DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20140#0498
474
geoup i: bhutan, SIKKIM, nepal,
regions, including the wildest forests, full of rhododendrons, tree-ferns, and magnolias,
is the consequence.
The moisture, although by far the greatest part is attributable to the topographical
conditions, is yet increased by the very vegetation it produces; in passing though
the forests a part of the steam is kept back (which otherwise would pass higher up
inland) and evaporates during those hours when the air happens not to be saturated
already. The clearing of the forests round the settlements, as is now in progress
to make room for the cultivation of tea,1 is already felt by the influence it exercises
in modifying the accumulation of mist on the slopes. Man in his habitations avoids
the very low valleys, unhealthy by malaria; even the native settlements are
generally seen on the spurs, not descending below 2,000 or 3,000 feet.
The tarai bordering the foot, about 380 feet high where it touches Bengal, is
bad enough, but from being much more narrow here than where it borders Nepal,
it is more easily passed, and less dangerous. In reference to temperature it differs
little from that of the adjoining Bengal; great heat is frequent before the rains, in
the cool season the temperature is rather cooler than in Bengal, on account of the influence
of descending currents very limited in circulation. The European stations do not begin
below 6000; local exceptions may be the consequence of the rapid spread of
plantations during these last years.
The early mornings are here, as in India, the most precious hours; though not
on account of their being cool only, but especially since for a great part of the year
this is the only moment which allows, by the transparency of the atmosphere, fully to
enjoy the grand scenery of the country. A few hours after sunrise, too often sooner
still, fogs spring up, lasting with little modification for the rest" of the day.
In heights above 10,000, as I had occasion to observe even in the rainy season
along the Singhalila ridge, days of sunshine, for some hours at least, are much more
numerous. In winter, as Hodgson and Campbell told me, the aspect of the snowy
mountains often becomes interfered with by a dry reddish haze apparently connected
with solid particles suspended in the atmosphere—carried up by the ascending cur-
rent from the plains of Bengal, as it shows itself positively interfered with by the
accumulation of moisture.
1 For recent statistical and botanical details especially about the important cultivation of tea, see Dr. Forbes
Watson's reports in his Catalogue of the Indian Department of the Exhibition of 1862, p. 66.
geoup i: bhutan, SIKKIM, nepal,
regions, including the wildest forests, full of rhododendrons, tree-ferns, and magnolias,
is the consequence.
The moisture, although by far the greatest part is attributable to the topographical
conditions, is yet increased by the very vegetation it produces; in passing though
the forests a part of the steam is kept back (which otherwise would pass higher up
inland) and evaporates during those hours when the air happens not to be saturated
already. The clearing of the forests round the settlements, as is now in progress
to make room for the cultivation of tea,1 is already felt by the influence it exercises
in modifying the accumulation of mist on the slopes. Man in his habitations avoids
the very low valleys, unhealthy by malaria; even the native settlements are
generally seen on the spurs, not descending below 2,000 or 3,000 feet.
The tarai bordering the foot, about 380 feet high where it touches Bengal, is
bad enough, but from being much more narrow here than where it borders Nepal,
it is more easily passed, and less dangerous. In reference to temperature it differs
little from that of the adjoining Bengal; great heat is frequent before the rains, in
the cool season the temperature is rather cooler than in Bengal, on account of the influence
of descending currents very limited in circulation. The European stations do not begin
below 6000; local exceptions may be the consequence of the rapid spread of
plantations during these last years.
The early mornings are here, as in India, the most precious hours; though not
on account of their being cool only, but especially since for a great part of the year
this is the only moment which allows, by the transparency of the atmosphere, fully to
enjoy the grand scenery of the country. A few hours after sunrise, too often sooner
still, fogs spring up, lasting with little modification for the rest" of the day.
In heights above 10,000, as I had occasion to observe even in the rainy season
along the Singhalila ridge, days of sunshine, for some hours at least, are much more
numerous. In winter, as Hodgson and Campbell told me, the aspect of the snowy
mountains often becomes interfered with by a dry reddish haze apparently connected
with solid particles suspended in the atmosphere—carried up by the ascending cur-
rent from the plains of Bengal, as it shows itself positively interfered with by the
accumulation of moisture.
1 For recent statistical and botanical details especially about the important cultivation of tea, see Dr. Forbes
Watson's reports in his Catalogue of the Indian Department of the Exhibition of 1862, p. 66.