Hassan Abdal, (_Abdal=_fanatic).
Hoopoe, Un-natural history of.
INSECTS, Of benign insects such as butterflies there are singularly few.
Both mosquitoes and flies are very troublesome during the hot weather in
the valley. Visits to native huts will probably lead to an introduction
to other insects. In India ants become a nuisance: I met with a foraging
party of extremely large and well-nourished ones as I entered my bath
place one morning. I recognised them for the descendants--decadent
somewhat--of the famous fellows who played Alberich to the Gold of
Hindostan and regarding which Herodotus (commonly known as the Father of
History, or of Lies, I forget which) asserted that they were of the
bigness of foxes and ran with incredible swiftness. He evidently got
this yarn from Pliny--
"Indicae Formicae.
Aurum ex cavernus egerunt terrae
Ipsis autem color Fehum magnitudo Aegypti Luporum"
(Lib. xi. ch. 31)--
and passed it on to Sir J. Maundevil, who swallowed it greedily. "Theise
pissmyres ben grete as houndes; so that no man dar come to the hilles,
for the pissmyres wolde assaylen hem and devouren hem" (ch. xxx) For the
wily method of catching the ants napping, together with other _contes
drolatiques_, read Maundevil's _Travels_.
Iris, (Kashmiri, _Krishm_) Succeeds the tulip and precedes the rose as
typical of Kashmirian Flora, is used as fodder, and the fibre makes
ropes, which are, however, not durable.
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