-. 







. UB ;\\ B I 



). and flows into the Indus. The Lake Wulur has 

 of about 40 mUea. It U pe^y anrrouwbd by extensive forest*, in 

 wUoh there are numerous wild animals. Near the capital I* another 

 hfetoalled I>M1, which, though ahallow, is of oonaiderabU extent ; it is 



dan* into several part*, and contains many A 

 u oaaab internet tha plain hi every din 

 ring th oatsgwrn* lands, aflord great (ad 

 , bstf lam and deep enough to b* navig 



. ., 



many OoatiBg Wants. 



.... .-. :, v: I, 



... 



navigated by river 



barge*. In summer the beat though great is leu oppressive than on 

 the banks of the Gang** or Jumna. The winters are of ooune cold 

 in a ralley which is 5000 or 6000 feet above the sea. In 1842 Moor- 

 croft found that the snow began to fall in the middle of Deosmber, 

 and the plain was not elear of it before the end of March. The sky 

 during the winter months (from December to March) i* *o misty that 

 th son is seldom Men, and when seen it is only for a short time. 

 Toward, the end of March and in April it is more frequently visible, 

 but attended by a rapid succession of gust* of wind with hail June, 

 July, and August are hot ; but the mornings, evenings, and night* are 



MBMiajaU T COOL 



Sometimes, though rarely, a failure of the rice crop ha* been 

 experienced, owing to the summer heat not luting long enough to 

 ripen the grain. Cashmere produce* wheat, barley, buckwheat, 

 millet, maize, pulse, and rice. Rice may be considered as the staple. 

 It is grown at a considerable elevation on the declivities of the 

 mountains, as the streams which descend from their sides afford 

 facilities for watering the fielda. The singhara, or water-tun, which 

 during eight or nine months of the year is fished from the bottom of 

 the Lake Wulur, affords a supply of food for many of the poorer 

 inhabitants. Of this article 60,000 tons are procured annually, suf- 

 ficient for the support of 20,000 persons. The mucilaginous pith of 

 the water-lily also supports a considerable number of people during 

 eight months. Turnips, spinach, loose-leaved cabbages, and lettuces 

 of the same description, are raised in the usual way ; and cucumbers, 

 gourds, and melons, in great quantities, by the ingenious and simple 

 contrivance of platforms floating on the lakes. These swimming beds 

 are commonly 2 fent thick, 7 feet broad, and of considerable length. 

 Among the cultivated plants the crocus is the only one which furnishes 

 an article of export, the saffron of Cashmere being known in all parts 

 of Western Asia. 



The principal fruiU are apples, pears, peaches, quinces, apricots, 

 almonds, pomegranates, mulberries, walnuto, hazel-nuts, pistachios, 

 plums, cherries, and a nondescript species of grapes, called ' sungut ' 

 by the native*. This grape yields by distillation a beverage which, 

 in the opinion of the Chinese, is not inferior to that of the ordinary 

 grape. Common grapes also abound, and the wine which is made 

 resembles Madeira. Most of these fruit-trees cover large tracts of 

 ground on the declivities of the hills, and have no owners ; the fruit 

 is gathered by the labouring classes, and often constitutes their prin- 

 cipal subsistence. No trees are cultivated with any care except the 

 walnut, of which there are three different kinds. The kernel is eaten, 

 and used for making oil ; and the busks of the fruit are employed in 

 dyeing black. Cashmere is famous for its flowers, especially roses, 

 which are cultivated with care, and from them ' attar ' is extracted. 



Horses are not numerous, and are of a small size but hardy. More 

 attention is paid to black cattle ; the breed is not largo, but gives 

 abundance of milk. Sheep are very plentiful and their flesh is well 

 flavoured : goat* abound in different places. Neither poisonous nor 

 carnivorous wild animals are said to exist in Cashmere ; but the 

 fuiesU abound with some kinds of deer, and the rivers with fish and 

 water-fowl. Bees are very numerous, and each farmer has several 

 bee-hives in the walls of his house. These hives are of a cylindrical 

 form, and extend quite through the wall Silk-worms are reared to 

 some extent Iron is abundant Copper, plumbago, and lead exist, 

 but are not worked. 



The population of Cashmere, formerly a million, was reduced by 

 the tyranny of the Sikhs to about 200,000. It consists, with few 

 exceptions, of the natives, who appear to be of Hindoo origin. The 

 Cashmerians are industrious, which is shown in the excellence of 

 their cultivation, and the perfection which their manufactures have 

 attained. The principal branch of industry U shawl-making, in which 

 60,000 individuals are employed, though the number of looms, which 

 two hundred years ago amounted to 40,000, has been greatly reduced. 

 According to an estimate, 80,000 shawls are annually made, but the 

 umber is constantly fluctuating, so that no correct estimate can be 

 formed. Paper I* manufactured, and is considered the best made in 

 Western Asia. The Cashmerians work with great skill and taste 

 different object* in wood, which, as well as lacker-work, are exported 

 to the neighbouring countries. The extraction of the attar of roses is 

 an important branch of induntry. The transport of goods over the 

 high mountains U chiefly effected by men who carry them on their 

 backs. Between Cashmere and Ladak sheep are employed to carry 

 burden*. 



.SrHtoyor (Hranagara), the capital, contain* not more than 40,000 

 inhabitant*. It U nearly in the centre of the plain, on the right bank 

 of the Jo] urn, and is traversed by two small riven. The street* are 

 narrow and dirty. The houses, built of wood, are commonly four 

 stories high, and sometimes higher. The ground-floor serves a* 

 stables, and fur holding agricultural or other utensils. The family 



live in the flrst floor, and the third and fourth are used as magaainea 

 of goods and provfcuotja. The roots of the houses are covered with 

 \MJOK beds. There U no good public building. Iriamabad, higher 

 op the river Jelum, is also a oonaiderabU town, situated on the right 

 bank, where the river bacon** navigable for bargee. Samprf, likewise 

 a populous town, U also on the right bank of the Ji-lum, but about 

 twelve miles below Birinagur. 



TVaihmnrn mam* to have formed aa independent kingdom up to the 

 ISth or 14th century, when it was subjected to the liaznerides, and 

 afterwards united to the dominions of the emperors of Delhi When 

 that empire was destroyed, about the middle of the last century, 

 Cashmere was taken by the Afghans, who remained in possession of 

 it until 1819, wh<m it became a part of the extensive dominions of the 

 Maharaja Kunjeet Sing, the sovereign of the Sikhs. It at 

 forms part of the territories held by Ohoteb Sing under 

 alliance and supervision. The area of the entire territories of Qholab 

 Sing if 86,128 square miles, and the population amounts to 760,000. 

 By the terms of the compact between the Maharaja and the British 

 government the British supremacy U acknowledged on the one hand, 

 and on the other the Raja is to be assisted in defending himself 

 against his enemies. The Maharaja maintains a large military force. 



(Bernier ; Forster ; Moorcroft in GeoyrapAic<U Journal ; Yon 



CA80LI. [ABRCMO.] 



CASPIAN SEA, an inland salt lake of great extent, which lies on 

 the boundary-line between Kurope and Asia. It extends from its 

 most northern point, near the mouth of the river Ural (47 20' 

 N. Int.), to its most southern point (36* 40') which is nearly at an 

 equal distance from the towns of Itesht mid Asterabad, in a straight line 

 about 740 miles ; but a curve drawn through the centre from its north- 

 eastern corner at the mouth of the river Elba 1 >j<nu or Emba to its most 

 southern shores measures about 900 miles. The general direction of 

 its length is from south by east to north by west, but the northern 

 part is curved to the east, and there forms a bay nearly as wide as 

 the main body of the lake. Here its width from west to east is 430 

 miles, but its average breadth is only about 210 miles. It* most 

 eastern point is the Oulf of Mertvoi Knltuk, which extends to 64 10' 

 R. long. ; the Bay of Kuma on its western shore reaches to 46* 50'. 

 The area covered by the Caspian Sea probably exceeds 180,000 

 square miles, a surface as large as that of Spain. 



The Caspian Sea has very few bays. The moat important are the 

 Mertvoi Kultuk, or the Dead Sea, which forms the most eastern corner, 

 and by one of its branches, the Tuk-Kara-su, incloses the peninsula of 

 Manghislack on the east Farther south, nearly in the middle of the 

 eastern shores of the lake, is a smaller lake called Kooli Deria, which 

 contains bitter water, and is united with the Caspian by an open strait. 

 Still farther south is Balkan Bay, where the ancient mouth of the 

 Amoo Deria, or Oxus, is said to have entered, and which Dr. Kichwald 

 says he traced up its old bed for 5{ miles ('Alto Geographic des 

 Caspischen Meer '). On the western side is the Bay of Saliun, into 

 which the Kur empties itself; and farther north the Bay of Kuma, 

 which contains the mouths of the Terek and the Kuma. At the 

 mouth of the Volga, the largest of the rivers that fall into the Caspian, 

 there is no bay ; the numerous islands formed by the deposit* of the 

 stream project some miles into the sea. 



The shores of the Caspian are in general so low and flat that most 

 parts are inundated when a strong gale from the opposite point blows 

 for a few days. The highest shores are those of the peninsula of 

 Abcheron, or Apsheron, which projects on the western aide from 

 40 to CO miles into the sea ; but even here they do not rise to a great 

 height The southern portion of the sea, from the peninsula of 

 Abcheron to the Bay of Asterabad, the south-eastern corner of the 

 Caspian, is inclosed by the high range of the Elbunt Mountains from 

 15 to 30 miles distant from the beach, between which and the water 

 extends a low flat country. 



The eastern chores, with the exception of the few gulfs above 

 named, extend in nearly a straight line between 87 and 47 N. lat, 

 from the Oulf of Asterabad to the bight of Emba, which receives the 

 waters of the Emba at the north-east extremity of the sea. All the 

 shore of this bight, as well as that adjoining it to the north and north- 

 west, is extremely flat and shallow, in consequence of the sandy and 

 other deposits carried down by the Volga, the Ural, the Tuck, and 

 other large rivers. The consequence is that for several miles from 

 the north and north-eastern shores there is only a few feet depth of 

 water, and the great number of sand-banks and sand-hills make it 

 difficult to land. There are similar sand-hills along the shore and 

 inland among the steppes, but they do not form connected chain*. 

 From the Mertvoi Kultuk a small chain of calcareous hills called the 

 Chink Hills forma the nunpart of the plateau of Usturt, or the Turk- 

 man Isthmus, which extends nearly in a straight lint) with a breadth 

 of about 150 miles between the Sea of Aral and the Caspian. This 

 plateau descends abruptly to the basin of both seas ; its height in 

 some places exceeding 727 feet, and never being less than 660 feet 

 above the level of the Caspian. The extreme headlands of this high 

 plain surround the bight of Tuk-Kara-sn, the southern branch of the 

 Mertvoi Kultuk. The promontory of Tuk-Karagan is formed by the 

 extremity of the Manghislak and Tuk-Karagan hills, which inclose the 

 whole coast southward to Alexander's Bay, and extend nearly from 



