Showing 6828 results

SUMMARY:
Persistent mist and rain hamper work between Narin Thang and Kang La, with notes on friendly sheep rations, leech troubles, and lamas’ warnings from Singhi Dzong. The writer reports finding more eburnea and a new primula, plans seed collection arrangements for October, and records low temperatures.

CONTENT:
Narin Thang
Kang La

Lucky, we get it fine from 5.0 am till 9.0, but even then the mist is over everything by 7.0 am. The lamas of Singhi Dzong will be chuckling: they said if we fired guns up here, the rain would pour. They also said if we visited the "Black lake" up above, it would rise up and cover us. I tried to get there this morning but failed. Some are still all safe. Even the sheep object to this incessant rain, and when either of us leaves his tent for a while, in walk our rations of three live sheep. They are nice friendly beasts, and when we are in, we let them in too, but I object to their entry when I have plates drying or washing. At any rate there are no leeches. The last bite I had was discovered at Singhi Dzong. A leech is the one animal we don't mind torturing: in fact we like it, and always burn everyone we catch with a match. They deserve it, and we have no feeling of pity for them. Found more eburnea today and am trying to make arrangements to get seeds home. It means a man coming up in October, but we can make his work easier by tying on little bags to collect seeds as they ripen. Min. temp inside tent 34°F.

Narin Thang
Kang La
22nd August. A miserable day: mist and rain from before dawn till night, and the temp. never over 41°. Neither of us went out far. Found one new primula, and saw nothing else of P. dryadifolia (jonarduni?) 455.

SUMMARY:
In cold, misty conditions at Narin Thang near Kang La, the party struggles to keep warm and take flower photographs while several staff suffer foot injuries, including the mail runner, Kusho, and Tenduk. On 23rd Aug, after food poisoning from Ahmad Sheikh’s apple dumpling (which Ludlow avoided), the writer went towards the pass and bagged seeds and seedlings of Primula eburnea; a brief note mentions mail arriving on the 24th and an entry for the 26th Aug.

CONTENT:
any interest. We spent most of the day trying to keep warm, and in cutting each other's hair with some success. I'm getting more used to taking flower photographs in these misty conditions, and got two more good ones today. Our staff are a bit past worn. The mail runner came in with a very deep but clean cut in between his toes, made by a cut off bamboo. Kusho has a bad poisoned foot, got from walking barefoot. Being a Tibetan he is not used to that, but had to do two days over the Pang La, as his long boots were worn out. He now wades about in an old pair of my shoes. Tenduk has a septic big toe which looks very painful, but he gets along quite well.

Narin Thang
Kang La
23rd Aug. Comparatively fine in the morning, but raining hard with dense mist since 11:00 am. Can't get a photo taken of two new flowers in this. Spent a miserable night. Ahmad Sheikh poisoned me pretty thoroughly with some apple dumpling, which Ludlow was wise enough to leave. However I went up towards the pass, and put bags on

Prim. eburnea
P. eburnea to collect seeds in. I tied on 25 small and 13 large bags, over a total of about 80 heads of fading flowers. Also brought away some seedlings, and hope between them to get something home.

26th Aug. Our last mail arrived on the 24th and then

SUMMARY:
Field notes from Nathampa and Trün describe rhododendron seed collecting, generally fine weather with some rain and evening snow up the Karutra valley, and a lost woodpecker after a shot. Ticks are noted as troublesome, and Tsongpen suffers from fever, possibly due to the cold valley wind.

CONTENT:
further up, and they may have frightened off any tragopan there may have been. Nothing of interest seen on the way up. Rhododendrons at the nala 1 m below camp are by no means ripe, and I fear they won't come on, although I have taken twigs and marked the ends. Fine till the afternoon when a little rain. Clouded most of the day over on the hills.

Nathampa
27th October. Halt. - A perfect day: in the evening some snow up the Karutra valley. Tsongpen and I went up the Rhododendron valley, and did pretty well. We got seeds of 8 or 9 rhododendrons, mostly fully ripe. It is odd how much earlier they are here than at Lung, presumably because it is wetter at Lung. I shot a woodpecker, but it fell down into a hole among rocks, which led down further than we could see, and we had to give it up. No sign of blood pheasant or of tragopan. On the whole one of the better days. Ticks a nuisance. They are very common now at Lung and here, mostly in the bamboo jungle.

28th October. Trün. 8m? Fine all day, but rain on the hills, and clouded over most of the day. Tsongpen has fever today, caused I suppose by the cold wind there is always blowing up the valley all day. He thinks it is tick fever, but I don't think they have

Rhodod. 2757
Trichocladum 2758
exasperatum 2759 2761
camelliaeflorum 2760 2765
pumilum 2762
brachyanthum 2764
tsarongense 2766
oblatum 2770
Enkianthus deflexus 2733

SUMMARY:
The diarist follows a stream with a series of waterfalls near Natrampa, noting numerous rhododendrons (including R. fulvum and R. arizelum), Diapensia himalaica, a deep wine-red primula in bud, and a very small iris; surrounding vegetation includes fir, pine, bamboo, and larch. Trees numbered 1352, 1353, 1354, 1355, and 1357 were marked with tin labels, and an entry from Lung records 7 miles traveled, 65° at 11.30 am, and an elevation of 9,113 ft.

CONTENT:
Natrampa 54

Rho. glaucophyllum 1355

1353. Also a small pink one 1355. Then we followed up the stream, which comes down in a series of waterfalls, as far as we could. Here, above us was an impassable cliff, with two streams coming down fine falls close together. This was an excellent place, as we found numerous rhododendrons,

Rho. fulvum 1357
arizelum 1358
some of which, 1357 and 1358 were particularly fine. This latter has a most striking leaf, covered with a thick bright rusty red indumentum. Also there was a great

Diapensia himalaica 1363
deal of Diapensia himalaica 1363, carpeting the damp rocks, close to the waterfalls. We could not go far either right or left, but this area should prove very good. We found a few plants of a nice little very deep wine red primula only in bud, and saw iris leaves coming up. It must have been a very small iris, as the leaves looked stunted and were only 2" high. The vegetation, besides rhododendrons, consists mostly of fir and pine, with a good deal of bamboo and some fine larch, 1367. I marked trees of 1352, 1353, 1354, 1355 and 1357 with tin labels.

28th April, LUNG. 7 miles. BP. 196.1 Temp 65° Time 11.30 am. Ht. 9113'.

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

SUMMARY:
Notes describe travel from Natrampa with rainy conditions, a greener but still dry valley, and common flowering plants including aquilegia at Trüu and abundant iris on the camping flat. A road section collapses during crossing, the river is muddy, and the following day’s march to Lung yields little of interest as the lilies are finished.

CONTENT:
118
Didissandra kingiana 2313,

8th July. Natrampa. 8 miles. 10247'. Fine, clouds high up the hillsides, but not sunny in the valley. Rained during the night. Left at 5:45, in at 10:30. The valley is much greener than when we were here before, but obviously very dry still down here. Found a pretty aquilegia at Trüu, [Semiaquilegia ecalcarata 2316] St. John's wort very common there. From there on iris, [Iris decora] the pretty little star-shaped one 2251, is very common, and the flat on which we camp here, is covered thick with them. At one place - where the ladder used to be - the road had given way. We put a tree trunk across the gap, but the whole thing gave way with a man on it. He had a nasty moment, but managed to get over all right. The river is very full now, no longer the clear stream it was. It is a filthy muddy colour now. No birds of interest, except one 'badh zat' which I missed twice here. I have foolishly brought very few cigarettes with me, and have to ration carefully.

9th July. Lung. 9200'. 7 miles. Rained most of the night and half the day, but some sun too. Saw very little on the way here, and nothing of interest. The lilies are all over.

SUMMARY:
The diarist reflects on missing the Slumpung La route earlier and suggests it would have yielded better collections than the Kashong La, noting rhododendron comparisons and that the pass he called Chang La is properly Kiang La. On 26 October at Natrampa, he and Tsongpen revisited a tragopan site, found fresh scratchings (likely T. ocellata), but saw no birds, noting others had been there first.

CONTENT:
tragopan. I was too late to get a shot at first, and then ran uphill after it, but never saw it again. However there were many fresh marks - today's - of tragopan at the edge of the forest, but we saw none. On the way down I shot a coal tit from a party of mixed tits feeding, and moving very quickly among pine trees. I only wish that I had known of the Slumpung La and the route there when we first came to Mijitun. Had I known, I'm sure I would have found very good stuff in June on the La and to the south of it. It would undoubtedly have produced more stuff and more interesting stuff than the Kashong La. Rhododendrons there might have been like the Lo La ones. It can't be helped now though. I am told that the pass beyond the Kashong La, which I have called the Chang La, should be the Kiang La, Kiang meaning cold or a cold place, - well named.

26th October. Natrampa. 7 am. Tsongpen and I went up again to the tragopan place early this morning, but we saw and heard nothing. There were fresh scratchings, but I think these may have been made by T. ocellata, which was pretty numerous there. More Lopas had been up before us, and were camped a little

SUMMARY:
Notes on flowering rhododendrons, a yellow peony, tsuga, and firs; Danong and Tenduk scout south towards the Karhongla, sending back rhododendron and Primula roylei specimens. The diarist struggles with photography, and Pimbo injures his leg and needs a stitch.

CONTENT:
on the way back here, except that rhododendrons have come on a good deal. And the fine yellow peony (Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii) 1376, is more in bloom too, shows very handsome. I took a number of seeds from it today. I also noticed some fine Tsuga brunoniana trees. Mostly the higher slopes seem to be covered with two firs (Picea spinulosa), which I have collected under Nos. 1395 and

Danong & Tenduk go up the hills to the South for the next two nights. The country looks good & should contain something worth while. There is a path leading from Dotrang to the Karhongla, on the South side of which they say there are many Lopas.

Natrampa. 2nd May. Halt. Last night Danong sent back the first fruits of his excursion - a rhododendron, which I think we had seen before, and a primula (Primula calderiana 1396). The latter is P. Roylei, one of the finest there is to my mind. I have photographed it today, & made a most awful hash of my photographs, doing everything possible wrong that I could. However after ruining five precious films, I got a good one, & also of that queer little rhododendron, No. 1355 (Rhododendron glaucophyllum). Pimbo cut his leg rather badly the other day, & had to have a stitch in it, is pretty lame now. There are