1 I
2 VEGETABLES. X4S
3 blance to that lait maitioii«d» and wfakh I hsve nerer faevd of bnl
4 Bi A%haMnirtainn. Pigeons, dovwt eR>w% qniioira, &c are aamMm
5 to all countries ; cuckoos, which are rare, and magpies, which are uh>
6 known in India» are abundant in the cold climates of Afghaunistum,
7 while peacokS) so common in India, are there only to be found do-
8 meaCkated as in England ; and parrots and njnaa (Coraciaa Indica)
9 are only found in the east '
10 Hie reptiles do not call for much notice. The snakes are mostly
11 innocent ; the scorpions of Pcshawer are notorious for their size and
12 venom, yet their bite is seldom or never fatal. I have not heard
13 much of the fishes of the country. Hiere are no crocodile. Xurtlea
14 are comintm, as are tortoises.
15 Greut tiigbts of locusts are not of frequent occurrence, yet the lew
16 famines that have been felt in Khorassaun, were occasioned by their
17 devastations. Bees are comnmn in tliej*e countries, especially to tlie
18 eaiit of the range ol ISolimaun, but are domesticated in Cashmeer
19 alone. Mosquitoes are less troublesome than in India, except in
20 Seestaun, where they are very formidable : the inlialjitants are there
21 obliged to iiave mosquitoe curtains, as in Bengal ; and either these
22 animals, or a sort of gad-fly, often harrass horses till they pine aiid die. '
23 It is still more difficult to give an account of the vegetables than of
24 the animals, when neither have been examine by any person con-
25 venant'whli natmal histoiy. Of the great number of trees unknit>vm
26 m Europe, vMdi are common in India, very few ne to be (bond east
27 of the nmge of Solimaun* and perhaps none west; on .tbe other
28 handy many of our own European trees are common in
29 atann* imdmoat of our fineqt Ihuts grow wild in diflbrent parts of^ihaft
30 country. These are also common m gardens and ofchaids. Th^
31 commonest trees in ihe mountains are pines of diflkent kinds* one of
32 wludi, the Jdgoosdif is remaikabSe for cones larger dian artkiiofcesi
33 and containing seeds resembling pistachio nota. Two kinds of. oaks
34 (one of which is that cslled by botanists Qncieus Bdoot*) oedaia^
35 - • . .. — ...
36 * I have taken ail the botoaicai names I huvc had occasion to use from Dr. Hiui-' -
37 flu's HufddoiiMiiee IMetiaavj, - ■
38 Digitized by Google