1859.] Notes on Kdjiristan. £29 



wood for building purposes. Pine slips are generally used instead 

 of lamps and torches. 



The fruits are produced in great quantities and of fine flavour ■ 

 consisting of grapes of several kinds, pears, apples, apricots, 

 plums of two or three species, peaches, nectarines, figs, wild 

 walnuts, quinces, pomegranates and mulberries. The whole of 

 these are chiefly grown in the sheltered valleys to the south. There 

 are a few others growing wild, such as the amluk (a species of Dios- 

 pyros), pistali (Pistacia Lentiscus), the seed of the chilghozah 

 (species of pine), etc. 



Numerous wild flowers, indigenous to these regions, grow in the 

 hills; and in the valleys, the gul i-nargis or narcissus, is to be found 

 in infinite numbers. 



Minerals and Metals. 



With regard to the mineral productions of these parts, it will be 

 necessary to notice the regions of Hindu Kush generally. 



The more elevated regions of Central Asia have ever been famous 

 for the prodigious abundance of the precious metals, whether in 

 ancient or in modern times — under the rule of the Medes and 

 Persians, the Arabians, or the Moghals — as corroborated by every 

 writer from Herodotus downwards ; and the proof's of these facts, 

 are so well and so fully authenticated, as to leave no room for any 

 reasonable doubts on the matter.* 



As far as we know hitherto, mountainous regions appear to be 

 exclusively productive of gold and silver, from whence a great pro- 

 portion is washed down by the violence of the periodical rains and 

 melting of the snows, and deposited in the sandy beds of rivers. 



The more western parts of the Asiatic continent appear to be but 

 sparingly possessed of these metals, which are the more abundant 

 towards the east. The regions I here more particularly refer to, 

 comprise the ranges of the Hindu Kush ; the table-land of Pamir, 

 separating Badakhshau from China and Kashmir — the probable seat 

 of the old Medo -Persian race — and enclosing within its limits 

 Kafiristan ; Upper and Lower Kashkar ; the petty states north of, 

 and in, the upper valley of the Oxus or Panj ; together with Grilgifet ; 



* liicEitEN's Asiatic Nations. Vol. I. pp. 26. 



