Provisions are cheap and plentiful in Peshawur, though their price has risen with the decrease of population. Grain of every description abounds, but is not exported; 65lbs. of wheat may be purchased for a rupee, which is 10lbs. less than might be had for the same sum in 1809. Ninety-six lbs. of barley sell for a rupee. A sheep may be had for two rupees; a bullock costs twelve or fourteen; and the rupee is a quarter less in value than the common sonat of India. Fruit of almost every kind is to be had in Peshawur, but it does not stand a journey, like that of Cabool, on account of the great heat. One of the large gardens, which used to let for 7000 rupees a year, now brings but 2000. The diminution is ascribed to the decrease of population; but fruit sells for half the price, now that there is no court to purchase it. The sugar cane thrives here, but the people are ignorant of the mode of crystallising its juice. That which is candied is brought from Hindostan, though the native sugar is excellent. The Afghans are very fond of the fresh cane, which they cut in small pieces, and use as a sweetmeat. The most remarkable production of the plain of Peshawur is a kind of rice called “bara,” produced on the banks of a rivulet of that name, which comes from Teera, in the Khyber country. The grains of this rice are so long, that fourteen of them are said to make a span. This rice is very superior, which is attributed to the excellence of the water. So strong is this prejudice, that most of the wells of Peshawur are filled from it during winter, and roofed in till the hot weather. They believe this keeps the water cold. The “bara” rice sells so high as 8lbs. for a rupee, and is exported as a rarity to Persia, Tartary, and all the neighbouring countries, and composes a part of Runjeet Sing’s tribute. The rice produced in other parts of the plain of Peshawur does not differ from common rice.
Feasible improvements.
It has been lately discovered in the low countries of Europe, that a much greater population can be subsisted on a small space of ground, by following the Flemish mode of agriculture. Agriculture. The soil is dug up by the spade, and a succession of crops, chiefly of garden stuffs, is the produce. If there be a country in the Eastern World where this practice might be followed with advantage, it is the plain of Peshawur. The soil is a rich mould, and its spacious plain is intersected with water on all sides. The country, it is said, continues green during the twelve months of the year. It yields a succession of three crops annually; and if we reckon the barley (which is cut twice before it ears, and given to horses,) we have no less than five returns a year. The wheat and barley are off the ground by April. Vegetables abound, and are produced in fields rather than gardens. Public spirit and intelligence might render Peshawur a most productive region. Sugar.
Silk. We have seen that it is favourable to the cane, and recent experiments have proved, that the silk-worm may be reared with advantage. Mulberry trees abound, and the insect is liable to no particular disease. Those which I saw were brought from Cabool and Balkh. The eggs are hatched at the vernal equinox, a few days before the mulberry is in leaf. Till then the insects are fed on a kind of weed, with a yellow flower, called “khoobikulan” by the Persians, and common to England. Their education does not differ from that of Europe. The silk is boiled before it is wound. The worms are brought forth by artificial heat, and generally by being tied under the armpits. Exposure to the sun kills the insects, and it likewise deprives the chrysalis of life when in the cocoon. By the end of May the worms have finished their career, and lie dormant in the egg till next spring. They are placed in cellars under ground, to protect them from heat, and they are as carefully guarded against damp. I do not doubt but successions of these worms might be brought forth during the warm months.
District of Cohat.
The district of Cohat, under Peshawur, deserves a minute description, from the richness and variety of its productions, though it yields but two lacs of rupees to the chief. The salt range lies within this tract, and the mineral abounds. It is sold for one eighth of the price east of the Indus. Minerals and coal. Gold, copper, iron, and antimony have been extracted from ores found in these hills; and there are two kinds of sulphur. There are also wells of naphtha, or petroleum, for the matter which they eject is used in the neighbouring villages for oil. But the most valuable production of Cohat is its coal, which we discovered during our visit, and explained its utility, much to the astonishment of the people. It occurs on the surface of one of the hills, and in great abundance. The specimens which were procured for my satisfaction were of a greyish hue, intermixed with much sulphur. It burns well, but leaves much refuse. It has more the appearance of slate than coal; but, as the specimens were from the surface, they are not to be taken as a fair criterion of the mine. The coal is bituminous, and ignites at the candle. The villagers now use it as fuel. The discovery of a coal-mine at the head of the Indus may prove of the utmost importance in these times, since the navigation of that river is open to Attok; and the mineral is found about forty miles distant from that place, with a level road intervening, and near a large city, where labour is cheap. It is a singular circumstance, that deposits of coal should have been discovered, both at the mouth and head of the Indus (in Cutch and Cohat), within these few years, and since steam has been used in India. It is seldom that discoveries are so opportune, and I trust that they augur favourably for the opening of a new route to commerce by the Indus.
CHAP. IV.
THE CHIEFSHIP OF CABOOL.
Chiefship. Power and extent.
The capital of Cabool now forms the residence of an independent chief, who holds the surrounding districts and Ghuzni, without any control over the kingdom of the Dooranees. The same circumstances which separated Peshawur, have dismembered Cabool; and since the death of Azeem Khan, the possession of it has been disputed by different members of the Barukzye family. In the year 1826, it fell into the hands of Dost Mahommed Khan, the present chief, and a brother of the Vizier, Futteh Khan. Since then he has greatly extended and consolidated his power. He intrusts the town and dependencies of Ghuzni to a brother, and admits no one else to share his fortunes. The limits of the chiefship extend north to Hindoo Koosh and Bameean. On the west it is bounded by the hill country of the Huzaras. To the south is Ghuzni, and to the east it stretches half way to Peshawur, terminating at the garden of Neemla. Much of the country is mountainous; but it contains a large portion of arable land, which is most productive. It lies along the base of hills, and derives a richness from the soil washed from them. The revenues of Cabool amount to eighteen lacs of rupees. Its military force is greater than any among the Afghans, since the chief retains a body of 9000 horse, who are well mounted and accoutred. He has also 2000 infantry, with other auxiliaries, village troops, and a park of fourteen guns, which are well served for a native state. This country is by nature strong and mountainous, though it has good roads through it.
Character of the chief.