~ ninefeet in girth at six feet from the 
due feet. Zygophyllum atriplicioides, a shru 
m : : leaves, bright yellow flowers, 
2 DR. 2. E. Т. AITCHISON ON THE BOTANY OF 
NORTHERN BALUCHISTAN. 
The expedition left the vicinity of Quetta, in the extreme north-east of Baluchistan, 
on the 22nd of September, 1884, marching westwards almost parallel with its northern 
boundary, along the edge of and partly across the great desert, to the Helmand river at 
Hadj-ali. In this part of our journey our marches were very long and accomplished with 
great rapidity, chiefly during the night, аз the days were still very hot. As there were no 
traces of a road of any sort to direct us we were guided at night by large fires, acting as 
beacons, and during the day by the marks of a plough which had been taken across the 
country, making a furrow for this special purpose. The season of the year was against 
any good collections being made, so that the little I did collect were mere scraps, most 
of which, however, have been identified by comparison with my subsequent collections. 
The physical features of Northern Baluchistan consist of great gravel and clay 
plains, bordered by ranges of limestone and trap hills, intersected by numerous dry 
water-courses, and of undulated expanses of sand, which are said to be continuously 
shifting through the action of wind. Between Kani and Gaz-i-cha we saw the 
effects of the wind, the sand having been driven up against the face of a pre- 
cipitous cliff to the height of 300 feet; and the range looked as if it would soon 
disappear altogether beneath this great shifting sea of sand. There are neither rivers 
nor streams, the vast drainage of the country being wholly swallowed up in the thirsty 
gravel beds. In traversing this desert we were informed that water was only to be 
procured at certain localities; this was no doubt true іп the sense that water was only 
exposed at those localities; but it was evident that with a little trouble it was pro- 
curable close to the surface in many more places; for on no occasion was the water 
found at a greater depth than ten feet, often much less. Luckily the few dilapidated 
botanical specimens that I was able to collect on this portion of our travels, despatched 
at Hadj-ali on the Helmand for Kew, arrived safely at their destination, and from them 
I am able to give the general features of the more permanent or shrubby vegetation 
of Northern Baluchistan. At this season of the year the little vegetation to be seen 
may be divided, naturally, into that on the hills and on rock-formations; that on 
the gravel and clay plains; that of the sand-dunes; and, lastly, that where there was 
water during the whole year. 
The most interesting plants found on the hills and on rock-formations were :—Stocksia 
Brahuica, a thorny shrub or small tree, first collected between Khanak and Panj-pai 
on the 24th of September, and ‘subsequently more or less frequently as far as the 
Helmand. In its autumnal garb, when leafless, and covered with its brilliantly coloured 
inflated fruit, it was very showy. It is called by the natives Koh-tor, or the mountain- 
peach, no doubt from the attractive colouring of the fruit. Pistacia Terebinthus, хат. 
mutica, was occasionally seen on limestone, occurring in somenumbers. This is the only 
indigenous tree of Baluchistan that grows to any size; several I measured were over 
ground; but in height none were over twenty 
b from four to six feet in height, with fleshy 
and curious winged fruit, was seen everywhere, from 
