AFGHAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION. 195 



species, of which 32 were new, belonging to 210 genera. One of the 

 most interesting was the Mlobius fuscicapillus, a curious bull-clog 

 headed mole-like rat with enormous incisor teeth. The whole of the 

 Badghiz east of the Hari-Rud was in many places perforated like a 

 sponge from the burrowing of this and other rodents, making it very 

 unsafe to ride over. Another point of importance is the extension 

 of the geographical range of Felis tigris in Afghanistan as far east 

 and north as Bala-murghab, and that of the hunting leopard (Felis 

 j'ubata) to the valley of the Herirud. A specimen of each is in 

 the Zoological Society's Gardens in London. 



The botanical researches during the progress of the Commission 

 also fell to the care of Dr. Aitchison, and his observations thereon 

 are likewise recorded in the Transactions of the Linnean Society. * 

 He divides the country which was traversed into seven natural 

 sections or regions, as represented by its physical features, viz. : 

 Northern Baluchistan ; the valley of the Helmand, from Hadj-ali 

 to the Hamun of the Helmand river ; the basin of the Harut, from 

 the Hamun of the Helmand to Pahir ; the valley of the Hari 

 Eud ; the Badghiz district ; Mount Do-shakk and Khorasan. 

 Dr. Aitchison's generalizations are that the flora of North-western 

 Afghanistan differs much from the typical 'flora of Eastern 

 Afghanistan, so graphically described by Hooker and Thompson 

 in their introductory essay to the Xi Flora Indica," and that this 

 difference is due to climatic conditions. The winter is much more 

 severe and of longer duration ; in spring the persistence of damp 

 and cold is also more prolonged ; while the summer, though 

 short, is intensely hot during the months of July and August. 

 There is no mountain range to the north, moreover, to afford shelter 

 from the continuous blasts of winter cold and hot dry air of 

 summer ; so with such climatic conditions, cultivation below an 

 altitude of 3,500 feet is impossible without the aid of irrigation or 

 under the mitigatory influence of a river. Dr. Aitchison's collec- 

 tion consisted of oriental flora, with a considerable admixture of 

 Siberian and Central Asiatic types ; there are also a few Western 

 Himalayan or Tibetan plants, and a very limited number common 

 to the Punjab and Sincl regions. 



* 2nd Ser. Botany, Vol. III., Part 1, April 1888. 



N 2 



