The Simla Hill States, twenty-eight in number, occupy an area of about 4,800 square miles. On the south they are bounded by the Pinjor tahsil of the Patiúla State, Sirmur State (till 1890 included politically among the Simla Hill States), and the Ambála district; on the west by the Hoshiarpur and Kángra districts; on the north by Mandi and Suket States and Kulu; and on the east the main Himalayan range divides Bashahr from Tibet and Garhwál. About three-fourths of the total area of the Hill States are occupied by Bashahr, which lies on either bank of the Sutlej. All the other States lie to the south (left bank) of that river.
The river and mountain systems of the Simla hills have been described in the Simla District Gazetteer. For geology reference may be made to the same work, and for botany to "Flora Simlensis " by the late Sir Edward Collett.
The forests of the tract are its most valuable asset as well as its most interesting and picturesque feature. The deodar (cedrus deodara; vern. kelu) grows at elevations between 7,000 and 8,500 feet, and is seen at its finest in the forests of Bashahr, Jubbal, and Tarhoch. Large areas in these States, and in Balsan and Kumharsain, are covered with forests in which the rao or Himalayan spruce (abies Smithiana) predominates. This handsome tree grows to a great height, but its timber is inferior and almost unsaleable at the present moment.
As a result many huge trees are to be seen "girdled" and left to die to make room for other more profitable species. The ráo extends to a higher elevation than the deodar, as does the pandrao (picea Pindrow), a slightly more valuable wood. The blue pine or kail (pinus excelsa) is often mingled with the deodar, while on hill slopes from 2,000 or less to 6,000 feet high the chil (pinus longifolia) is in many places the most distinctive tree. Of the two the kail produces the better timber. The edible pino (pinus Gerardiána) is common in Bashahr. The seed of the chil is often eaten roasted, and is sometimes mistaken by European travellers for the edible pine nut.
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