Kashmir, described by Sir Francis Younghusband, painted by Major E. Molyneux

by Sir Francis Edward Younghusband

Silk is another and increasingly important product. The whole of the valley is covered with mulberry trees, and for many centuries sericulture has been practised in the country. But it is only recently that it has been placed on a really business-like footing. Now good "seed," i.e. silk-worms' eggs, are imported fresh every year from France and Italy—about six-sevenths from France and one-seventh from Italy—and in the spring are given out to the cultivators free of charge. The villagers hatch out the eggs, feed the silk-worms on the mulberry leaves, and then bring the cocoons to the State silk factory at Srinagar for sale. 1720 lbs. of eggs were given out last year, and 1,712,000 lbs. of cocoons were bought in by the State. In the present year the figures were 1762 lbs. of eggs and 2,273,760 lbs. of cocoons. The amount paid for these cocoons to 17,433 rearers was Rs. 4,25,848, so that the Kashmiri villagers at very little trouble and no cost are able to put a nice little sum of money into their pockets every summer, and are consequently now clamouring to be given seed. The mulberry trees are carefully watched by the State, and an inspector of mulberry trees goes round the valley, seeing that the trees are not damaged and are properly pruned. Young mulberry trees are distributed by the State to the villagers to the number of from 30,000 to 40,000 a year.

Fruit is another of Kashmir's important products which may be expected to largely increase in the future. Kashmir apples are renowned all over India. They are large, red, and attractive looking, and sell well as far down as Calcutta and Bombay. But they are not of really good flavour, and the apples from European stock now being grown are sure to have a large sale in the future. In the autumn months thousands of cart-loads are carried down the roads to the railway at Rawal Pindi. The apple grows wild in Kashmir, and the villagers uproot the wild trees and plant them in their orchards. But the State also now supplies them with young trees. Near Srinagar there are large State nurseries stocked with the best kinds from Europe, and every year thousands of young trees are given out free to the villagers, so that the valley may gradually be filled with the best available trees. The State also to a small extent grows apples for sale, and their trees are extraordinarily prolific. In the autumn one sees these apple trees weighed down to the ground with fruit, and M. Peychaud, the director in charge, says that he has taken as many as 30,000 from one tree. The apples also grow to an enormous size. And when the railway comes to Kashmir, and carriage is easier and cheaper, the export of apples and other fruit should increase to striking dimensions, and not only be one of the best means of making the railway pay, but bring great profits to the cultivators. The apple of Kashmir has a great future before him.

So has the pear. He is not so much to the fore at present, because he does not stand carriage as well; but the railway will remove that drawback, and he will run the apple hard. Like the apple, the pear also is found wild and transplanted into orchards. But good stock is now being grown in the State orchard and distributed from there. Some of these, and some that have been imported by European residents, have taken so kindly to Kashmir, that I believe their present products are not surpassed anywhere. From Major Wigram's garden comes a famous pear, so large, and soft, and luscious, as scarcely to support its own weight. Other winter pears keep right through to the early summer.

Quinces also are grown in considerable quantities. They make excellent jam, but are chiefly grown for their seed, which is exported to the Punjab.

Grapes have been tried, and on the shores of the Dal Lake there is a vineyard under the charge of a Frenchman, from which what is known as Kashmir wine is made. But this branch of fruit culture has not so far been so successful as the culture of pears and apples. It is said that the rain falls at the wrong time. But probably the most suitable descriptions of grapes have not yet been tried or the most suitable site yet selected. In the time of the Moghals they were plentiful, and wild vines are often seen. So it is hard to believe that grapes cannot be grown in Kashmir as well as the other fruits for which it is famous.

Walnut trees are found all over the valley, and quantities of the nuts are now exported, though formerly they were only used for oil. They are an excellent fruit, and one kind known as the kagazi has such a thin shell that it is easily cracked between the fingers, and the kernel is excellent. The villages on the lower slopes are often surrounded with walnut trees, some of enormous size, and adding greatly to the beauty of the village.

THE CAMPING-GROUND AT LIDARWA

Mulberries, as has been remarked in regard to sericulture, are plentifully grown. They are eaten in immense quantities by the people as well as by their animals.