1 B&M Nanak. 13
2 highly fertile. The central and higher portions of
3 the doabs which, thanks to artificial irrigation, we
4 now number amongst the great wheat-fields of the
5 empire, were, in earlier days, little better than arid
6 wastes, where grass and thorny bushes, struggling
7 through the sand, afforded fuel for the inhabitants
8 and a scanty pasture for their herds of camels, goats,
9 and buffaloes. The climate of these regions is one
10 of extremes. In winter the cold is more severe
11 than in almost any other part of India, while in the
12 hot weather the thermometer frequently rises to
13 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
14 The upper belt of the doabs is the richest portion
15 of the Punjab. The soil is fertile, and the rainfall
16 abundant ; vegetation is, in consequence, luxuriant,
17 and cultivation of every kind flourishes. Valleys
18 rich as that of Kangra slope down from the moun-
19 tains, green in the spring with grass, and in
20 summer with rice. On these terraces plants of all
21 latitudes find a home, and wheat and barley grow
22 with the mulberry, the tea plant, and the vine.
23 Amongst the other products of this salubrious region
24 may be mentioned barley, sugar, saffron, and indigo ;
25 the mountains themselves produce drugs, dyes, and
26 many varieties of fruit, while they abound in copper
27 and iron ore, and contain extensive deposits of rock
28 salt.
29 The inhabitants of the Punjab consist mainly of
30 three races — the Jats, the Rajputs, and the Pathans,
31 each split up into many tribes and classes. All the
32 Pathans are Muhammadans, and nearly all the Jats
33 are either Hindus or Sikhs. Amongst the Rajputs