of Western Afghanistan and North-Eastcrn Persia. 190 



istic of the high desert flora of Bahichistan, extendmg north 

 and west to the Harut Valley as far as Karez-dasht and Sang- 

 bar. The inflated fruit hangs in clusters on this shrub well 

 into winter, when it is quite devoid of leaves ; the brilliant 

 autumnal colouring of the fruit gives the shrubs a most 

 gorgeous and attractive appearance, — to this is due its 

 name. 



Stoxe — •'^cwKj, takar, zuma, Mud, lakh. 



Stourga — Ferula ovixa, the hill, or sheep Ferula. 



Straw — In, kd, diaf; Hindustani, hhusd. 



The straws of barley and wheat are usually crushed, and 

 in this condition are given as fodder to cattle, along with the 

 straws of the various cultivated legumes. On the Helmand 

 we found the straw of wheat left standing in the fields, the 

 grain alone having been collected. The cattle were let loose 

 and allowed to feed on the standing straw. 



Strychnos Nux-vomica, Linn. Logaxiace^. 



The seed of the Nux-vomica, hadiola, is imported freely 

 into these parts as a valuable tonic, but it is chiefly employed 

 by the nomad tribes for poisoning wolves and dogs, these 

 animals frequently proving very destructive to their flocks. 



Suaeda fruticosa, Forsl-. Chexopodiace.e. 



Shorag. Employed in the manufacture of Barilla. 



Sugar — 



Shakar, is any sugar, ordinarily brown soft sugar ; kaiul, 

 hand, is loaf sugar ; hand-a-sMra-ghi, is loaf sugar made from 

 the syrup of grapes ; nahat, is sugar-candy ; sia-Jcand (Hindu- 

 stani gnr), is solid molasses ; shlra, is treacle ; sMra-ghi, is 

 a treacle or syrup made from grape-juice : misri, is Egyptian 

 sugar-candy ; and chmi, a sugar-candy from Central Asia 

 and China. In India chlni is a crystalline sugar, but not 

 sugar-candy. 



"With the exception of a treacle or syrup made from the 

 juice of the grape, some say also from water-melons (Colonel 

 Le Mesurier, in From London to Bokhara, p. 133, mentions 

 that "in Merv there is a refinery to make sugar from 

 melons "), all the sugar used in this country is imported from 



