t\Jroin the Kingdom of Nepal. 445 



Bikh may be A. palmatum, or Dr. Hooker's new species from 

 Upper Sikkirn, A. luridum, reported to be as virulent as A. ferosc 

 (Journals, i. 168 ; ii. 108). A. ferox is found all over the alpine 

 Himalaya ; on the Shatiil Pass, in Basehar, it is well known as 

 Bikh ; also Maur, Maiir, and Mahur, of the same import. Vat- 

 sanaba, 'calf-destroyer/ is the original of the Bachnag*, men- 

 tioned by Dr. Royle from the Makhzanul Adwiyyah. In order 

 to ascertain whether it were justly called Mitha, * sweet/ I 

 masticated a very small slice, and found it was so j but this was 

 soon succeeded by the most distressing burning all over the 

 mouth and fauces, though nothing was swallowed. 



Plants of other genera are also known as Bikh and Mahiir : 

 the root of Meconopsis Wallichii is reported in Sikkim to be very 

 poisonous (H. and Th. Flor. Indica, 254) ; and the root of a 

 Convallaria with verticillated leaves is considered a very virulent 

 poison (Hooker's Journals, i. 168)t. Dr. Koyle (Illustr. 382) 

 says that '' Polyyonatum verticillatum, L., called Mitha-dudhya 

 in Sirmore, and Smilacina pallida, called Diidhya-mohura, are 

 both accounted poisonous in the Himalayas.'' On Mahasu, 

 near Simla, I observed people gathering the young shoots of P. 

 verticillatum or cirrhifolium, to induce intoxication ; and the 

 poisonous root Mahura was useful, they said, in cases of ring- 

 worm. 



Nirbishi denotes some plant, " not Aconitum ferox,'' but re- 

 sembling it. Dr. Boyle observes that he was struck with the 

 resemblance of some Delphinium roots from the Himalayas to 

 those sold as Narbisi ; and both at Pindri in Kumaon and 

 Bhojgara, on the south side of the Kowari Pass in Garhwal, at 

 1 1,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea, I found the beautiful Delphi- 

 nium Kashmerianum, Royle, p. 55. t. 12 {Jacquemontianum, Cam- 

 bassedes. Voyage aux Indes, viii. t. 7), with cylindrical tuberous 

 roots, absolutely identical in form with the ordinary Nirbisi, 

 and, I doubt not, its true source. No one, however, could pre- 

 viously supply me with the least information as to the province 

 which produced it : the Nepalese said it came from the west ; 

 the Tibetans told Major H. Strachey it came from the east. 



* Bachnag, according to Graham's 'Bombay Plants,' is Gloriosa superbof 

 its root is a virulent poison. 



t In the Journ, As. Soc. of Bengal for May 1849, page 438, Dr. Hooker 

 states that " another far more powerful Bikh is yielded by a plant of the 

 order Compositce, which I have gathered abundantly at 10,000 and 9000 

 feet ; and it requires care to distinguish its root from that of the Aconites ; 

 when mixed, the Bhotiyas could not separate them." Dr. Hooker informs 

 me that the plant in question is a Cacalia, allied to C. acoiiitifoUa; and 

 that the reputed qualities having never been confirmed in any shape, he 

 does not doubt that they are altogether due to the similarity of its foliage 

 to the Aconite. 



