19G Memoir on the Province of Lus. [March, 



From that village to Beylah the face of the country every where pre- 

 sents the same appearance in its general features, and in the vicinity of 

 the different streams a large portion of the land is under cultivation ; 

 but beyond these spots it is either covered with saline bushes or thick 

 tamarisk jungle, and from the poverty of the soil would not yield 

 sufficient to repay the cultivator for his toil in clearing it. In some of 

 the jungles the baubool (mimosa) is abundant, and in others the trees 

 are withered and leafless for miles, and there is no sign of vegetation, 

 save in the undergrowth beneath them. About and above Beylah the 

 tamarisk and baubool almost entirely disappear, and are succeeded by 

 a tree which from a short distance appears like a species of willow, and 

 is so high and bushy, that at those places where it abounds it forms 

 thick and extensive woods ; game is every where plentiful, but particu- 

 larly so on the eastern side of the valley ; herds of antelopes and 

 spotted deer are frequently seen in the open country, and the wild hog 

 is sometimes found in the thickets; the jungles are full of hares and 

 partridges, and the lakes and swamps swarm with water fowl of every 

 description. 



On the banks of the Poorally and its tributary streams a large 

 portion of the land is under cultivation ; and this is also the case along 

 the eastern side of the valley, where there are several small lakes left 

 by the waters of the inundation : at these spots the soil is a rich 

 mould, and yields abundant crops of wheat, jowaree, oil seed, cotton, 

 and esculent vegetables. In the dry season most of the fields are 

 irrigated by cuts from the rivers, but some depend entirely upon 

 the rains for a supply of water; — on the former a tax is levied of 

 one-third, and on the latter of one-fifth of the produce. 



The principal river of Lus is the Poorally, which rises to the 

 northward amongst the Jahlawan mountains, and issues upon the 

 valley through a deep ravine about nine miles to the N. W. of Beylah ; 

 on leaving the hills it flows in several rivulets along a bed 300 

 yards wide, but near Beylah it increases to nearly a mile in breadth, 

 and the water spreading over a large extent of ground forms a succes- 

 sion of swamps ; amongst these there are many small springs, and 

 jait of the land is turned to account in the cultivation of rice. Above 

 Beylah the plain up to the foot of the hills is every where deeply 

 scored with the beds of rivulets and water courses, but they are 

 only filled during the inundation months, and then empty themselves 

 into the Poorally. The first tributary stream of any size flows 

 from the mountains to the N. E., and passing close along the elevated 

 ground on which the capital is built, joins the river below the 

 swarnps; opposite the town it is 700 yards broad, and when I crossed 



