38 — 
In Alitshur-Pamir, southeast of the eastern end of Jashil 
Kul, at an altitude of 4,100 mètres is the little lake, Tuz 
Kul (the name means salt lake) It is grouped with other 
tiny lakes on a wide plain which is nearly as barren and 
desolate as that near Kara Kul. The surface of this plain, 
brown in colour, and either very stony and gravelly, or clayey, 
undulates gently and is so destitute of plant life that seen 
from a neighbouring mountain it appears quite bare. Portions 
are white with salt. In many places one can go 200 steps 
without finding a single plant. Vegetation is practically only 
found in the flat hollows and consists of groups of Eurotia 
ceratoides, Stipa orientalis, and Oxytropis Poncinsü. Only 
in the deepest hollows into which sand has drifted are 
other species to be found; Solenanthus stylosus, Polygonum 
paronychioides. Paracaryum himalayense (?), Halogeton glo- 
meratus, Christolea crassifolia (one of the most common), 
flowering Linaria hepatica, Silene caucasica, Atriplex sp., 
Serratula procumbens, Crepis flexuosa, single specimens of 
Acantholimon diapensioides, Cousinia rava, and the little 
annual, Senecio coronopifolius. Halogeton, Christolea and Atri- 
plex would indicate salt in the soil. The plants grow in 
recesses especially in those on slopes having a northeastern 
and northern exposure, presumably a question of shade or 
in any case of shelter, for here sand has formed drifts 
grayish white and glistening with mica. The plain is swept 
clean; only stones and gravel remain, or clay in the clayey 
parts, seeming to indicate that wind is the hindering factor. 
In the country about Tuz Kul there were many fea- 
tures of great interest even though they were not of a bo- 
tanical nature. As the author is no geologist he will not 
enter into details about these matters but briefly describe con- 
ditions as they are. 
In a hollow, white with salt, there were pools of water, 
from these a stripe of damp soil free from salt extended 
downhill. In a couple of places water oozed slowly up from 
the ground, which in a circumference of 20—30 cm was a 
veritable mud-pie. Probably the pools were caused by 
water oozing up, there is most likely a layer containing 
