70 lirigade-Surgeon J. E. T. Aitchison's Notes on Products 



ill the plains water is considered to be close to the surface. 

 In some localities the bushes arc so numerous that they form 

 a copse, and with them the flocks of goats and sheep play 

 terrible havoc. At 8aiigun I found round the gardens great 

 hedges of figs ; these I was told were the wild figs in culti- 

 vation. Dried figs, strung on strings like beads, are imported 

 in small quantities into north-west India from Afghanistan. 



Field -BE AN — Vicia Fab a. 



Fig — Ficus Carica. 



Fllfil — J^iXi — pllpil — Pepper, in these parts the name 



is applied to red pepper, Capsicum species. 

 Filfil-i-surhh — ^j-^^iSs — [red pepper], Capsicum 



species. 

 Fir — the only fir tree of the seregions is the culxi- 



vated PiNus halepensis. 

 F'lroza — xj^^^i — a Turquoise, azure, blue, rare, noted. 

 Flax — the fibre of Linum usitatissimum. 

 Flint — sang-dtish, sang-chakhmdhh, sang-cliahmdh ; 



called by the Turkomans chakh-mdk-ddslie, and 



by the Baluchis khal. 



In the hills to the north of Kalla-nao, near Kalander-abad, 

 black flints are plentiful, and are largely worked for there. 

 As pieces of pottery were met with amongst the ruins 

 on the Helmand, so throughout the Badghis all sorts of 

 odd bits of flint that had apparently been used and thrown 

 away were picked up. Flint locks for weapons are now quite 

 out of use in these regions. 



Flour — drd, aurd. 



The common flour of the country is that of imported Indian 

 corn, the lesser millets, wheat, occasionally barley ; in the 

 districts of Bala-morghab and Maimana the flour in ordinary 

 use consists chiefly of Maize with Sorghum, and that of the 

 spiked Millet. In the Badghis, the fruit of the wild pear, 

 Pyrus species, as well as that of Celtis caucasica, and of 

 dried Mulberries, the fruit of JMoRUS alba, are all converted 

 into flour and mixed with ordinary flour to be made into 

 bread ; so also are the seeds of Luffa and some other of the 



CUCURBITACE^E. 



