256 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



shape and colour, with their vast masses of foliage 

 reflected in the calm clear water. 



From thence we pass into the Dal, a lake about 

 five miles long, with half the distance in hreadth, 

 one side being bounded by great trees, or fading into 

 a reedy waste, and the other encircled by lofty moun- 

 tains. The most curious feature of this lake is the 

 floating gardens upon the surface of its transparent 

 water. The reeds, sedges, water-lilies, and other 

 aquatic plants which grow together in tangled con- 

 fusion, are, when they cluster together more thickly 

 than usual, detached from their roots. The leaves of 

 the plants are then spread out over the stems and 

 covered with soil, on which melons and cucumbers 

 are grown. These floating islands form a curious 

 and picturesque feature in the landscape, and their 

 economical uses are considerable. Moorcroft men- 

 tions having seen vines upon them, and has supplied 

 the detailed information regarding them which has 

 been made use of by succeeding travellers and statis- 

 ticians. " A more economical method of raising 

 cucumbers cannot be devised," and, he might have 

 added, of melons also. According to Cowper, 



" No sordid fare, 

 A cucumber ! " 



But, thanks to these floating gardens, you don't re- 

 quire to ruin yourself in order to eat cucumbers in 

 Kashmir ; and the melons are as good as they are 



