12 DR. J. E. Т. AITCHISON ON THE BOTANY OF 
I never saw any of the tunnels lined with masonry. Beyond this, on all cultivated land, 
the Prosopis of the Helmand and Capparis spinosa abound, and are a great nuisance to 
the cultivator. In our march to Zagin we crossed a great deal of scrub, consisting of a 
small tamarisk, Lycium, and Vitex; but there was not an indigenous tree to be seen, 
and the hills near us looked sterile and bare. In the villages passed through were beans 
in flower, planted as a margin to cotton-fields, and the orchards were larger in size, con- 
taining figs, pomegranates, and jujubes, in addition to the trees already mentioned ; and 
the mulberry was much more extensively grown for feeding silkworms. We saw silk in 
skeins in quantity as well as being spun, spinning-wheels being noticed on the roofs of 
all the houses. Our last two marches had brought us into a country of peace, plenty, 
and prosperity, and the people seemed to be energetic and hard-working. Неге І gota 
specimen of Fagonia cretica given to me by Captain Maitland, and close to our encamp- 
ment at Zagin I observed on the outskirts of the village the remains of a cluster of date- 
palms, one tree only, however, being in good condition. During our journey one or two 
specimens of this palm in a young condition were seen at Nushki and Koh-haja, and at 
Kalifat a few dates, which were said to be the produce of Persia, were for sale in the bazaar. 
Owing to the severity of the winter, Zagin is the northern limit of the date-palm in this 
region. On the 7th of November, by keeping along the bed of a water-course, we passed 
through a range of limestone hills. On both sides of the water-course for fully three 
miles extended the large town of Anar-darra, a very numerously populated place, sur- 
rounded by splendid orchards and gardens, which yielded a fine pomegranate in large 
quantities ; hence its name, meaning the pomegranate-pass. There were also many other 
good fruits and immense quantities of vegetables, such as carrots, beetroot, onions, &c., 
as well as green fodder, including clover. I was told opium and tobacco were grown too, 
all owing to the copious and continuous supply of water and the excellent situation of 
the town, which is sheltered by the hills. I here saw Ranunculus aquatilis still in 
flower; and the trees noted in the orchards which have not been previously mentioned 
were the almond, peach, plum, Elæagnus, and numerous willows, large trees very like 
Salix babylonica. To these gardens, orchards, and fields the Afghans apply all the 
manure they possess, none of it being burnt or employed for fuel, asin India. On leaving 
Anar-darra for Sang-bar we gradually ascended to an altitude of nearly 8000 feet above 
the sea-level, and entered upon a district much resembling portions of our march through 
Baluchistan, both with regard to its physical aspect and its vegetation—as here we again 
came across Stocksia covered with fruit, and in addition began to touch upon a new 
= flora. А shrubby Amygdalus, the remains of Eremuri, a different Ephedra, Cousinia 
heterophylla, a bush Composita with oak-like leaves, and various species of Artemisia, and 
_ Afew small trees of the Rhus previously collected, the leaves of a tree, probably a species 
_ of Acer, ап Acanthophyllum, and several Astragali in great hummocks. Аз we con- 
_ tinued our journey, we traversed extensive gravel-plains and plateaus with limestone 
_ hills on either side. These plains were covered in some places, as if cultivated, by Zris 
.. sibirica, the leaves and stems of which lay on the ground like so much straw; and it 
_ маз difficult, except after careful examination, to believe that we were not riding through 
| . ordinary straw, the residue of field-culture. Our marches here were very long and tedious, 
