Fuly 9, 1885] 
NATURE 
BUF 
beautiful colour of the fruit is much helped out by alles thirty-five species—a second Arum; a Prunus; an 
splendid green of the leaf background. There are, one 
may almost say, no leaves on the flowering stem—one or 
two most minute. I measured one of the largest on the 
ground : it was 4 feet from the base to apex and 5 feet 
across ; the other two with this one were a little smaller ; 
the three together gave ita very curious look. I hope soon 
to get the seeds home. I have collected a good deal of 
the root; it is called “ Fool’s Rhubarb” owing to its 
purgative qualities, and curiously enough the fruit is em- 
ployed in preference to the root as a purgative, given as a 
decoction. With the exception of an occasional woody 
shrub that may rise to five feet, the place was covered 
with a species of Artemisia (probably several) about 2 feet 
high, and occasional Umbelliferze. There were no trees 
of any sort: these are only to be found in the river bed 
—viz. Populus euphratica, and two species of Tamarisk 
and a Lycium. At Toman-dghd, in the bed of the 
river, was a woody salsolaceous shrub which I do not 
know. I got good specimens of the wood and flowering 
branches. 
I left Toman-4gha on the 28th, passing the remains of 
some old ruins two miles from my encampment, and 
turned east by north towards “ Galicha” (a carpet). As 
we marched along, fancy crossing the markings of two 
pairs of carriage wheels! These had been made some 
months ago by the carriage of a Persian Prince who had 
come to our camp at Gulran to be doctored. The route 
lay now across towards the base of the Paropamissus 
range over a most extensive plain on which the attraction 
was a miniature forest of a species of Umbelliferze, ex- 
cessively like, but not the, Assafcetida. This was in full 
bloom, the stem and flowers being at first all of a light 
orange yellow; as the fruit ripens, the whole colour 
changes to a russet brown. Each flowering stem is from 
3 to 5 feet high, and there are usually 50 plants to 100 
yards square, the interspaces being altogether filled up by 
a grass of a foot in height. On the 29th, left Galicha for 
the Kambao Pass to enable me to cross through the 
range. Our march lay over a plain the continuation of 
that of yesterday, and which from its extent is lost to the 
sight. This is celebrated as the plain of the wild donkey, 
and here I counted sixteen herds of at least 10,000 in 
each. The nearest was a mile off, and their presence was 
recognised by a cloud of dust rising in a swirl on their 
galloping—like the smoke from the chimney of a steamer. 
It was a most extraordinary sight, watching these clumps 
moving from place to place. They are occasionally shot 
and eaten. J forgot to tell you that, except my own 
party, there was probably not a human being within thirty 
miles of us. The country has #o inhabitants, and until 
the nomads turn up with their flocks from the lower 
regions it is a desolation. The last part of our march 
was for six miles within the ridges of the base of the hills, 
and here in the stream beds Tamarisk was the only (woody) 
shrub. I halted some five miles to the west of the pass, 
hoping to make a great haul on the 30th. From the 
moment of entering these valleys they seem a mass of 
colour—one from buttercups (one species only), another 
from a poppy; the bed of the stream purple with 
a tall onion, and the interstices green with one grass. 
I had previously got most of the things so promising 
here, but saw signs of getting into a very fine new 
lot. On the morning of the 30th a regular hurri- 
cane of wind blew from the north, so that I thought 
the best plan would be to move my camp across the pass, 
and get a better and more sheltered locality. I just 
managed to get to the north-east side, when it ad come 
down—such a torrent! but as all preparations had been 
made we were comfortable ; had I remained on we must 
have been swept out of our old camp. 
May 1 proved a most superb morning, so I was up and 
out at 6 a.m., went straight back to my old encampment 
on the west side, and from there collected back. I got 
Eleagnus, of which I sent you the fruit last year; one 
Pistachia bush, a large number of Astragali, which I feel 
sure will stump Baker ; a curious Rubiaceous shrub, a fine 
Orobanche, only five grasses, and a most lovely everlasting 
pea, like the ordinary English cultivated one, only dwarf. 
I believe everything here is dwarfed by exposure to the 
winds. You cannot understand the difficulty I have with 
it in collecting. To save my plants at all, 1 have to put 
them a¢ once into paper. It takes three of us to do this, 
and not allow paper or plants to blow away. I must say 
it does not improve one’s temper. 
I got one or two species of a very nice Gentian 
like Gentiana Kurroo of Royle, the altitude of 
Hari-rtid River, 2000 feet; Kambao Pass, west side, 
2900 feet; pass itself, 3550 feet; Kambao on north- 
east, 3250 feet. Nota fern of any sort, not even Ophio- 
glossum, which I looked upon as a certain find. I spent 
my second day—viz. May 2—at the camp on the north-east 
side of pass ; here there is a fine hawthorn, from which I 
collected flowers in bud on the 1st. Along the whole of 
this range, well within it, where the water is. sweet and 
the air cool, the hawthorn, a common plum, and Amyg- 
dalus eburnea, are more or less plentiful. I picked up an 
Oxygraphis, and a very pretty geranium with a most 
curious potato-like root, only the tubers are heaped up on 
each other when there is more than one toa plant. You 
know they made me naturalist, so, in addition to collect- 
ing plants, I have to shoot poor little birds, and I hate it. 
I got two bee-eaters, the one more lovely than the other, 
and a nightingale. 
On the 3rd I marched to a place 8 miles nearer our 
first Gulran encampment. I had picked up most of the 
cream, and there was not much, except additions in the 
way of fruiting species, tobe made. This I did, and got 
a venomous snake which may be a cobra—all but walked 
on to him—5 feet long and 6 inches at his thickest, fangs 
three-quarters of an inch; a most unpleasant fellow to 
meet. I shot him, and after fancying I had killed him, 
cut off his head and neck to keep (I could not keep his 
whole body), when lo! his body, minus his head, walked 
off searching for escape, the head trying to fang its own 
neck. 
On the 4th I moved still east-by-north some 12 miles to 
our first encampment at Gulran. .I got some nice things 
en route, and had just ticketed and arranged them pre- 
paratory to great work for the morrow, when in came a 
letter from Sir Peter Lumsden telling me to return at 
once. Alas for my great expectations! I packed up, 
and we moved camp at 2 a.m. on the 5th, marched up 
the valley, passing our second Gulran encampment, and 
on south to the east-by-north side of the Chashma-sabz 
Pass. I had no time to halt and collect. I passed a 
Gladiolus and an immense number of things. On the 
pass I collected the “ Siah-chot,” which is to me, in all 
probability, Cotoneaster nummularia. 1 had collected 
its fruit and sent it to you from these very bushes. I got 
it in this pass last year. It is from this shrub that “ Shir- 
Khist,” the manna of these parts, is collected. I have 
sent you a bottle of it packed amongst some other things. 
They have two other kinds—one from a Tamarisk and 
the other from Alhagi. I myself collected it from a 
Salsola. I got across the pass by 2 p.m.; halted until 
8 p.m. and got into Tir-Phul at 8 a.m., the camels at 
1o a.m. of the 6th; did 60 miles in 34 hours—good going 
for camels, and men more or less on foot. 
I am glad I am in, because my plants had to be looked 
to. I got, as I said before, 100 species in this tour, not 
less than 1200 specimens. It is much harder work than 
Kurram; the fact is, I am not younger, and my back 
wants a good deal of oiling. 
Yours very truly, 
J. E. T. AITCHISON 
