[Sidenote: WILD OLIVES AND POMEGRANATES. _May, 1848._]
Passing through the bush jungle which skirted the river, I entered a large tract of almost level cultivated land, covered with fields of barley, ripe and partly cut. One or two plantain-trees, and some buffaloes, were signs that we were still in a very hot region. Crossing a considerable stream, the road began to ascend rapidly on a narrow ridge. Passing some farm-houses, surrounded by fields, I entered a scattered wood of wild olive-trees (_Olea cuspidata_), mixed with _Zizyphus_ and wild pomegranate. The young shoots and panicles of the olive were abundantly covered with a white floccose glutinous matter, the source of which I could not exactly determine; but I could see no trace of any insects by which it could have been formed, so that it was perhaps a natural exudation from the tree. Small woods of _Pinus longifolia_ occurred at intervals, almost alone, for few plants seem to thrive under its shade. At 4000 feet, while the olive and pomegranate were still abundant, _Quercus lanata_ appeared. At 4500 feet, which was about the upper limit of the olive, I re-entered a cultivated district, disposed in terraces on the slopes of the hills. The barley was quite ripe, and being cut, but the wheat, though in full ear, was still green. There were also a few fields of the opium poppy in full flower, and of safflower (_Carthamus tinctorius_), which was not nearly so far advanced.
I encamped at the village of Balota, elevated 5000 feet. Round the village were some very fine table-topped deodars, perhaps the relics of a former forest, though more likely planted by the villagers. The hills on all sides were richly cultivated, as far up as 6000 feet, above which elevation fine forest commenced; and the snowy top of the mountain behind, which I had seen from the pass of the 12th, was visible rising behind the forest. During the whole of the ascent from the Chenab, the rock was a coarse-grained sandstone, in highly inclined strata, generally of a reddish-brown colour, the surface of which rapidly passes into a state of decay.
The range of mountains to the south of the Chenab, by which that river is separated from the basin of the Tawi or river of Jamu, still lay between me and the plains of India. On the 14th of May, I crossed a spur from this range, descending into a valley watered by a tributary of the Chenab. This ridge, which is called Ladhe ke Dhar, rises a little above 9000 feet, that being the elevation at which the road crosses it. After leaving the cultivated lands of Balota, the ascent, which was steady, lay through fine brushwood and stunted oaks. On the banks of the stream, which occupied the centre of the valley by which I ascended, sycamore, horse-chesnut, and cherry, were abundant. On the slopes there were a few trees of _Pinus excelsa_ and _Picea_, but the forest was not dense. About 7000 feet, on the north-western face of a spur, there was much cultivation of wheat and barley, hardly yet in ear. Here there was a fine view in the direction of the upper valley of the Chenab, of rugged mountains, scarcely wooded on the slope exposed to view, rising behind one another, the more distant still heavily snowed. Higher up, the forest was chiefly formed of the holly-leaved oak, but the latter part of the ascent was through a dark forest of silver fir, intermixed with a few fine yews. The underwood here was chiefly _Viburnum nervosum_, still in flower, though its leaves were almost fully developed. On emerging from this gloomy forest, in the upper part of which there was a thin sprinkling of snow, I found myself on the crest of the range, which was bare and rounded. Snow lay in large patches, and had evidently been till very recently continuous over the whole top, as vegetation was just commencing, and few plants were in flower. _Primula denticulata_ was common, as well as a little gentian, which extended on both sides at least 2000 feet lower; the only alpine plant was the little _Callianthemum_ which I had found some days before on the summit of Wasterwan in Kashmir. The distant view was unfortunately quite obscured by haze, so that I could not see, as I had expected, the plains of India.