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small islands and uniting again as it continues its course. 
On these islands, and along the river-banks, where now, in 
September, there were broad dry strips — the river-bed being 
far wider than the river, — the soil was sandy or gravelled. 
Here a characteristic thicket of small trees or large bushes 
was found. In some places it was so dense as to be almost 
impenetrable. This was often the condition along the arms 
of the river, which were like winding streets leading from 
one open square to another. Wild boars were common; we 
found many tracks, but caught not a single glimpse of the 
animal itself. The main plant in the thicket was Hippophaés 
rhamnoides, which grew 2—4 mètres tall, (greatest height 5 
métres,) bore ripe fruit, and, with its dense thorny branches, 
was the cause of the density of the thicket. Here, too, was 
Salix angustifolia var. carmanica, a tall narrow-leafed willow, 
bushlike in form, and about as tall as Hippophaés, or per- 
haps slightly taller. Tamarix sp., about 2 mètres tall, were 
also common. 
Climbing over these plants was Clematis orientalis var. 
acutifolia, very common. It was in fruit now, and the great 
masses of long white hairy styles covered the tops of the 
trees or bushes like a thick overhanging roof. 
The bottom of the thicket was almost bare. Only a few 
scattered species of herbaceous plants were observed: Crepis 
corniculata, Arnebia guttata, Salsola Kali, Polypogon mon- 
speliensis, Senecio pedunculatus, Artemisia sacrorum and Tourne- 
fortiana, Elymus dasystachys, Calamagrostis Epigejos, emodensis 
and pseudophragmites, Scirpus setaceus, Chenopodium glaucum 
and Botrys. — These were mostly annuals but with no spe- 
cially common characteristic, and presumably chance guests. 
Crepis corniculala is a sparsely-leafed hemicryptophyte, the 
Calamagrostis-species and Elymus dasystachys are large thri- 
ving grasses with horizontal runners. 
In the river valley in Wakhan there are many places 
with drifting sand. This was very fine and contained 
mica. There was not much of it, so the dunes were usually 
small, but were found in many places. Stones, worn by 
sand, were likewise common. After the plants growing 
in the sand and contributing to the formation of the dunes, 
8 
