1 4 Moorer.i. 209.
2 5 Bot. of Hima-
3 laya, 315.
4 6 Moorer. i, 305.
5 7 Yd. i. 288, 292;
6 Royle, 230; As.
7 Jour. June, 1825,
8 p.798, Lindley,
9 on the Prangos
10 Hay Plant.
11 8 LADAKH.
12 a tree, attaining a height of forty feet and a diameter of a foot,
13 with leaves like those of the myrtle, minute flowers of exquisite
14 a re Ty fruit the size of an olive, of a cream colour, passing
15 into yellow fr orange from exposure to the sun, and containing
16 a stone enveloped in a mealy pulp, palatable and wholesome.
17 This pulp, when fermented, yields by distillation a spirituous
18 liquor, generally preferred to brandy.4 There are ten varieties of
19 apricot, some of very fine flavour, others unpalatable except
20 when dried in the sun; in which state they continue unchanged
21 for years, and are considered an acceptable article of diet. Apple-
22 trees abound and bear large quantities of fine fruit. A prickly
23 bush grows wild in a great many places, and bears a profusion of
24 small acid berries. The rhubarb of medicine grows in vast pro-
25 fusion and of the finest quality. Dr. Royle mentions it in the fol-
26 lowing terms:5—‘‘ Mr. Moorcroft sent some rhubarb, which for
27 compactness of texture, colour, and properties, was as fine as
28 any I have ever seen.” Its botanical character has not been
29 strictly determined, though mentioned by writers under the
30 name of Rheum Moorcroftianum. Dr. Royle distinguishes it from
31 both R. Emodiand R. spiciforme. However luxuriant the vegeta-
32 tion of the plant, the root is always found partially decayed, without
33 the medicinal qualities of the sound part being from this cause in
34 apy respect impaired.6 The western part of Ladakh produces an
35 umbelliferous plant, called by the natives prangos (Prangos pabula-
36 ria), and considered by Moorcroft superior for fodder to almost any
37 other used for the purpose in any part of the world. The root
38 is perennial, the leaves two feet long, and the stem five or six feet
39 high. The whole of these are cut, dried, and used as fodder,
40 which, though heating, is highly nutritious and strengthening.
41 It grows on the barrenest and bleakest ground, and yields the
42 enormous quantity of nine tons of fodder to the acre.?, The Long-
43 ma, or sand-grass of Ladakh, rises from six to twelve inches above
44 the ground, and forming an intricate network of stalks and fibres
45 above and below the sandy surface, thus protects itself from being
46 blown away by the violent winds which prevail. It has along root,
47 which strikes downward so deep, that its lower extremity cannot
48 be reached by digging. The leaf is stiff and harsh, with sharp
49 edges, and though not relished by cattle as long as other food is
50 procurable, proves highly invigorating when they are compelled by
51 necessity to resort to it. This appears to be the principal food of the