resident, a young Italian merchant who traded in Valonia, and who dined with us and a Turkish officer in the khan. A hot south wind was blowing all the afternoon, which made travelling unpleasant for the first time since I started from Macri.
On April 15th and 16th, I had a long ride down a level valley, well cultivated with barley, and arrived after dark at a poor guard-house where I passed the night. I found some plants of interest, including still another species of Fritillary. I did not succeed in reaching Aidin, which is reckoned at twenty-four hours from Mughla, and slept in a factory on the bank of a river, where I saw a pair of the Great Spotted Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis. The next day I started early and got into Aidin in time to catch the train to Smyrna, whence I intended to go by the Austrian steamer to Constantinople. She was so crowded that I accepted Mr. Whittall’s invitation to stay with him at Burnabat and wait for the French steamer on the 19th. But as she left before her regular time I missed her also, and I determined to spend the short time I had left in a trip to Cassaba and to return home via Brindisi.
I left by the afternoon train to Magnesia (Manisa). There I had to sleep in the waiting-room at the station, but I got a very fair dinner at a cookshop in the bazaar, consisting of kabobs, pilau and yaoort (sour curds and cream), for the small sum of two piastres—fivepence. The next day I started early up the mountain which lies above Magnesia, and which on the lower slopes is a garden of vines, figs, apples, pears and cherries. The blossom on these, mixed with scattered Judas trees in full flowei, was most lovely. Wild flowers were also numerous and I saw Peonies, Aubrietia and Alyssus in full bloom, whilst higher up quantities of Snowdrops, Crocus, Scillas, Ornithogalum, Anemone blanda and Chionodoxa made a lovely spring garden. Near the top, at about 4,500 feet, snow was still lying in patches among the scattered pines, but was melting very fast under a hot sun. I shot the rufous Desert Buzzard, Buteo desertorum , and saw Laemmergeyer, Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, as well as several of those beautiful little Falcons, F. Elornis , hawking about for insects in a strong wind. Rock martins and blue thrushes, warblers and pied wheatears (Saxicola Stapazina) were the common birds. I got back after a walk of nine hours in time for the afternoon train to Cassaba, where I was hospitably received by Mr. Hutchinson, the engineer in charge of the extension to Alashehr which was to be opened in a few months.
On April 21st I went up the line on an engine as far as the line was open to Salikly, about twenty-five miles from Cassaba, I intended to ride on to Alashehr, but could get no horses as at this season it is the Turkish custom to turn most of their horses out to grass and give them a two months’ rest. I therefore determined to go up into the Bozdagh mountains, which run parallel to the line on the south of it and attain about 6,000 feet. The plain through which the line runs is very fertile and grows large crops of corn, cotton and tobacco; but that year both crops and stock had suffered much from the unusually hard winter. The lower slopes of the mountain are of hard red or whitish gravel, much cut up and worn by water into steep ridges and gullies, and as they were very dry
