CANDAHAR — GARDENS, ETC . 



359 



There is some cultivation of Indian corn here, the plants have now 

 attained one-third of their growth. 



Except in the immediate vicinity of the town, nothing can exceed 

 the sterility of the valley, or rather its desolation : scarcely a plant, 

 beyond the Peganum and Joussa, is to be found. 



Khaisee, an excellent smooth skinned apricot, is now ripe, and is 

 of light yellowish colour, sometimes faintly spotted ; it is a product 

 from grafts, the seeds are useless, as they do not continue the good qua- 

 lities of the fruit: it is here grafted on zurd-aloo, thulk, Potentilla 

 quinquefolia. 



Melons and grapes are now coming in ; the former, at least those I 

 have seen, have pale pulp, and are not superior. The grapes first ripe 

 are the ordinary black sort : we tasted yesterday some very good 

 ones in the Moollas garden. The Kismiss are especially delicate, 

 and another large sort of very fine rich flavour, both were rather 

 unripe. Those for packing are still unripe. The trenches in this 

 garden are very deep : the vines are planted on the northern face 

 only. 



Gardens are very common to the south-west of the town. The 

 valley of the Arghandab is the most fertile part of Khorassan I 

 have yet seen. A strip of cultivation extends along the banks of 

 the river, and from these last not being high, the stream is easily 

 diverted into channels for irrigation. Seen from any of the neigh- 

 bouring hills, the valley presents one uniform belt of verdure, 

 almost as far as the eye can reach, and the view up and down is of 

 some extent. The chief cultivation is wheat, barley, and lucerne ; 

 Chummuns also occur. Gardens abound, together with fine groves of 

 mulberry trees, the former are walled in, and are verdant to a degree. 



There is a bluff mountain to the north of Candahar, the disinte- 

 gration of which is so rapid, that it is evident from the slope of the 

 debris, it will in time bury the original structures. 



The hills forming the ridge separating Arghandab from Canda- 

 har, as well as all those rugged looking ones about Candahar, are 

 of limestone, they are much worn by the weather, and full of holes. 

 They are very barren, the only shrubby vegetation of any size being 

 Ficus, which may be the stock of the Ungoor, as it resembles it 

 a good deal, Centaurea spinosa, Paederise 2, Echinops, Pommereulla, 

 one to two, other Graminse, lemon-grass, Dianthus, Peganum, Cheir- 

 anthus as before, Sedum rosaceum, Gnaphalium, Hyoceyamus, Didy- 

 mocarpece, Gnidia, etc. 



