FROM KULJA TO KUMUL 441 



climate, and a market for all produce close by. It is, even 

 now, the granary of Urumchi, and its cultivators have the 

 advantage of a large and ever-increasing population at 

 their very doors. Wheat, rice, and maize are a speci- 

 ality, while grapes and apples grow to perfection. 



During our j ourney down the Manas River at the end 

 of the month of May, we found that cultivation extended 

 for about twenty miles along its right bank; beyond 

 that, the nature of the river-channel made irrigation 

 works impracticable, the river having carved out for 

 itself a deep bed in the soft clay and being bordered by 

 steep cliffs of 50 and 100 ft. in height. The bed of the 

 river was constantly changing, the cliffs being continu- 

 ally cut away ; in several places we found this had re- 

 sulted in the destruction of the irrigation-canals which 

 had been dug at immense cost and labour. We saw, too, 

 a place where the Chinese Government had endeavoured 

 to cut a canal which would carry water to lands 50 or 

 60 ft. above the level of water at its start ; but even this 

 had been left unfinished, and the farmers had set about 

 irrigating their lands on their own account by damming 

 the river at suitable places, so as to minimize the labour 

 of making long, deep canals, and leading the water 

 thence by comparatively small channels. We saw one 

 of these dams in the course of construction. It was 

 built entirely of bundles of willow-branches and straw, 

 and, it was said, was always destroyed beyond repair 

 by the summer floods and had to be rebuilt every year. 

 For a month or six weeks the entire village turned out 

 and built the dam, on which depended their harvest. 



Thus, it will be seen that the real cultivated areas 

 on the east side of the Manas River come to an end 

 twenty miles to the north of the town, beyond this 



