23rd.—­Pastor came in to-day, an elegant bird, eyes nearly white, tinged with grey; legs and beak yellow, base of gape leaden-blue, junction of yellow and blue parts greenish!

26th.—­Mango bird first seen today, another dove came in about the 23rd.  Quail coming in, Pastor roseus.

Every plant from the Kafir hills convinces me that they are Himalayan in their features, and that about this the transition between the American and genuine European forms takes place.  Thus I have seen Asperula, two and three European looking Ranunculi.

Cratoegus, etc. in addition to the other forms, before alluded to.

There is a rather fine sissoo near Sheargar, it is curious that it is later in coming into leaf than any other tree.  Does this indicate its being of a more tropical nature than the others? on the contrary, the Bukkeim is now in flower, also Citrus.

The Affghans are fond of Amaryllideae, Gratool, Goolab, and Lonicera, in the season of the two former, every one met has a bunch placed over each ear.

Observed to-day a curious monstrosity of the ovula of the Lonicera of this place, from which it is evident, that the ovule represents a bud; the funicle the stalk; the teguments convolute leaves, and the nucleus the punctum of growth.

Every variation was observed, generally the more leafy the outer tegument the greater was the degree of straightness of the funicle, and the abortion of the nucleus.

29th.—­To Chugur-Serai.

June 5th.—­Arrived at Cabul.

The whole country between Khuggur and Koord Cabul, even including the high ground of this, or Huft-Kotul, presents the same formation, but from Khuggur it rises gradually, and beyond Gundamuck loses all characters of tabularity, it consists of sand, overlying which is a bed of blocks or often of boulders; in this sand, which is here and there easily pulverised, (in other places it is pressed as it were into slabs of no great thickness;) layers or beds of conglomerate frequently occur, either regularly or irregularly; in one case two conglomerated beds approached at an angle and then united.

The framework or base of the country is generally limestone, sometimes slate which presents every variety of distortion, the strata being often vertical and wavy, no dykes were observed.  The older rocks are generally completely covered by sand and shingle, or stones; but as we approach the boundaries of the valleys, they protrude into ridges, often of considerable size and height.  The valleys however are not entirely bounded by these to the west, for as I have said, the plain of Koord Cabul is reached by crossing undulations of this same formation.  From Khuggur to Gundamuck, about five stony steppes are crossed, each rising in height above the last, and each separated by deep ravines, with one or both banks generally precipitous, affording exit to streamlets from the Sofaid-Koh.  It is curious that the streamlets, and streams about Gundamuck have not worn themselves half as deep channels as those about Khuggur, although no appreciable difference is apparent in the strata.