Himalayan Journals Part 46

APPENDIX B.

ON THE MINERAL CONSt.i.tUENTS AND ALGAE OF THE HOT-SPRINGS OF BEHAR, THE HIMALAYA, AND OTHER PARTS OF INDIA, ETC., INCLUDING NOTES ON THE FUNGI OF THE HIMALAYA.

(By Dr. R. D. Thomson and the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S.)

The following remarks, for which I am indebted to the kindness of the able chemist and naturalist mentioned above, will be highly valued, both by those who are interested in the many curious physiological questions involved in the a.s.sociation of the most obscure forms of vegetable life with the remarkable phenomena of mineral springs; or in the exquisitely beautiful microscopic structure of the lower Algae, which has thrown so much light upon a branch of natural history, whose domain, like that of astronomy, lies to a great extent beyond the reach of the una.s.sisted eye.--J.D.H.

1. Mineral water, Soorujkoond, Behar (vol. i., chap. ii), contains chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda.

2. Mineral water, hot springs, Yeumtong, alt.i.tude 11,730 feet (see vol. ii., chap. xxii). Disengages sulphuretted hydrogen when fresh.--This water was inodorous when the bottle was opened.

The saline matter in solution was considerably less than in the Soorujkoond water, but like that consisted of chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda. Its alkaline character suggests the probability of its containing carbonate of soda, but none was detected.

The rocks decomposed by the waters of the spring consist of granite impregnated with sulphate of alumina. It appears that in this case the sulphurous waters of Yeumtong became impregnated in the air with sulphuric acid, which decomposed the felspar,* [I have, in my journal, particularly alluded to the garnets (an aluminous mineral) being thus entirely decomposed.-J.D.H.] and united with its alumina.

I found traces only of potash in the salt.

Sulphuretted hydrogen waters appear to give origin to sulphuric acid, when the water impregnated with the gas reaches the surface; and I have fine fibrous specimens of sulphate of lime accompanied with sulphur, from the hot springs of Pugha in west Tibet, brought by Dr. T. Thomson.

3. Mineral water, Momay hot springs, (vol. ii., chap. xxii).--When the bottle was uncorked, a strong smell of sulphuretted hydrogen was perceived. The water contains about twenty-five grains per imp.

gallon, of chloride of sodium, sulphate and carbonate of soda; the reaction being strongly alkaline when the solution was concentrated.

4. Effloresced earth from Behar (vol. i., chap. i), consists of granite sand, mixed with sesquicarbonate of soda.

_On the Indian Algae which occur princ.i.p.ally in different parts of the Himalayan Range, in the hot-springs of Soorujkoond in Bengal, Pugha in Tibet, and Momay in Sikkim; and on the Fungi of the Himalayas. By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A.

It is not my intention in the present appendix to give specific characters or even accurately determined specific names to the different objects within its scope, which have come under investigation, as collected by Dr. Hooker and Dr. Thomson. To do so would require far more time than I have at present been able to devote to the subject, for though every species has been examined microscopically, either by myself or Mr. Broome, and working sketches secured at the same time, the specific determination of fresh water Algae from Herbarium specimens is a matter which requires a very long and accurate comparison of samples from every available locality, and in the case of such genera as _Zygnema, Tyndaridea,_ and _Conferva,_ is, after all, not a very satisfactory process.

The object in view is merely to give some general notion of the forms which presented themselves in the vast districts visited by the above-mentioned botanists, comprising localities of the greatest possible difference as regards both temperature and elevation; but more especially in the hot-springs which occur in two distant parts of the Himalayas and in Behar, and these again under very different degrees of elevation and of extrinsic temperature.

The Algae from lower localities are but few in number, and some of these of very common forms. We have for instance from the Ganges, opposite Bijnour, a _Batrachospermum_ and _Conferva crispata,_ the former purple below, with specimens of _Chantransia,_ exactly as they might occur in the Thames. The _Conferva,_ or more properly _Cladophora,_ which occurs also under various forms, at higher elevations, as in the neighbourhood of Simla and Iskardo, swarms with little parasites, but of common or uninteresting species. In the Bijnour specimens, these consist of common forms of _Synedra, Meridion circulare,_ and a _Cymbella,_ on others from Dacca, there are about three species of _Synedra,_* {Two of these appear to be _S.

Vaucheriae_ and _S. inaequalis._] a minute _Navicula_ and _Gomphonema curvatum._ Nothing, in fact, can well be more European. One splendid Alga, however, occurs at Fitcoree, in Behar, on the banks of nullahs, which are dry in hot weather, forming a purple fleece of coa.r.s.e woolly hairs, which are singularly compressed, and of extreme beauty under the microscope, from the crystalline green of the articulated string which threads the bright red investing sheath. This curious Alga calls to mind in its colouring _Caenocoleus Smithii,_ figured in English Botany, t. 2940, but it has not the common sheath of that Alga, and is on a far larger scale. One or two other allied forms, or species, occur in East Nepal, to which I purpose giving, together with the Behar plant, the generic name of _Erythronema._ From the Soane River, also, is an interesting Alga, belonging to the curious genus _Thwaitesia,_ in which the division of the endochrome in the fertile cells into four distinct ma.s.ses, sometimes entirely free, is beautifully marked. In some cases, indeed, instead of the ordinary spores, the whole moss is broken up into numerous bodies, as in the fertile joints of _Ulothrix,_ and probably, as in that case, the resultant corpuscles are endowed with active motion. In Silhet, again, is a magnificent _Zygnema,_ allied to _Z. nitidum,_ with large oval spores, about 1/285 part of an inch long, and a dark golden brown colour, and containing a spiral green endochrome.

Leaving, however, the lower parts of India, I shall first take the species which occur in Khasia, Sikkim, Eastern Nepal, and the adjoining parts of Tibet.

In the hot valleys of the Gtreat Rungeet, at an elevation of about 2000 feet, we have the _Erythronema,_ but under a slightly different form; at Nunklow, at about the same height; in Khasia, again, at twice that elevation; in Eastern Nepal, at 12,000; and, finally, at Momay, reaching up to 16,000 feet. In water, highly impregnated with oxide of iron, at 4000 feet in Sikkim, a _Leptothrix_ occurred in great abundance, coloured with the oxide, exactly as is the case with Algae which grow in iron springs in Europe. At elevations between 5000 and 7000 feet, several European forms occur, consisting of _Ulothrix, Zygnema, Oscillatoria, Lyngbya, Sphaerozyga, Scytonema, Conferva,_ and _Cladophora._ The species may indeed not be identical with European species, but they are all more or less closely allied to well-known Hydrophytes. One very interesting form, however, either belonging to the genus _Zygnema,_ or possibly const.i.tuting a distinct genus, occurs in streams at 5000 feet in Sikkim, consisting of highly gelatinous threads of the normal structure of the _Zygnema,_ but forming a reticulated ma.s.s. The threads adhere to each other laterally, containing only a single spiral endochrome, and the articulations are very long. Amongst the threads are mixed those of some species of _Tyndaridea._ There is also a curious _Hormosiphon,_ at a height of 7000 feet; forming anastomosing gelatinous ma.s.ses.

A fine new species of _Lyngbya_ extends up as high as 11,000 feet.

At 13,000 feet occurs either some simple _Conferva_ or _Zygnema,_ it is doubtful which from the condition of the specimens; and at the same elevation, in the nearly dry bed of the stream which flows from the larger lake at Momay, amongst flat cakes, consisting of felspathic silt from the glaciers above, and the debris of Algae, and abounding in Diatomaceae, some threads of a _Zygnema._ At 17,000 feet, an _Oscillatoria,_ attached or adherent to _Zannich.e.l.lia_; and, finally, on the bare ground, at 18,000 feet, on the Donkia mountains, an obscure species of _Caenocoleus._ On the surface of the glaciers at Kinchinjhow, on silt, there is a curious _Palmella,_ apparently quite distinct from any European form.

Amongst the greater part of the Algae, from 4000 feet to 18,000 feet, various Diatomaceae occur, which will be best noticed in a tabular form, as follows; the specific name, within brackets, merely indicating the species to which they bear most resemblance:--

Himantidium (_Soleirolii_) 4000 to 7000 ft. Sikkim Odontidium (_hiemale,_ forma minor) 5000 to 7000 ft. Sikkim Epithemia, _n. sp._ 7000 ft. Sikkim Cymbella Sikkim Navicula, _n. sp._ Sikkim Tabillaria (_flocculosa_) 6000 to 7000 ft. Sikkim Odontidium (_hiemale_) 11,000 ft. Sikkim Himantidium 16,000 ft. Momay Odontidium (_turgidulum_) 17,000 ft. Momay Epithemia (_ocellata_) Tibet Fragillaria 18,000 ft. Momay Odontidium (_turgidulum_) Momay Dictyocha (_gracilis_) Momay Odontidium (_hiemale_) Kinchinjhow

We now turn to those portions of Tibet or the neighbouring regions, explored by Dr. Thomson and Captain Strachey. The princ.i.p.al feature in the Algology is the great prevalence of species of _Zygnema_ and _Tyndaridea,_ which occur under a variety of forms, sometimes with very thick gelatinous coats. In not a single instance, however, is there the slightest tendency to produce fructification. _Conferva crispata_ again, as mentioned above, occurs in several localities; and in one locality a beautiful unbranched _Conferva,_ with torulose articulations. At Iskardo, Dr. Thomson gathered a very gelatinous species of _Draparnaldia,_ or more properly, a _Stygeoclonium,_ if we may judge from a little conglomeration of cells which appeared amongst the threads. A _Tetraspora_ in Piti, an obscure _Tolypothrix,_ and one or two _Oscillatoriae,_ remarkable for their interrupted mode of growth, complete the list of Algae, with the exception of one, to be mentioned presently; as also of _Diatomaceae,_ and of the species of _Nostoc_ and _Hormosiphon,_ which occurred in great profusion, and under several forms, sometimes attaining a very large size (several inches across), especially in the districts of Le and Piti, and where the soil or waters were impregnated with saline matters. It is well known that some species of _Nostoc_ form an article of food in China, and one was used for that purpose in a late Arctic expedition, as reported by Dr.

Sutherland; but it does not seem that any use is made of them in Tibet, though probably all the large species would form tolerable articles of food, and certainly, from their chemical composition, prove very nutritious. One species is mentioned by Dr. Thomson as floating, without any attachment, in the shallow water of the pools scattered over the plains, on the Parang River, separated only by a ridge of mountains from Piti, broad and foliaceous, and scarcely different from the common _Nostoc,_ which occurs in all parts of the globe. I must not, however, neglect to record a very singular new genus, in which the young threads have the characters of _Tyndaridea,_ but, after a time, little swellings occur on their sides, in which a distinct endochrome is formed, extending backwards into the parent endochrome, separated from it by a well defined membrane, and producing, either by repeated pullulation, a compound ma.s.s like that of _Calothrix,_ or simply giving rise to a forked thread. In the latter case, however, there is no external swelling, but a lateral endochrome is formed, which, as it grows, makes its way through an aperture, whose sides are regularly inflected. I have given to this curious production the name of _Cladozygia Thomsoni._

The whole of the above Algae occurred at heights varying from 10,000 to 15,500 feet. As in the Southern Himalayan Algae, the specimens were infested with many Diatomaceae, amongst which the moat conspicuous were various _Cymbellae_ and _Epithemiae.

The following is a list of the species observed.

Cymbella (_gastroides_).

-- (_gracilis_).

-- (_Ehrenbergii_) and three others.

Odontidium (_hiemale_).

-- (_mesodon_).

-- _n. sp._ Epithemia _n. sp._ Synedra (_arcus_).

-- (_tenuis_).

-- (_aequalis_).

Denticula (_obtusa_).

Gomphonema (_abbreviatum_).

Meridion circulare.

There is very little ident.i.ty between this list and that before given from the Southern Himalayas, as is the case also with the other Algae. Till the species, however, have been more completely studied, a very accurate comparison cannot be made.

In both instances the species which grow in hot springs have been reserved in order to make their comparison more easy. I shall begin in an inverse order, with those of the springs of Pugha in Tibet, which attain a temperature of 174 degrees. Two _Confervae_ only occur in the specimens which have been preserved, viz., an _Oscillatoria_ allied to that which I have called _O. interrupta,_ and a true _Conferva_ extremely delicate with very long articulations, singularly swollen at the commissures. The _Diatomaceae_ are:--

Odontidium (_hiemale_).

-- (_mesodon_).

-- _n. sp.,_ same as at Piti on _Conferva._ Denticula (_obtusa_).

Navicula.

Cymbella, three species.

Epithemia.

Scarcely any one of these except the _Navicula_ is peculiar to the locality. A fragment apparently of some _Closterium,_ the only one which I have met with in the collection, accompanies one of the specimens.

The hot springs of Momay, (temp. 110 degrees) at 16,000 feet, produce a golden brown _Caenocoleus_ representing a small form of _C.

cirrhosus,_ and a very delicate _Sphaerozyga,_ an _Anabaina,_ and _Tolypothrix_; and at 17,000 feet, a delicate green _Conferva_ with long even articulations. With the latter is an _Odontidium_ allied to, or identical with _O. turgidulum,_ and with the former a fine species of _Epithemia_ resembling in form, but not in marking, _E.

Faba, E. (Zebra)_ a fine _Navicula,_ perhaps the same with _N. major_ and _Fragilaria (virescens)._* [Mr. Thomas Brightwell finds in a portion of the same specimen _Epithemia alpestris, Surirella splendida, S. linearis,_ Smith, _Pinnularia viridis,_ Smith, _Navicula (lanceolata)_ and _Himantidium (arcus)._] In mud from one of the Momay springs (_a_), I detected _Epithemia (Broomeii n.s.),_ and two small _Naviculae,_ and in the spring (_c_) two species of _Epithemia_ somewhat like _E. Faba,_ but different from that mentioned above.

The hot springs of Soorujkoond, of the vegetation of which very numerous specimens have been preserved, are extremely poor in species. In the springs themselves and on their banks, at temperatures varying from 80 degrees to 158 degrees, at which point vegetation entirely ceases, a minute _Leptothrix_ abounds everywhere, varying a little in the regularity of the threads in different specimens, but scarcely presenting two species. Between 84 degrees and 112 degrees there is an imperfect _Zygnema_ with very long articulations, and where the green sc.u.m pa.s.ses into brown, there is sometimes an _Oscillatoria,_ of a very minute stellate _Scytonema,_ probably in an imperfect state. _Epithemia ocellata_ also contributes often to produce the tint. An _Anabaina_ occurs at a temperature of 125 degrees, but the same species was found also in the stream from the springs where the water had become cold, as was also the case with the _Zygnema._

The Diatomaceae consisted of:--

Epithemia Broomeii, _n. s._ -- thermalis, _n. sp._ Epithemia inaequalis, _n. sp._ Navicula Beharensis, _n. sp._

The vegetation in the three sets of springs was very different.

As regards the _Confervae,_ taking the word in its older sense, the species in the three are quite different, and even in respect of genera there is little ident.i.ty, but amongst the _Diatomaceae_ there is no striking difference, except in those of the Behar springs where three out of the four did not occur elsewhere. In the Pugha and Momay springs, the species were either identical with, or nearly allied to those found in neighbouring localities, where the water did not exceed the ordinary temperature. A longer examination will doubtless detect more numerous forms, but those which appear on a first examination are sure to give a pretty correct general notion of the vegetation. The species are certainly less numerous than I had expected, or than might be supposed from the vegetation of those European hot springs which have been most investigated.

In conclusion, I shall beg to add a few words on the Fungi of the Himalayas, so far as they have at present been investigated.

As regards these there is a marked difference, as might be antic.i.p.ated from the nature of the climates between those parts of Tibet investigated by Dr. Thomson, and the more southern regions.

The fungi found by Dr. Thomson were but few in number, and for the most part of very ordinary forms, differing but little from the produce of an European wood. Some, however, grow to a very large size, as for instance, _Polyporus fomentarius_ on poplars near Iskardo, exceeding in dimensions anything which this species exhibits in Europe. A very fine _AEcidium_ also infests the fir trees (_Abies Smithiana_), a figure of which has been given in the "Gardeners'

Chronicle," 1852, p. 627, under the name of _AEcidium Thomsoni._ This is allied to the Hexenbesen of the German forests, but is a finer species and quite distinct. _Polyporus oblectans, Geaster limbatus, Geaster mammosus, Erysiphe taurica,_ a _Boletus_ infested with _Sepedonium mycophilum, Scleroderma verrucosum,_ an _AEcidium,_ and a _Uromyces,_ both on _Mulgedium Tataric.u.m,_ about half-a-dozen Agarics, one at an alt.i.tude of 16,000 feet above the Nubra river, a _Lycoperdon,_ and _Morch.e.l.la semilibera,_ which is eaten in Kashmir, and exported when dry to the plains of India, make up the list of fungi.

The region of Sikkim is perhaps the most productive in fleshy fungi of any in the world, both as regards numbers and species, and Eastern Nepal and Khasia yield also an abundant harvest. The forms are for the most part European, though the species are scarcely ever quite identical. The dimensions of many are truly gigantic, and many species afford abundant food to the natives. Mixed with European forms a few more decidedly tropical occur, and amongst those of East Nepal is a _Lentinus_ which has the curious property of staining every thing which touches it of a deep rhubarb yellow, and is not exceeded in magnificence by any tropical species. The _Polypori_ are often identical with those of Java, Ceylon, and the Philippine Isles, and the curious _Trichocoma paradoxum_ which was first found by Junghuhn in Java, and very recently by Dr. Harvey in Ceylon, occurs abundantly on the decayed trunks of laurels, as it does in South Carolina. The curious genus _Mitremyces_ also is scattered here and there, though not under the American form, but that which occurs in Java. Though _Hymenomycetes_ are so abundant, the _Discomycetes_ and _Ascomycetes_ are comparatively rare, and very few species indeed of _Sph.o.e.ria_ were gathered. One curious matter is, that amongst the very extensive collections which have been made there is scarcely a single new genus. The species moreover in Sikkim are quite different, except in the case of some more or less cosmopolite species from those of Eastern Nepal and Khasia: scarcely a single _Lactarius_ or _Cortinarius_ for instance occurs in Sikkim, though there are several in Khasia. The genus _Boletus_ through the whole district a.s.sumes the most magnificent forms, which are generally very different from anything in Europe.

APPENDIX C.* [The tables referred to, at v. i. chapter ii, as under Appendix C., will be found under Appendix A.]