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 unfertile, and crops are rare. Its rocks are composed of slate and quartz, and large boulders of granite abound. Formerly a corps of the line was stationed here,but of late that has been withdrawn, and the duties of the province are performed by a local corps. Houses are consequently cheap and abundant, and there are four or five government Bungalows, which officers on sick leave are allowed to live in rent free, on application to the magistrate.

The town is a very respectable collection of well-built houses, partly of stone and partly of wood, with the roofs well covered with large slabs of slate, six, eight, or ten feet square, and the streets are well paved with the same material. The bazar is but scantily supplied with European supplies, and these must be procured from the plains. There is a well-built modern fort here, the old Goorkah Fort being converted into a jad.

The climate of Almorah is a happy medium between Naineethal and the plains, the thermometer rarely rises to 80°, and the frost and snow in the winter are not severe, and are welcomed rather than disliked. Its chief advantage is its exemption from heavy fogs and rains, the great drawback to places of higher elevation. The rains there are comparatively mild, a succession of showers with about equal portions of sunshine and shower, and the fogs that brood almost