INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 157 



ment of which crosses the Doab* from Pind Dadan Khan 

 in a westerly direction. The summits of this range do not 

 rise higher than 3000 feet. East of the Jelam a very low 

 range of hills, only a few hundred feet in height, runs parallel 

 to that river for some distance from the Himalaya. Elsewhere 

 the country is level, and slopes very gently down from the 

 base of the Himalaya towards the sea. Attok, on the Indus, 

 is elevated 1000 feet, and Lahore about 800 feet above the 

 level of the sea. The junction of the Panjnad with the Indus 

 is elevated about 200 feet. 



The climate of the Panjab is very dry. Along the base of 

 the Himalaya the periodical rains are well marked, occurring 

 at the same season as elsewhere in northern India, but their 

 quantity diminishes rapidly in advancing westward, and to the 

 west of the Jelam they disappear. The amount of rain-fall 

 also diminishes in receding from the mountains. At Firoz- 

 pur and Lahore it is in ordinary seasons very small ; and at 

 greater distances from the Himalaya the rains may be said 

 to cease entirely. Throughout the province, however, heavy 

 rain usually falls at midwinter, but does not continue for any 

 length of time, 



The mean temperature of the Panjab does not differ mate- 

 rially from that of Agra and Delhi, but is rather lower. The 

 absence of rain in the western and southern parts of the pro- 

 vince raises the summer temperature very high, but the cool- 

 ness of the winter months compensates for this, and reduces 

 the mean temperature of the whole year. 



The surface of the Panjab, like that of Sindh, is very fertile 

 where water is procurable for irrigation, but elsewhere it is 

 quite barren. Along the base of the Himalaya, from Ambala 

 as far as the Jelam, there is a very rich belt of fertile coun- 

 try. At a little distance from the mountains, however, the 

 centre of each Doab is dry and barren, and the cultivation 

 is confined to a narrow belt along the great rivers. The soil 



Any tract of country included between two rivers wliich join is called in 

 India a Doab. 



