28 THE MARKHOR 



of a perilous and adventurous time, with their 

 cupolas and minarets, kiosks and arches, halls and 

 cloisters. And they are supported by pillars which 

 themselves require support. Their number is legion. 

 The whole forms one great place of refuge for the 

 people, and over each door hangs a sign showing the 

 date of ruin. All around us are traces of the past, 

 the fragments of the present. Will they survive to- 

 morrow, the day after to-morrow ? Probably ! For 

 they have threatened to collapse century after century, 

 and yet they are still there. Who can tell whether 

 the new silk factory at Srinagar, a perfect example of 

 the scales and plumb-line, a masterpiece of modern 

 technics in stone and iron, will outlive those crooked 

 old Oriental buildings ? So far it has not been 

 possible to draw any such comparison, for this 

 establishment of an industrial centre at Srinagar is 

 the first of its kind in Cashmere, in spite of its being 

 the best-known and most productive silk factory in 

 the world at least according to Younghusband's last 

 book about Srinagar. 



Cashmere is the land -par excellence of the mul- 

 berry tree. And to feed on them, fatten, and spin 

 silk for their new country do the silk-worms 

 come in thousands from Italy and the south of 

 France, their sole reward being a bath in boiling 

 water. It is not long before the fine threads are 

 woven into enormous balls of silk. 



Three thousand three hundred men, women, and 



