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 qualities 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 Moolla’s 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 neighbouring 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 disintegration 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 Candahar, 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, Pæderiæ 2, Echinops, Pommereulla, one to two, other Graminæ, lemon-grass, Dianthus, Peganum, Cheiranthus as before, Sedum rosaceum, Gnaphalium, Hyoceyamus, Didymocarpeæ, Gnidia, etc.
The Arghandab is a good sized river, with channel subdivided: its stream is rapid and fordable; no large boulders occur in its bed; the temperature of its water is moderate.
The fish are a Cyprinus and a Barbus, or Oreinus with small scales, thick leathery mouth, and cirrhi; a Loach of largish size, flat head, reddish, with conspicuous brownish mottlings, and a Silurus.
The hills forming the northern boundary of the valley are picturesque, and of several series, and perhaps the subordinate valleys are not so large and fruitful in this direction.
Between Arghandab and Candahar, two ranges occur; one interrupted: the other nearer Candahar has first to be surmounted at a low pass; the pass is short, rugged and impassable for guns. The inner ridge is much closer to the cultivated part of the valley than the northern range.