Mar. 21, 1872] 



NATURE 



407 



indeed, generally white but sometimes black, bred about 

 Lassa ; wool very fine and like the shawl wool. 4th. 

 Changumpo Look, abundant about Geroo and in Ding- 

 cham, generally very large ; the white wool very fine and 

 soft. The flesh of all these sheep is fine-grained and 

 good. 



Of the Phdk or pig there are two varieties, the southern 

 pig, which is similar to the Indian village pig, and the 

 small Chinese pig. There are no wild hogs in Thibet. 

 The Chinese butchers at Lassa blow their pork so as to 

 give it a deceptively fine appearance. 



Ducks and geese are not eaten by the Thibetans, but 

 are greatly used by the Chinese, for whom they are 

 specially bred in Lassa. 



The lakes of Thibet are full of fish, of which only one 

 kind, named Choolap, is described ; it grows to the weight 

 of 81b., and is a coarse food. It is, hovvever, caught and 

 preserved largely ; the fish being gutted, split up, the tail 

 put in the mouth, and dried, without salt, in the open air. 

 Thus prepared they will keep for a year. The mode of 

 catching them is singular ; when the lakes are frozen over, 

 a hole is made in the ice, to which they rush in such 

 abundance that they are pulled out by the hand. 



There are no leeches or mosquitoes in Thibet, nor are 

 maggots or fleas ever seen there ; and in Dingcham or 

 Thibet Proper there are no bees or wasps. 



Dr. Campbell gives us some very interesting information 

 regarding the food of the Thibetans. During the summer 

 months they use very little fresh meat. They do not like 

 it boiled, and are not partial to it raw, unless it has been 

 dried. In November there is a great slaughter, and a 

 wealthy man, who has perhaps 7,000 sheep, will kill 

 200 at this time for his year's consumption. The animal 

 after being killed is skinned and gutted and then placed 

 on its feet in a free current of air. In a couple of days it 

 becomes quite hard and is then ready for eating. It is 

 kept in this way for more than a year without spoiling, 

 even during the rainy periods. When long exposed to 

 the wind of Thibet it becomes so dry that it may be 

 rolled into powder between the hands. In this state it is 

 mixed with water and drunk, and used in various other 

 ways. The Thibetans eat animal food in endless forms, 

 and a large portion of the people live on nothing else. 

 The livers of sheep and other animals are similarly dried 

 or frozen, and are much prized, but to strangers they are 

 very distasteful for their bitterness and hardness. The 

 fat is dried, packed in the stomachs, and then sent to 

 market or kept for home use. 



With regard to edible vegetables, it is stated that wheat, 

 barley, and buckwheat sown in April or May and irrigated, 

 are reaped in September, barley in Thibet taking the 

 place of potatoes in Ireland, four-fifths of the population 

 living on it. Besides these, the other crops are composed 

 of peas, turnips, and a little mustard. The grain is ground 

 in water mills. The bread is all unleavened, and cooked 

 on heated stoves or gridirons. The sweet pure farinaceous 

 taste of the fine flour equals the best American produce. 

 The staple food of the country is champa, called sutloo 

 in India ; it is finely-ground flour of toasted barley. It 

 is much eaten without further cooking ; mixed up with 

 hot tea it is called paal\ and when prepared with tepid 

 water it is known as seu. If any of our readers wish to 

 enter upon " pastures new " in tlie breakfast department, 

 they may try Tookpa, which, to be properly appreciated, 

 should be taken at daybreak before any matutinal ablu- 

 tions. It is a sort of broth made with mutton, champa, 

 dry curds, butter, salt, and turnips. 



Goats are also reared in considerable flocks, but for 

 their milk rather than their flesh. The milk of yaks, cows, 

 sheep, and goats is used alike for making dried curds and 

 the various preparations of milk used by these people. 

 Mares' milk is not used in Eastern Thibet. 



We now proceed to notice the mineral wealth of this 

 remarkable country. 



Pen, a carbonate of soda, is abundant south of the 

 Yaroo ; it appears in a whitish powder on the soil, never 

 in masses underground. It is not used for soap-making 

 or otherwise in the arts, but is always put into the water 

 when tea is made, and is much employed medicinally. 



Chulla, borax, is only obtained north of the Yaroo. 

 whence it is imported to other parts of Thibet, to India, 

 vid Nepaul, Sikkim, and Bootana, and thence to Calcutta 

 and Europe. 



Sicka, saltpetre, is abundantly manufactured in the 

 Cara Thibetan sheep-folds, where composts of sheep's 

 dun? and earth are found to produce it. 



Lencha, common salt, occurs in commerce in three forms, 

 viz. : Sercha, white and best ; Chania, reddish and good ; 

 and /'fwt/za, yellowish and bad, contamingsoda or magnesia 

 and earthy matter. All the salt used in Eastern Thibet 

 is the produce of the lakes and mines north of the Garoo, 

 or comes from Lache, a district between Digarchi and 

 Ladak. According to the best information, all the salt is 

 the produce of lakes, while some assert that it is dug out 

 of the earth. It is certain that the salt- producing districts 

 are all but inaccessible, and can only be traversed by men 

 and sheep ; and that their elevation prevents the working 

 from being carried on except in the warmer part of the 

 year, from April to November. Thousands of sheep are 

 employed in carrying the salt to places accessible to yaks, 

 the former animals carrying a load of 2olb. to 241b. on 

 open places, or of Sib. to lolb. in the rugged vicinity of 

 the deposits, whose elevation is not less than 22,000 

 feet, while the latter are capable of bearing a load of i6olb. 



Ser, gold, is found in the sands of a feeder of the Garoo, 

 on its northern side, but the name of the river could not 

 be ascertained by Dr. Campbell. The Garoo itself does 

 not yield any gold washings. Most of the gold of Thibet 

 is the produce of mines or diggings.* 



Pabea, the yellow arsenic of commerce, is found west of 

 Lassa, near the borders of China. 



There are no mines of iron, silver, copper, quicksilver, 

 lead, or coal in Thibet ; the latter substance is, however, 

 imported from China. 



The turquoise, real or artificial, is universally worn in 

 rings, necklaces, &c., and large, amber-like beads are a 

 favourite ornament ; but it is uncertain whether they are 

 natural products of Thibet. The latter are apparently 

 composed of turpentine mixed with some hardening 

 material. Numerous imitations of turquoise are imported 

 from China ; and real but not valuable stones are sent, 

 vid Cashmere (but from what locality is not stated). The 

 only test of a real stone that is resorted to by the Thibe- 

 tans is to make a fowl swallow it ; if real it will pass 

 through unchanged. 



In conclusion, we may add that Dr. Campbell's articles 

 in The Phanix contain much valuable matter on the 

 geography, the government, and army of Thibet, the 

 personal liabits, customs, and ceremonies of the Thibetans, 

 their religious festivals, the seasons, soil, and agriculture 

 of the country, the wages of labour, and the most pre- 

 valent diseases. Amongst " Things not generally known," 

 we may mention Goomtook, or 7"/;-? ta'ightna disease, which 

 consists of violent fits of laughter with excruciating pain 

 in the throat. It equally attacks men and women, and 

 often proves fatal m a few days. 



ON THE CAUSE OF FIXED BAROMETRIC 

 VARIATIONS 



THE chief difficulty in the way of explaining the an- 

 nual and diurnal variations of the barometer by the 

 heating and cooling of the air. appears to be the existence 

 of a double maximum and minimum. To show how such 

 a double maximum and minimum might result from the 



* Notices of the Thibetan Gold Mines may be found in several recent 

 numbers of the "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society." 



