434 Dr Aitchison on Afghan Botany. [sess. lhi. 



Parsees in their fire-worship. Some suppose that this may 

 have been the Soma of the ancients, as it corresponds in a 

 degree to a very vague description given in the old Sanscrit 

 writings. On my leaving Tash, in Persia, on the outskirts of 

 the ^dllage, I came upon an old woman who held in her hand 

 a small dish, on which were some live coals. As I came near 

 she placed some twigs on these coals; they burnt up, and gave 

 forth an odour long forgotten by me. It was the odour of the 

 burning of juniper twigs. I jumped off my pony, and got my 

 interpreter to question her for me. The lady was a Persian, a 

 Mahommedan, making a fire sacrifice, with good wishes for my 

 journey, and hoping for the charity of the stranger. She 

 allowed me to examine the twigs she was employing. They 

 consisted of Juniperus excelsa and Ephedra pachydada, the 

 symbols of two very different religions — the former being used 

 by the Bhudists, and the latter by the Parsees or fire- 

 worshippers. 



AVas it by accident that these two symbols were thus 

 used together, employed by a follower of a third rehgion — 

 that of Mahomet ? I leave this question for others to answer. 



Tlic Source of Badsha, or Royal Salep. By J. E. T. Aitchi- 

 son, M.D., CLE., F.E.S. (Plate VII.) 



(Read 13th December 1888.) 



When accompanying the Afghan Delimitation Commission 

 during 1884, I carried with me some specimens of what is 

 known as Badsha Salep, hoping to be able to discover the 

 plant yielding it, and thus extend our limited knowledge of 

 this little known drug. In the vicinity of Herat, and at 

 Meshad, I showed the product to many who might be likely 

 to give me information regarding it, but it appeared to be 

 quite new to all to wliom I applied for the information. 



Upon examination at Kew of the various substances 

 which I had obtained wliilst on my Afghan journey, to 

 enable me to read a short summary regarding the drugs I 

 had collected in those regions before the Pliarmaceutical 

 Society of London, I chanced to show some specimens of 

 this Salep to Mr Baker, who drew my attention to Mr 

 Daniel Hanbury's article in tlie Pharniaceutical Journal and 



