1 PESHAWER. 99
2 Court, Memoir on
3 of Afghanistan, a very fertile and valuable territory, lyi0g 4 'sa0 of peshe-
4 between the Indus above and below Attock and the Khyber pig Hie Ase
5 : eo A ubul, 55;
6 mountains, through which is the great Khyber pass. It is sei Bal ‘Afg.
7 bounded on the north by Suwat and the region lying between it ei 1313
8 . oorcr. Punj.
9 and the Indus—on the east, by part of the last-mentioned ter- Bokh. ii.s37;
10 ritory, the Indus, and the territory of the independent Afghans resin. Por
11 holding the Salt or Kala range—on the south, by the possessions 14. Bokh.t. 86;
12 1.319; Id. Pers.
13 of the same Afghans, and on the west, by the Khyber moun- Narr. 112; Wood,
14 tains and the Afghan province of Jelalabad. It lies between lat. ee aati
15 7 ; ‘orster, Jour.
16 33° 27’ and 34 °22’, and long. 71° 29’ and 72°12’. In the extent Beng. Box. il 56
17 here assigned to this territory, it is sixty-five miles long, fifty rape ene
18 miles broad, and about one thousand eight hundred square miles pried
19 in extent. Its climate is very hot in summer, the thermometer Atkinson, Exp.
20 frequently reaching 110° or 112° in the shade. The heat, how- Baber, Kreme,
21 ever, is occasionally mitigated by the breezes from the neighbour- °°2*°%-
22 ing mountains, and as the country, naturally fertile, is well
23 watered by the Indus, the Kabool river, the Bara, and some other
24 streams of less ihportance, and is, moreover, well cultivated, it
25 is amazingly productive. The water is applied to the purposes of
26 cultivation by means of canals and innumerable small channels,
27 from whence it is drawn up by means of a pole having a fulcrum in
28 the middle and a bucket suspended at one end, whichis raised by
29 the hand pressing the other end; or where the depth is too great
30 for this mode of operation, the water is obtained by the use of the
31 Persian wheel, worked by camels or bullocks. Here, water is in
32 general too near the surface to require the use of the draw-well.
33 In consequence of this abundant supply, the country continues
34 verdant during the whole year.2 There are two regular and prin- ? Burnes 1.826,
35 cipal harvests in the year, and generally of crops completely dis-
36 tinct in their kind. The first,? called rubbee, sown in autumn and
37 the beginning of winter, is cut in spring (about the end of April),
38 and consists chiefly of wheat, barley, and pulse of various kinds,
39 usually the staple crops of cooler climates. The second, or khuseef,
40 is sown as soon as the other has been cleared away, and is reaped
41 in autumn, the produce being rice,4 maize, millet, and various
42 other crops proper to hot climates. Peshawer produces the finest
43 rice in the world. It is called Bara rice, because grown on ground
44 irrigated by that river, and Runjeet Singh, ever watchful to se-
45 cure to himself the best of every thing prized by man, exacted part
46 of his tribute in this valued article. Esculent vegetables are cul-
47 H2
48 3 Irvin, ix. 89.
49 4 Elph. 300.