311 
DISCOVERY OF THE 
This extension broiight Russia in contact 
v?ith the Kirgis Tartars, generally called 
Cossacks, the naost powerful of all the tribes 
of Khorasan. After several years’ war, 
peace was concluded in the latter part of the 
reign of Catherine the 2d, and the tribes 
were allowed to pasture their cattle in the 
mountains forming the Russian boundary, 
on acknowledging the sovereignty of that 
power, which is content with a nominal rule, 
and the right of confirming the election of 
the Khan, They voluntarily furnished 5,000 
horse during the French invasion, and, in 
the days of their power (they have not now 
halfthat number), counted 200,000 tents. To 
the west and north of the lake of Aral are 
the Kara Kalpaks, or black cap Tartars, 
by whom the greater part of the Russian 
subjects are carried off and sold as slaves in 
Khiva ; they profess themselves under the 
rule of Russia. To the south of these are 
the Aral Tartars, extending to Khiva ; an<l 
the Persian Turkomans, who are not nu- 
merous and always live in fear of their more 
powerful neighbours. The whole of these are 
wandering tribes, but they cultivate a small 
part of their lands, which in many places are 
far from being barren deserts. 
To the east of the Aral lake are several 
small states of the Usbecks, who pride them- 
selves on being the descendants of Gengis and 
Timur ; some of these are within .the Chinese 
territory, which, notwithstanding its reported 
weakness, is gradually extending in this di- 
rection. The most powerful is Kashgar, from 
whence there is a direct communication with 
Cashmeer and Bengal, across the great Hin- 
du Cush and Tibet. I have seen a Russian 
Armenian subject who had made several jour- 
neys to both places. 
Kokhan, or more properly Koo-Khan (the 
Lord of the mountains ), has several consider- 
able towns, and a great number of villages, 
with fixed inhabitents, along the Sir Derria 
river and its branches. The chief of this 
country exercises a great influence over all the 
mountain tribes of the Ala I'aug. The Chinese 
are pressing on his independence, and he will 
probably soon be subject to that empire. 
Badakshan is frequently, but improperly, 
included among the Tartar states, and has 
sometimes made nominal submission to Bok- 
hara and Cabsel. The nature of their country, 
which is extremely mountainous and diffi- 
cult, protects them from foreign invasion. 
Through it lies a good summer road to Cash- 
meer, which caravans from Bokhara iienerally 
take. The people generally speak 'I'urkish, 
but they more resemble Afghans than Tar- 
tars, and are extremely bigoted, and unfriend- 
ly to strangers ; they may amount to 30,000 
families and are celebrated as very brave 
infantry, of which their force is almost en- 
tirely compose;^. Merchants give them a 
good character f^or honesty.” 
We must her0 conclude : in our next, we 
shall give our author’s opinion on the ques- 
tion of the Russian invasion of India. 
GENUINE TEA PLANT. 
Art. III. — Discovery of the Genuine Tea 
Plant in Upper Assam. 
Memorandum of an Excursion to the Tea 
Hills, which produce the description of 
Tea known in Commerce under the de- 
signation of Ankoy Tea. By G. J. 
Gordon, Esq. 
Journal of an attempted Ascent of the 
river Min, to visit the Tea Plantations 
of the Fukhin Province of China. By 
G. J. Gordon, Esq., Secretary, Tea 
Committee. — Journal of the Asiatic 
Society of Bengal. 
The above articles open with a corres- 
pondence of the Tea Committee to the Go- 
vernment of India. The first are reports from 
Capt. Jenkins and Lieut. Charlton, for- 
warding samples of the fruit and leaves of the 
tea plant of Upper Assam which proved be- 
yond doubt that the tea shrub is indigenous 
in Upper Assam, being found from Sadiya 
and Beesa to the Chinese frontier province 
of Yunnan, where the shrub is cultivated for 
the sake of the leaf. This discovery, the 
most important and valuable yet made in 
matters connected with the agricultural or 
commercial resources of this empire, the 
Tea Committee ascribe to the indefatigable 
researches of the two officers, the authors of 
the reports to which we have alluded. The 
Committee, however, add that they were 
acquainted with the fact so far back as 
18|6. The late Dr. David Scott sent down 
from Munipore specimens of the leaves of a 
shrub which he insisted was the real tea. 
We beg also en passant to observe that we 
found precisely the same tea at Sandoway 
in Arracan in 1827 specimens of the leaves, 
and a plant in its natural soil, we forwarded 
from that place for the Governor General’s 
garden at Barrackpore. Our report at that 
time was considered to be of sufficient im- 
portance to induce Lord Amherst to place 
it on the public records, and to forward a 
copy for the information of the Hon’ble 
the Court of Directors. 
The Tea Committee go on to observe that 
it was known to them that several species of 
camellia w^ere natives of the mountains of 
