794 Lieut. Irwin's Memoir of Afghanistan. [Oct. 



of the Indoor, north of its sources ; in all of which it is confidently 

 expected, and fails only in the most calamitous seasons or peculiar 

 situations. In the neighbourhood of Candahar indeed, and the country 

 of the Tureens, it is said to be but scanty, and little rain is looked for 

 after the vernal equinox. The falls of snow and rain in the winter 

 are in these places their chief dependance for the success of such crops 

 as are not artificially watered. The spring falls are not confined to 

 the countries under our view, but north and west, extend to the east 

 coast of Arabia, a part at least of Syria, the Hellespont and Euxine, 

 and the Russian frontiers ; towards India we find them tolerably 

 regular in the middle and lower Sindh, but in the latter they are 

 the less regarded, as they are of little use to agriculture, and in 

 quantity inferior to those of the summer. In the upper Sindh and in 

 Mooltan respectively, the summer and spring rains are perhaps equal. 

 In the year 1809, some considerable spring showers fell in Mooltan, 

 but in ordinary seasons this, like the preceding rains, is there but scan- 

 ty and uncertain. In Peshawur, Kohat, Malgun, Fesakhel, and Bun- 

 noo the spring is the chief rain of the year, the same is true of 

 Chhuchh, Huzara, Kushmeer, and perhaps Bukhlee, but in Pothwar it 

 is exceeded by the summer rain. We have seen that the latter dimi- 

 nishes as we proceed westwards. The spring rains, on the contrary, 

 diminish as we proceed eastwards from Peshawur. This law how- 

 ever is modified by others; and those of Kushmeer, as being a country 

 embosomed in hills, are more abundant than those of Peshawur. It is 

 difficult to fix the eastern limits of this rain. Within the great northern 

 mountains, and to a certain distance from their foot, it seems to extend 

 in ordinary seasons even to the banks of the Burmphootr, but in the 

 plains of India nothing remains of it but some thunder-storms accom- 

 panied with showers. 



74. Within the limits in which it is regular it is more or less copious, 

 according to the season and place. Cabul receives more than Peshawur 

 or most parts of Khoorasan, and Fyzabad more than Cabul. In 

 Budukhshan, Durwaz, Keerategin, and the east of Toorkistan it is very 

 abundant, but in Yarkund very scanty. In different places as well as in 

 different seasons, there is some diversity in the season of this rain, but 

 it would be tedious to enumerate instances. In general most rain falls 

 in the month of March, but in some cases the heaviest showers are 

 at the end of February or month of April ; rain in the month of May 

 in most of these countriet is not to be considered as part of the spring 

 rains, but rather as accidental, and indeed unwelcome. In May 1806, 

 there fell in Cabul a heavy rain which did much damage. Where 



