osquitoes and
sandflies add to the unpleasant features of the hot weather. The best
known insect pest is the locust, but visitations on a large scale are
rare. Of late years much more damage has been done by an insect which
harbours in the cotton bolls.

[Illustration: Fig. 24. Big game in Ladakh.

KEY: 1, 3, 7, 9, Chiru or Tibetan Antelope. 2, Argali or Ovis Ammon. 4,
6, 8, Bharal or Ovis nahura. 5, Yak or Bos grunniens. 10, 11, 12, Urial
or Ovis Vignei. 13, Bear skin.]

~Game of the Mountains.~--If sport in the plains has ceased to be first
rate, it is otherwise in the hills. Some areas and the heights at which
the game is to be found are noted below:

(_a_) Goats and goat-antelopes:

1. Ibex (Capra Sibirica) 10,000-14,000 ft.
Kashmir, Lahul, Bashahr.

2. Markhor (Capra Falconeri). Kashmir, Astor,
Gilgit, Suliman hills.

3. Thar (Hemitragus jemlaicus), 9000-14,000
ft. Kashmir, Chamba.

4. Gural (Cemas goral), 3000-8000 ft. Kashmir,
Chamba, Simla hills, Bashahr.

5. Serow (Nemorhaedus bubalinus), 6000-12,000
ft. From Kashmir eastwards.

(_b_) Sheep:

1. Bharal (Ovis nahura), 10,000-12,000 ft. and
over. Ladakh, Bashahr.

2. Argali (Ovis Ammon). Ladakh.

3. Urial (Ovis Vignei) Salt Range, Suliman
hills.

(_c_) Antelopes:

1. Chiru or Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni).
Ladakh.

(_d_) Oxen--Yak (Bos grunniens). Ladakh. The
domesticated _yak_ is invaluable as a beast of
burden in the Trans-Himalayan tract. The
royal fly whisk or _chauri_ is made from pure
white yak tails.

[Illustration: Fig. 25. Yaks.]

(_e_) Stag:

1. Barasingha (Cervus Duvanceli). Foot of
Himalaya in Kashmir.

(_f_) Bears:

1. Red or Brown (Ursus Arctos), 10,000-13,000
ft. Kashmir, Chamba, Bashahr, etc.

2. Black (Ursus torquatus), 6000-12,000 ft.
Same regions, but at lower elevations.
The small bear of the southern Suliman
hills known as _mam_ is now considered a
variety of the black bear.

(_g_) Leopards:

1. Snow Leopard (Felis Uncia), 9000-15,000 ft.
Kashmir, Chamba, Bashahr.

2. Ordinary Leopard (Felis Pardus). Lower
hills.

SHOOTING IN HILLS

~Shooting in Hills.~--The finest shooting in the north-west Himalaya is
probably to be got in Ladakh and Baltistan, but the trip is somewhat
expensive and requires more time than may be available. In many areas
licenses have to be obtained, and the conditions limit the numb