NORTHWARD of the great plain of India, and along its whole extent, towers the sublime mountain region of the Himalayah, ascending gradually till it terminates in a long range of summits wrapped in perpetual snow. There may be traced, for the space of 1000 miles, a continuous line 20,000 feet above the sea; from which, as a base, detached peaks ascend to the additional height of 8000 or 9000 feet. The inhabitant of the burning plain contemplates, not without wonder, this long array of white pinnacles, forming the boundary of the distant horizon. In this progressive ascent, Nature assumes a continually changing aspect; and hence it will be necessary to view in succession the different stages through which she passes.
The Himalayah range, where it touches on the champaign country, is almost everywhere girt with a peculiar belt or border, called the Tarryai. This term is applied to a plain about twenty miles broad, upon which the waters from the higher regions are poured down in such profusion that the river-beds are unable to contain them. They accordingly overflow, and convert the ground into a species of swamp; which, acted on by the burning rays of a tropical sun, throws up an excessively rank vegetation, whereby the earth is choked rather than covered.
The soil concealed beneath a mass of dark and disma foliage, while long grass and prickly shrubs shoot up so densely and so close as to form an almost impenetrable barrier. It isstill more awfully guarded by the pestilential vapoursexhaling Champaign, open; level. [Fr. champ, Lat. campus, a plain]
Pestilential vapours-vapours causing pestilence and disease; noxious gases.
from those dark recesses, which make it, at certain seasons, a region of death. Beneath these melancholy shades, too, the elephant, the tiger, and other wild animals prowl unmolested; while the few human beings who occupy the vicinity present a meagre, dwarfish, and most sickly aspect.
On emerging from this dark and deadly plain, and beginning to ascend the lower mountain-stages, the visitor enjoys a much more pleasing scene. He passes now though smiling and fruitful valleys, overhung by the most romantic steeps, and covered to a great extent with the noblest forests. Amid trees similar to those which spread their majestic foliage on the banks of the Ganges, various species of the more hardy oak and the pine begin to appear. The prospects obtained from commanding points in these regions-consisting ina foreground of smiling and cultured vales, hills behind crowned with natural plantations, steeper and loftier ranges beyond, and in the distance the snow-clad tops of the highest mountain-chain-form a combination of the most sublime and enchanting scenery.
The Himalayah, as it ascends above the picturesque slopes which diversify its lower border, assumes a much bolder and severer aspect. The lofty ridge, the deep valley, the dashing torrent, produce a resemblance to the most elevated portions of the Highlands of Scotland; and Scottish officers, accordingly, who have happened to serve in that remote province, have fancied themselves wandering amid the romantic glens of their native country.
Generally speaking, the character of this mountain-chain is rugged and stern; its ridges rise behind each other in awful array, but they enclose no rural scenes, nor present any gentle undulations. Their steep sides, sometimes wooded, sometimes presenting vast faces of naked rock, dip down abruptly, forming dark chasms and ravines, at the bottom of which there is only room for the torrent to force its way through rude fragments fallen from the cliffs above.
In consequence of this peculiar structure, these loftier regions of the Himalayah do not present that tranquil grandeur, and those picturesque views, which render the mountain scenery of Europe so enchanting. They are rugged, gloomy, and monotonous. The mighty summits overhang no soft, pastoral valleys, nor wave with varied foliage, nor are reflected in the bosom of still and transparent lakes. The traveller, hemmed in between their steep precipices, sees only the dark grandeur of the chasm through which he winds.
Sometimes, however, on reaching a clear point, he finds himself in possession of a prospect bearing a character of the most awful sublimity. A spot raised almost to an immeasurable height above the plain beneath, proves only the base whenceseven or eight successive ranges rise towards heaven, and terminate at length in a line of snowy pinnacles.
Mr. Royle, in his work on the botany of the Himalayah, divides that region, in respect to vegetation, into three zones or belts.
The first he considers as rising to the height of 5000 feet. The general temperature is here lowered, as usual, in proportion to the elevation, yet without the disappearance, to the extent that might be expected, of tropical plants. The southern exposure, the intense force of the sun"s rays duringthe hot season, and the tropical rainsfalling in undiminished
abundance, enable these to be brought to almost equal maturity with those in the upper part of the central plain.
In Nepaul, and other favourable situations, rice as asummer. and wheat as a winter crop, form the regular course of cultivation. But some of the more delicate plants are unable to bear exposure to the keen atmosphere and the nightly breezes; among which are the choicest of fruits, the mango and the pine-apple. At the same time, in the colder season, on elevated peaks, the plants of Europe and other temperate climates are seen springing side by side with those of the tropics. Snow is scarcely ever observed on this lower stage of the mountain territory.
The second belt is considered as reaching to the height of 9000 feet. Snow here falls constantly in winter, often to a great depth, but melts in early spring. Although the vegetation becomes more and more that of the temperate zone, yet thecauses already stated enable tropical plants to climb beyond their natural height, and to mingle with those of a very different clime. In sheltered, well-watered valleys, crops of rice are still successfully raised, while wheat grows on the heights above. But though the herbaceous plants are able to mount thus high, it is otherwise with trees, exposed to every vicissitude of the seasons. The palms and other Indian species are seen no longer, and the foliage appears exclusively European.
The third and most elevated belt reaches from the border of the latter to the summit of the Himalayah. The climate here is that of the more northern part of Europe and America, terminating in the perpetual snows of the arctic world. These, even in the lower districts, do not melt till May or June, when the extreme cold of winter is suddenly succeeded by the most intense heat. The rays of the sun, indeed, beat fiercely and painfully, even when the atmosphere is so little affected by them that the thermometer stands many degrees below the freezing point! and hence the traveller is scorched amidst almost unbearable cold-extremes which always provedistressing, and sometimes fatal.
The territory called Bhotan,
constituting the most elevated
portion, has the severity of the climate aggravated by its rocky surface, so that not above one-sixteenth part of it is fit for cultivation. Yet even here, under circumstances not at all favourable, vegetation displays a luxuriance which could little be expected at so great a height. Buck-wheat and barley are generally raised with success. At 12,000 feet, Captain Webb saw the finest grain; and at 11,680, he observed forests of oak, and beds of strawberries and currants in full blossom!
The pastura ge, in consequence probably of copious moisture, combined with the power of the sun"s rays, growswith a luxuriance almost unequalled. A productive field, however, is occasionally ruined by the descent of glaciers, or beds of snow, which do not melt for several years.
Notwithstanding the shattered and rocky aspect of those precipices, they are covered with vast masses of hanging wood. Amidst the wilds, tall and majestic forests of pine, larch, spruce, and silver fir, sometimes even of cypress and cedar, grow, flourish, and decay; for there are no means of conveying the timber to any spot where it might be subservient to human use or ornament.
With these trees are intermingled numerous bushes loaded with the fruits which form the luxury of the northern regions of Europe; gooseberry, raspberry, strawberry-all unknown to the plains below. In sheltered spots, the wild rose, the lily of the valley, cowslip, dandelion, and various other flowers, are seen bursting through the green carpet. The trees and rocks in the higher districts are richly clothed with moss and lichen- the vegetation of the countries bordering on the arctic circle.
QUESTIONS
What is the height of the continuous line of the Himalayah? To what height above that do some of the peaks rise? What is the Tarryai? What are its dangers? What is the nature of the country immediately above that? To what is the bolder scenery still higher up compared? Into how many zones, as to vegetation, has the Himalayah been divided? What are their limits? What is remarkable in the vegetation of the first zone? What is the character of that of the second zone? How are tropical plants able to grow in those elevated regions? To what extremes is the traveller often exposed in the third zone? Why is the pasturage so luxuriant there? What European fruits and flowers are found there?