THE AFGHAN DELIMITATION COMMISSION. 19 
Tar Влосн!$ DISTRICT. 
Badghis is the term applied to that part of the country to the north and east of the 
Paropamisus range of mountains. Тһе members of the Mission traversed this district, 
entering it by the Chashma-sabz Pass (5000 ft.) on the south-west, and skirting the 
northern slopes of hills in an easterly direction, by way of Karo-bagh, Kushk, Kalla- 
nao, Ab-i-kamara, and Tor-shakh to Bala-morghab, where they wintered, returning in 
the early spring to Gulran through Mara-chak, Kalla-i-maur, Chaman-i-bed, and Islim. 
Along this route I do not think we ever ascended above an altitude of 4000 feet, 
and the entire country to the north of the line we took, between Karo-bagh and 
Kalla-nao, does not average above 3000 feet in altitude. "This country is drained by 
the Kushk and Morghab rivers, and constitutes a continuous succession of ranges of 
low hills, like sand dunes, the soil of which is composed chiefly of a rich mould in 
addition to sand, and where occasionally there is sandstone rock i» situ. Тһе climate 
of this region is very different from that of the portion of the Hari-rud valley already 
described. It is much more humid, due to the drainage which passes through it from 
the melting snow of the surrounding high ranges of hills, as well as to that moisture, 
derived more indirectly from the Caspian, which in the shape of clouds rolls eastwards 
along the ridges of the hills lying between the Caspian and the Hari-rud. It is 
therefore characterized not only by a greater verdure and a more luxuriant vegetation, 
but these conditions are of a more permanent nature than in the valley of the Hari-rud. 
The temperature in winter falls several degrees below zero, and in summer, I believe, 
the heat never reaches anything approaching that experienced in the adjoining plains. 
Generally throughout the year there is also much less wind, although sudden storms 
of wind, accompanied by rain and hail, do occur in summer, and prove very destructive 
to all forms of vegetation. 
The only places where I saw cultivation in the Badghis were on the banks of the 
Morghab river and near Kalla-nao, chiefly by the aid of irrigation; for although crops 
of wheat and barley were raised without it, they were inferior in quality. The natives 
greatly enrich the soil by dressing it with manure, which they obtain from their 
immensely numerous flocks of sheep and goats. As it was the depth of winter when we 
were at Bala-morghab my information was mostly obtained from native reports, from 
which I could not discover that there was any exceptional cultivation, but maize and 
rice were said to be grown largely at Panjdeh. Тһе fuel brought into camp consisted 
of the wood of juniper, pistacio, and Celtis. In the immediate vicinity and for some 
few miles out of camp I did not see a single tree of any sort; and to show how they are 
prized when they do occur, a solitary pistacio tree which we saw on our march to 
Mara-chak, perched on a distant hill, gave to the shrine near which it grew the name of 
the “one-tree shrine;” but I was told that forests of various trees existed in the Tir- 
band range. In the neighbourhood of Bala-morghab I noticed numerous deep holes, 
which on inquiry I found had been made by the natives digging out the turnip-like 
roots of Crambe cordifolia, upon which they feed their camels during winter, and which 
are frequently stored for this purpose. Тһе only plants I collected here which I was | 
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