THE KTTBAM VALLEY, ETC., AFGHANISTAN. 23 



of Katskalle at the mouth of the gorge were losing their crops from 

 deficiency of water. 



In the Kuram district, as elsewhere stated, two crops are ob- 

 tained during the year — the first consisting of barley, clover, and 

 wheat, the second of rice and Indian corn. Rice taking a longer 

 time to mature, rotates with barley and clover, both of which 

 are early and quick crops. Indian corn follows wheat. The 

 natives manure their fields well, the cow-dung not being, as in 

 India, employed as fuel. Rice is the staple crop, and is not 

 cultivated above 7500 feet. The germination of rice-seed in 

 the seed-nurseries is supposed to be hastened by shading with 

 the young branches of Adhatoda Vascia and Sophora mollis. 

 The next crop in importance to rice is, I think, Indian corn, 

 as the people of these parts prefer the bread made from it to 

 that of wheat, and which is always made with ferment — a custom 

 which does not obtain to the east of the Indus. I think there 

 is good reason for their preference, as Indian corn-flour is always 

 pure, whereas the wheat-flour of the country is half rye. 



I was much struck by seeing in the wheat-fields a plant which 

 I subsequently identified as Secale cereale, or common rye. The 

 natives assert that this is a weed, and accidentally occurs amongst 

 the wheat against their wish, but that it is not found amongst 

 barley, which is easily explaiued by the fact that it takes a much 

 longer period to ripen than barley. The grains of the wheat and 

 rye are very like, and no attempt is made to separate them before 

 they are sown ; and it is so common among the wheat as in many 

 cases to predominate. Besides rye, two other weeds commonly 

 occur with the wheat, viz. Avenafatua and Lolium temulentum. 

 Occasionally after eating wheaten bread, persons are seized with 

 symptoms of narcotic poisoning, and, if not attended to, have been 

 known to die. The natives invariably attribute these symptoms 

 to the seeds of one of these three weeds, and will pick them out 

 from amongst the suspected wheat, in support of their assertion. 

 "Wheat, barley, and Indian corn are cultivated in the Hariab dis- 

 trict up to very nearly 9000 feet. Eice is husked in the usual 

 manner in a large mortar with a wooden pestle, or sometimes in 

 mills by cattle power. In the larger villages there are numerous 

 water-mills for grinding the other cereals ; frequently, however, 

 hand-mills are also resorted to. I have not seen the Amaranths 

 cultivated *. 



* The cultivated fruit-trees and principal vegetables are enumerated at 

 p. 9, anted. 



