184 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Aug. 



Khotan, which was formerly a province of China, is now indepen- 

 dent, the Mahomedan population of Yarkand, Khotan, Kashgar, 

 and other provinces of Central Asia having, in 1863, massacred all the 

 Chinese in those provinces, except a few who adopted the Mahomedan 

 religion. The population of Ilchi is about 40,000, and that of the 

 whole country of Kliotan about 250,000, the females preponderating 

 over the males to the extent of 20 per cent. They have a slight 

 Tartar cast of features, and speak the Turki language ; they appear 

 to be very strict religionists. 



The chief grains of the country are Indian corn, wheat, barley, 

 bajra, jowar, buckwheat and rice, all of which are superior to the 

 Indian grains, and of fine quality, the climate being mild and equable 

 in temperature, with moderate rain in slight showers occasionally. 

 The country is described as being superior to India, and equal to 

 Kashmir, over which it has the advantage of being less humid. 

 Cotton of good quality, and raw silk are produced in large quantities. 

 The principal forest trees are the poplar, willow and tamarisk, and 

 between Khotan and Aksti, for a distance of twelve marches, there is 

 such a dense forest of them, that travellers are said to have lost 

 themselves in it. The whole country is very rich in soil, and pro- 

 duces splendid grass, but the greater portion is waste, for want of 

 inhabitants, and the present produce is more than sufficient for the 

 wants of the population. 



The Khan of Khotan has an army of 6,000 infantry and 5,000 

 cavalry; and a large artillery force, commanded by the Khan's sons ' 

 and a Pathan from India. 



From Ilchi the author visited Kiria, about 40 miles east of Ilchi, 

 and the site of an old city near Urangkash, from which the brick tea 

 is exhumed. He met with great difficulty in taking observations 

 for fixing the latitude, as the Khan, although he offered no objection 

 to the use of the plane-table, was decidedly opposed to astronomical 

 observations, saying that his courtiers considered it might be prelimi- 

 nary to the country being taken possession of by the British Govern- 

 ment. The author was, however, invited to visit Yarkand and take 

 -si on of it in the name of the British Government, and was in- 

 formed that the inhabitants had clubbed together and collected three 

 Lakhs of rupees and khilats as a present, if he would take up the 



