11th.—­Entered the pass which is at first wide, with a gradual ascent, but which soon becomes narrowish, with a good though gradual and easy ascent:  the mountains are of no height, and they are not generally precipitous:  no limestone, but much clay slate occurs.  The ravine up which we passed, or rather watercourse, was well stocked with Xanthoxylon, some of large size as to the diameter of trunk, but very stumpy:  water is found not far from the entrance:  some cultivation also occurs and one large walled village, Dera Abdoollah Khan, lay to our left.  Not much change in the vegetation:  Xanthoxylon is almost entirely confined to ravines, Cerasus common, and one or two other prickly shrubs, and a Ruta, Onosma, Linarea, coming into flower, are among the novelties.

We encamped where the pass becomes narrow, and the ascent steep, and where water is plentiful, but the stream being soon absorbed does not appear to run down the main ravine at this season.

12th.—­Halted, to make the road where the main ascent commences about 400 yards from our camp, and which is about 300 feet high; thence there is a descent, and afterwards an ascent to about 600 feet above the camp, whence the low plains of Candahar are visible, as well as the range to the north of which Candahar stands.  The road is good compared with places elsewhere to be seen, and for common traffic on camels may be easy enough; but for guns, it is steep and difficult.  The way it has been made by the Engineers is admirable and rapid; three other passes without roads, and in their rude natural state are as yet to be crossed.  The pass here is narrow, none of the hills rise more than 1,000 feet above it, they are easily accessible, and are composed chiefly of clay slate.  Chikores are frequent.  The cuckoo was heard to-day, as well as a beautifully melodious titmouse, with a black crown:  a fine eagle, or falcon was seen.

The hills are as usual barren, all the shrubs are thorny, and all the plants unsocial, never coalescing into any thing like groups.  The Xanthoxylon is found throughout in ravines up to nearly 7,000 feet, the utmost height of the pass.  Fraxmus of Chiltera also occurs, Cerasus primus, in abundance, Cerasus alius, tertius, not uncommon, Berberis! here and there in ravines, Equisetoides, Caraganoides altera; the most common shrubs of any size are Cerasus primus.  The other shrubs consist of the low customary Compositae, and Astragaleae, Umbelliferae are common, among which last the Nari, a species of Assafoetida occurs?  A beautiful Iris is common, as well as tufts of Berberideae, Asphodelus major, and which is much eaten when cooked as a turkaree by our hungry followers, Eryngioides, Aconitoides, a Valeriana, three new small Veronicae, small Cruciferae, Silenaceae, Boragineae, and Labiatae, form the bulk of the herbaceous vegetation.  An Arenarioid, Muscoid, Cruciferae, common at the head of the pass.  A large Acanthoid leaved Umbellifera, a Rheoides papillis verrucosum, this is a true Rheum, and when cultivated becomes the Ruwash of the Affghanistans; it is very common on the Candahar face of the pass, particularly about Chokey, where it is in flower.