Page:From Kulja, across the Tian Shan to Lob-Nor (1879).djvu/151

132 exist on chilly Yulduz; of snakes and lizards there are none, and only an occasional toad or frog may be caught near a marshy spring.

Early in June we crossed the Narat range, on the southern slopes of which the spring flora was more abundant than in Yulduz, and descended to the headwaters of the Tsanma. Here the climate and vegetation bore a totally different aspect: forests of spruce fir and thick grass two feet high clothed the valley and slopes of the mountains. Rain fell daily; the rich black soil was saturated with moisture like a sponge, and we found the same humidity in the neighbouring valley of the Kunges, only that in the latter, owing to its lower elevation, vegetation was even more advanced, and flowers more profuse.

Our herbarium received considerable accessions. On the other hand, contrary to our expectations, comparatively few nesting birds were found either on the Tsanma or Kunges, the cause probably being the extremely wild nature of the country, avoided by small birds in particular. Now, too, clouds of gnats and flies made their appearance, from which there was no escape day or night.