but found R. exasperatum, R. lopsangianum, R. forrestii, R. hodgsonii, and R. commodum in full bloom. The earlier Primulas too were showing. Where the snow had just melted, and even where it had not quite gone, there were many plants of P. vernicosa. Close beside it was Bryocarpum himalaicum. On the left bank of the Chudi Chu, down which valley we now made our way, there is an inaccessible cliff which was most annoying. Had we been able to scale this our bag would have been much greater. However, avalanches swept over this in the early spring and brought with them seeds or roots of plants from much higher up. Among these was a new Primula - P. chionogenes - which showed itself as a compact little golden clump of almost precocious flowers, growing on a bank just uncovered by avalanche snow. On the cliff was another new Primula (not yet named - like P. clutterbuckii) which we had great difficulty in reaching.

Next day we continued down the Chudi Chu through dense and very wet forest. More Rhodos were taken, including R. uvariifolium, R. neriiflorum, R. hookeri and R. ciliatum. At the lowest point reached, about 8500', R. lindleyi was very common in flower.