SCARCITY OF ANIMALS. MOSQUITOES. 167 



covered with reeds four to six feet high.^ On the 

 drier ground karmyk {Nitraria Schoberi) abounds, 

 such as we had seen in Ordos and Ala-shan, but 

 growing here to a height of seven feet. Its sweet 

 saline berries are plentiful, and, like the fruit of the 

 sulhir in the Ala-shan, form the staple food of the 

 inhabitants. The Mongols and Tangutans supply 

 their wants for the whole year by collecting these 

 berries late in autumn, when they hang dry on the 

 twigs, boiling them in water, and eating them with 

 barley-meal. They also drink the sweet brackish 

 liquor in which the berries have been boiled. Many 

 birds and beasts, including wolves and foxes, feed 

 on these berries, and camels are particularly fond of 

 them. Large animals are, however, scarce in Tsai- 

 dam, probably owing to the crust of salt on the 

 surface of the ground, which injures the soles of 

 their feet and their hoofs. Now and then a kara- 

 S2ilta or a kiilan (wild ass) may be seen, or more 

 often a wolf, fox, or hare. The small number of 

 animals is in part due to the myriads of mosquitoes, 

 midges, and gadflies, which at certain seasons of the 

 year oblige even the natives to retreat to the moun- 

 tains with their herds.^ The birds of Tsaidam belong 

 chiefly to the orders of Swimmers and Waders ; but 

 as we passed through this country late in autumn 



1 Compare Hue's account, page 209 of vol. ii., which does not 

 differ much from that of the author, except that he omits to mention 

 the marshes and reeds, and calls the Baian-gol the Tsaidam River. — M. 



^ It is remarkable how seriously the cattle suffer from the insects ; 

 the sheep and other domesticated animals become much thinner than 

 in winter when the food is not so rich, but when they are free from the 

 torment of flies and mosquitoes. 



