REPORT ON A BOTANICAL TOUR IN KASHMIR, 1893. 
43 
ous elevations. The following vernacular names are used i-— Yihr*^ 
(Sind valley), bium'^ (Astor district), ^^chakma” (Satpur valley 
near Skdrdu), chanmar (Shingo valley, Baltistdn). 
Sambucus Ehulus^ Z..— (Dwarf elder).— A common weed near vil- 
lages in the Sind, Liddar, and other valleys of Kashmir. 
Saussurea Lappa^ Clarke ; Vern. hut — Kashmir forests 
from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Abundant in the Sind and Burzil valleys, 
Setaria italica^ Beauv.— In the Naltar valley, north of Gilgit : 
this crop is called 
Spirosa hypericifolia^ L. ; vern." “ ” (Baltist^n), tabalgoV* 
(Astor district). — Although not included ifT the “Flora of British 
India/' the economic value of this shrub ^ as yielding excellent 
material for small walking sticks has long been known to sportsmen 
in Baltistan, whose shikaris never fail to collectv a supply. My 
friend^ Captain Hunter-Weston, brought back flowering specimens 
collected in Baltistan in 1890, by means of which the plant was 
identified. I have since collected it on the Kdjn^g range, in the 
Satpur valiey above Skdrdu, in the Ditchell valley above Gudhai, 
and more recently in the Burzil valley near Bangla. The wood is 
very hard, with smooth reddish-brown persistent bark. 
Stipa sibirica^ Lamk.— This, which is known as the poisonous 
grass of Kashmir, is very abundant in some of the valleys, especially 
on the outskirts of the forests at an elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 
It occurs also in other parts of the Tiimalaya ; and on the Black moun- 
tain in Hazara it was the cause of much sickness amongst the bag- 
gage ponies during the expedition of 1888. The direct cause of its 
injurious effects on animals has not- yet been conclusively shown. 
Some attribute it to a narcotic principle inherent ii; the plant, whilst 
others affirm that it acts mechanically as an irritant, and is not in any 
way chemically poisonous. Dr. Aitchison, who has given much atten- 
tion to the subject, and has witnessed many cases of ponies having been 
poisoned by eating this giaiss, believes that the symptoms are produced 
by some kind of narcotic poison. A common remedy in Kashmir for 
this complaint, Dr. Aitchison tells me, is to hold the animal’s head in 
the smoke of a fire, in order to produce a discharge from the nostrils, 
after which the dangerous symptoms disappear, and the animal recovers 
consciousness. In addition to this treatment, vin*“gar and sour 
apples are sometimes given. The cattle of the country do not of their 
own accord eat this grass during the spring and summer, but in the 
autumn, Dr. Aitchison says, they do eat it. If this be so, it tells 
somewhat against the idea of the plant possessing only mechanically 
irritant properties, for during the autumn months the rough awns 
of the spikelets are fully developed. 
