An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

BOOTAN. 389species of the Gloriosa. The plantains in use below, do not thrivehere.In the jungles they have a plantain tree, producing a very broadleaf, with which they cover their huts; but the fruit is not eaten. Seemany weeds and long grass, more common toBengal than any otherparts of Boutan.From the 15th to the 22d, the rains were almost incessant at Buxaduar.Our people became unhealthy, and were attacked with fevers,which, if neglected in the beginning, proved obstinate quartans.Thiswas the case with several of the natives, whom Ihad an opportunityof seeing. They scarcely, however, admit that Buxaduar is unhealthyat any season of the year.After allowing for their prejudice, and thepossibility of the natives suffering but little from the bad seasons, Icannot help thinking that Buxaduar must be unhealthy, at least tostrangers, from the month of May till towards the end of September.It lies high, but is overtopped by the surrounding mountains, coveredwith forests of trees, and underwood.In all climates, where the influenceof the sun is great, this is a never-failing cause of bad air. Theexhalation that takes plac^ from so great a surface in the day time,falls, after sunset, in the form of dew, rendering the air raw, damp,and chilly, even in the most sultry climates.The thermometer at Buxaduar was never, at two o'clock in theafternoon, above 82°, or below 73°.In the neighbourhood of Buxaduar, there are several excellentsprings of water, some of them with less impregnation of any sort thanI ever met with; the nicest test, scarcely produced the separation ofa sensible quantity of earthy matter.Such waters are generally to be