1. The Vegetable Kingdom.

Wheat and barley are the most important among the cereals grown in the oasis countries of Turkestan. There are four kinds of wheat:—

1. Bukhara budayi (Bokhara wheat) is considered the finest; it has a long, thin, and reddish grain, with a greenish top. Of this sort the delicious bread is baked, in the preparation of which the town of Bokhara excels, and which is famed far and wide under the name of shirmaye (milk-marrow).

2. Tokmak bash (cuneiform top) has a round, thick grain; it is very substantial, and most like our wheat. The best quality is found in Khiva.

3. Kara süllü (black-haired) has a thin and dark-brown grain; it is chiefly used as food for horses, not being of a particularly good quality.

4. Yazlik (summer-fruit) takes a very short time to grow; it is exceedingly light, and, when used, is mixed with other kinds of wheat.

Barley is not so good in Central Asia as in Persia or Turkey. There is, besides the usual sort, an inferior one, called karakalpak in Khiva, which is here used, as everywhere in the East, as food for horses. The average prices of all cereals are exceedingly low, as compared with the countries of western Asia. The price of a Khiva batman of the best wheat varies from two to three tenge (one tenge, seventy-five cent.), whilst barley costs often less than one tenge, and seldom more.

Rice is grown in enormous quantities, but it is far inferior to the Herat or the excellent Shiraz rice, called tchampa and amberbuy (amber perfume) in quality. It is more like the Egyptian, called in Turkey dimyati (damietter), but would no doubt surpass the latter, if cultivated with more care and attention.

Djügeri (holcus sorghum) is grown and consumed in far larger quantities in the three Khanats than anywhere else in Asia. It is eaten in a milky state, but when dry it is used as fodder, principally for young colts, being less heating, and also more nourishing, than barley, from the quantity of saccharine matter it contains. Bread is made of it, either alone or mixed with wheat.

Mekke djügeri (Turkish wheat) never grows higher than a small span's length. Two kinds of it are found, one with a yellowish, the other with a red, small grain. It is never dried, and always either eaten in its milky state or used as fodder.

Tari (groats) is an important article of consumption in Central Asia, and is therefore much grown. There are several sorts.

Besides the well-known kinds of pulse, such as peas (burtshak), beans (lubie), lentils (jasmuk), &c., there are several others which we do not know; as for instance, the konak, which has smaller but thicker seeds, and a lower shrub than our lentil; mash, rather larger than millet, of a brownish colour, and several others, which are of no interest to the general reader.

Of oil-plants, I must mention first of all the kündshi sesame, which thrives very well, and provides the Khanats amply with oil for cooking and burning. Then there is the zigir, a plant similar to millet, which bears on one stalk several fruits, which are like apples, and the yellow seeds in which are not bigger than poppy-seeds. This oil is fit in food, especially in pastry. Then the djigit, the seeds of the cotton-capsule, the oil of which, however, is not fit for food. Kender (hemp), of which an inferior sort of linen is made, and which also furnishes the very popular narcotic, called beng. Lastly, indau, a small shrub, from the greenish seeds of which a bitter oil, and of a disagreeable smell, is made, which is used as a medicine for animals, and especially for camels.

Among the plants, which produce dye-drugs, the following are most esteemed:—ruyan or boyak, an excellent species of madder, which thrives in all three Khanats, and is exported in considerable quantities to Russia. In the year 1835 this article was very little in request, and in the year 1860 as many as 24,523 Russian pud (883,000 English pounds) were imported.[25] Isbarak or barak, whose small yellow flowers, when dried and powdered, give a fine yellow colour. Görtchük, a plant resembling clover, with small red flowers; the leaves, when boiled, give a fine black colour. Buzgundjh, a plant with a fruit similar to gall-nuts, only grows in southern Maymene, and in the Badkhiz mountains, north of Herat, and is said to produce the finest red colour; it fetches a high price in the place itself.

Although not belonging to the same class of plants, I must mention here the terendjebin, a resinous and very sweet substance, which grows on a thorn, called khari shutur (camel's thorn). The terendjebin shows itself suddenly and quite unexpectedly towards the end of the summer during the night, and has to be collected at once in the early morning, before it grows hot. It resembles a gum, is of a greyish white colour, exceedingly sweet, and can be eaten in its raw state; in Central Asia it is made into shire (syrup), but in Persia it is used in the sugar-manufactures of Meshed and Yezd.

As regards fruit, we find in the Khanats almost every species (with the exception of fruits of the South) in great quantity, and of excellent quality. A very considerable export trade is carried on in it to Russia, and even to "rich" India. The Central Asiatic is not a little proud of his superiority in this respect, in Asia the glory and value of a country being determined by the quality of its water, air, and fruit. Each of the three Khanats has in the latter its spécialité; Khiva is distinguished for its melons and apples, Bokhara for its grapes and peaches. It may be that some parts of Persia and Turkey surpass Bokhara; but for melons, Khiva is unrivalled, not only in Asia, but I feel inclined to say, throughout the world. No European can form an idea of the sweet taste and aromatic flavour of this delicious fruit. It melts in the mouth, and, eaten with bread, is the most wholesome and refreshing food that nature affords.

The celebrated Nasrabadi melon alone, near Ispahan, reminds one, though very feebly, of this fruit of Central Asia, unique in its kind. There is a great variety of species. The principal summer melons are the following:—1. Zamtche, which ripens earliest; it is round, of a yellowish colour, and has a thin skin. 2. Görbek, of a greenish colour, and with a white meat. 3. Babasheikhi is small, round, and with a white meat. 4. Köktche. 5. Shirin Petchek, especially mellow and sweet, of a small round shape. 6. Shekerpare. 7. Khitayi. 8. Koknabat. 9. Aknabat. 10. Begzade.[26] The winter melons are not ripe until the beginning of October, but they keep the whole winter, and are most palatable in February. There are the following kinds:—1. Karagulebi. 2. Kizilgulabi. 3. Beshek. 4. Payandeki. 5. Saksaul Kavunu. These are mostly exported to Russia.

The Oxus chiefly contributes to render the melons of Central Asia so incomparably excellent, since the finest quality thrives only on its banks. The melons of Bokhara are very indifferent, and in quality even inferior to those of Khokand.

Khanikoff mentions in his interesting work[27] ten different kinds of grapes he found in Bokhara. In Khiva I met with the following:—1. Huseini, with oblong seeds and a thin skin, very sweet, and keeps throughout the winter. 2. Meske, with large round seeds. 3. Sultani. 4. Khalide are ripe first of any. 5. Shiborgani. 6. Taifi. 7. Khirmani. 8. Sayeke. All these different sorts of grapes grow on the level ground, and are either made into shire (syrup) or dried for eating; wine being made only by the Jews in Bokhara, and in a very small quantity.

There are four sorts of apples grown, and that of Hezaresp may boldly challenge the productions of our European horticulture.

The mulberry, too, is larger, more varied, and sweeter than ours, and to this superiority we must, perhaps, ascribe the fact, that the silk of Central Asia is better than the Italian and French, and that a certain disease among silk-worms, common with us for many years, is there quite unknown.

The rearing of silk-worms came originally from Chinese Tartary, especially from Khoten, where, as M. Reinaud[28] correctly remarks, it was introduced in the first century of our era from the interior of China. Silk stuffs of native manufacture were known in Bokhara in pre-Islamitic times, according to the testimony of a certain Manuscript,[29] which treats of the ancient history of Bokhara. It is no exaggeration to assert that the cultivation, spinning, and dyeing of silk, is a still more primitive process in the three Khanats than in China itself, where industrial progress, no doubt, effected many changes, whilst here everything has remained as it was years ago. The Khanat Bokhara supplies most of the raw silk; it is produced in the capital, in Samarkand, and among the Lebab-Turkomans. Much also comes from the Khanat of Khokand, in the neighbourhood of Mergolan and Namengan. Khiva contributes but little, and this little is inferior in quality to the productions of the other Khanats, though, as competent judges have assured me, it is far superior to the silk of Gilan and Mazendran, in Persia. The manipulation, however, is very imperfectly performed. I was struck with the manner of winding off the cocoons, which were placed in a cauldron of boiling water and stirred with a broom, until a certain number of threads unwind themselves, which are then wound round the broom. The dyeing is almost exclusively in the hands of the Jews, the weaving is done by the Tadjik and Mervi, who, in accordance with the taste and fashion of the country, prepare only stuffs of glaring colours.

In former times, especially during the Arabian occupation, the silk stuffs of Central Asia were celebrated throughout the East; but when the cleverest of the artisans were transferred by the conquerors to Damascus and Bagdad, the old art gradually disappeared, and is now gone for ever, in spite of the efforts of Timur to transplant it back from Transoxania. How great is the quantity of silk produced here, is shown by the circumstance, that the greater part of the cotton stuffs, called aladja, that are generally worn, are strongly intermixed with silk; that not only the rich, but every man of middle rank, possesses one or more garments, several table-cloths and pocket-handkerchiefs made of silk; and that a considerable export trade in silk is carried on, not only with Persia, India, and Afghanistan, but to a large extent with Russia.

The cotton in Central Asia promises to become an important article for the future. It is cultivated in large quantities in the three Khanats, furnishing the material for the upper and under garments of every body, high and low, for their bed-clothes, and cloths of every kind. The cotton in Turkestan is better than the Indian, Persian, and Egyptian, and is said to equal the far-famed American cotton. At present, however, Russia alone consumes this article in her manufactures at Moskau, Wladimir, Tverskoy, &c., and in quantities which increase annually in a surprising degree. The manufacturers complain greatly of the clumsy management of the planters, especially of the insufficient cleansing of the cotton from the seeds, as well as of the dishonesty of the traders, who wet the bales, or fill them with stones, to make them heavier. Nevertheless, the cotton, which is imported from Khiva and Bokhara by Orenburg, is almost indispensable to Russian industry.

In Central Asia the cultivation of cotton is comparatively easy and convenient, the cotton fields requiring no irrigation, and the rain being considered, if anything, prejudicial even in the spring. A hard, stony ground, called Soga, is always chosen, and is ploughed once; on the whole, the cultivation of cotton is the least troublesome of all field occupations. According to the statistical dates of the Orenburg custom-house the greatest quantity of cotton is produced in the Khanat of Bokhara; this statement, however, rests upon an error, since the caravans of Khiva, when crossing the Jaxartes, frequently join the Bokhariots, or they give themselves out for Bokhariots; these latter standing on a much better footing with the Russians, whilst the people of Khiva are in very ill favour with them. I know from my own experience, and have convinced myself by frequent inquiries, that not only is the cultivation of cotton far more flourishing in Khiva, but its quality is far superior to that in the two sister Khanats. The pod, here called gavadje, is smaller than that of Bokhara; but the cotton is much finer and whiter even than the guzei sefid, that is, the first quality of Bokhariot cotton industry. The Central Asiatics themselves give the preference to the Khiva production, a fact which tends to confirm our opinion. In dyeing and weaving Bokhara stands pre-eminent, but the stuffs from Khiva are better paid in her capital than her own manufactures. They are exported to Afghanistan, India, and Northern Persia, and are a highly-prized article even among the nomads.

There is no doubt that the cotton of the oasis countries will one day considerably increase in value. Several circumstances of paramount and urgent necessity must combine to further this object. Above all things, it is requisite that important improvements should be introduced in the mode of cultivation; our European machines should come in aid of the cleansing and packing, and the roads should be rendered, as far as possible, secure. By these means the cotton would not only be improved in quality, but, without any great additional expense, the quantity might be considerably multiplied. It is very probable that Central Asia may one day, although not in the immediate future, be to Russia what New Carolina is to the manufacturing towns of England at the present day.

The immense increase in the exportation of cotton from Central Asia is shown very clearly in the Blue Books of 1862 and 1865, in the list which Mr. Saville Lumley, former secretary to the English embassy at St. Petersburg, has contributed. According to this official statement the Khanats exported to the value of—

Bokhara.Khiva.Khokand.
Roubles.Roubles.Roubles.
————————————
1840-18502,065,697470,78116,851
————————————
1853280,514133,799
1854509,600248,347The
1855513,023185,683dates
1856501,22536,050are
1857578,48366,776wanting.
1858634,64359,729
1859495,0652,274
1860721,89922,4294,907
————————————
Total4,234,412755,0874,907

From this list we see, that the exports of 1840-1850 did increase more than double during the next ten years, and under favourable political circumstances would, no doubt, continue to increase.

We must add the remark, that although Bokhara shows in this list throughout the largest figures, it does not by any means follow that they are the result of its own exclusive production. Much Khiva cotton has been included, as well as the cotton which the Urgends traders carry to Orenburg on the Bokhara road. The Orenburg custom-house furnishes the list, and all the cotton is entered under the head of Bokhara. In like manner much Khokand cotton is mixed up with it. The Khokand traders give themselves out for Bokhariots on the frontier, on account of the frequent hostilities between their tribe and the Russians.