34 THE WHEATS OF BALUCHISTAN 



but a verv cold winter, with their greatest raiiiiall in the winter months. The 

 plains of Sibi and Nasirabad have a very long, excessively hot siinmier. and 

 a very scanty rainfall, which occurs mostly in .Inly and Angnst. Tlie Shahrig 

 tahfiil. which has an elevation of "i.^dO- 4,r)00 feet is intermediate in climate. 

 The anionnt of precipitation varies with the altitude. The average rainfall 

 at Shahrig is Tl'51. at Kach 11-06. at Sibi 4 -05. and at Babar Kach fi09 inches. 



The (»nly large rivers are the Nari and its tributaries. The permanent 

 water of this river is made available iux irrigati(/n ]nirp(>ses in Sibi by means 

 of a masonry regulator erected at Nari g(n-ge in H»(ll. This replaced the 

 temporary dams which used to be constantly washed away by AckkIs. 



Irrigated cultivation predominates : out of a total (►f 298 villages. 198 

 are completely secured by irrigation and only 12 are quite unirrigatecl. Two 

 canals, the Begari canal and tlic Desert or Shahiwa canal, both from the River 

 Indus, supply Na'-irabad. About 90 per cent, of the cultivation in this toi^MJ 

 is dependent on the canals, which are generally filled in June and closed in 

 .Tanuaiy. The water is elthei carried on to the land bv gravitation or lifted 

 by a Persian wheel. In the Shahrig lnlis'iL springs are the main source of water 

 but a certain number of Idrezes also exist. In Kohlu, most of the cultivation 

 is carried out on flood irrigation. A few lare:fs are also found in this locality. 



A nuu-h larger variety of crops can be grown in this l^istrict than in many 

 parts of the Agency, and wheat does not therefore occupy so prominent a 

 position. In the Sibi hihsil. i:^..")!.") acres out of ;')7.71 7 acres w^ere under W'heat 

 in 1901-05. in Shahrig 5.793 acres out of 9.777 acres and in Nasirabad 2,656 

 acres out of 8:^.739. 



In the Sibi and Shahrig /a//.s//.s\ wheat is generally grown on irrigated land 

 only, but it may also be grown as a dry cro]) if the rainfall is exceptionallv 

 good. In Nasirabad. very little is grown and in Kohlu it is usually grown as 

 an unirrigated crop. 



.Manure is commonly nsed in the Shahrig iahsil. and the land is ofteii 

 iniproved by adding the ashes of the burnt stubble of wheat and rice. Wheat 

 and rice are grown in alternate years or successively for two or three years, 

 or juar may follow wheat in which case the land requires a fallow. In other 

 parts, manure is not so much used and. insterd. the land is allowed to lie fallow 

 for one or more years. In Kohlu. one year fallows are common, wiiile in 

 Nasirabdd the land may remain uncropped for two or three years. In the 

 Sibi l((/i-^il. the custom varies in different parts. There may be two crops in 

 three years or one cr(»p in three years or even one croj) in five years. 



