17th.—Proceeded to Jumrat, 12 miles and 2 furlongs, our direction lying to the north of the star Capella. The country continues to present a similar aspect: valley expanded, road tolerable, several ravines and beds of dry watercourses, with sandy bottoms; indeed as compared with yesterday, the soil is much more sandy and less pebbly. Vegetation is the same, no more dense aggregations of Artemisia fruticosa are seen, but the plants consisting of scattered Artemisia of yesterday, barely suffruticose, Peganum, Astragalus, Astragaloid Muscoideus, and Senecio glaucescens. A good deal of cultivation occurs on both sides of the slope towards the southern boundary, which is here lofty, presenting the usual limestone characters. Many villages are seen, all fortified, and about Jumrat there is the appearance of much population. Jerboas, ravens, rock pigeons, and wild pigeons, are common; hares are uncommon. Very few trees are to be seen, but there is abundance of good water and grass along the margins of the cut. Sheep are also to be had, but they are small, and goats for one rupee each, large sheep two rupees: dhal, atta, barley procurable; and Herat rugs.
To-day the native troops were put on short rations of twelve chatacs; servants, etc. on eight. Horsemen to the number of 100? came to meet the Shah, all mounted on decent ponies, but quite incapable of coping with our irregular horse. Barometer 23.305, thermometer 87°, Wooll. new thermometrical barometer 697.6, old 595.8.
From 11 P.M. to 12 P.M. heavy rain; very heavy for about twenty minutes, with a threatening aspect in the horizon at 7 A.M. to south by east, from which direction the rain came: thunder and lightning; latter very frequent.
18th.—Entered the district of Karabagh, distance to our present place of encampment from that we had left eight and a half miles. The road decent, traversing several watercuts, one or two ravines, and a small stream, indeed water becomes more abundant to-day than in almost any other march: our direction lay the same as before, but as we approached the low hills, separating us from Ghuznee plain, we proceeded more east in order to turn them. The features of the country are the same, together with the vegetation, the only novelty being a genuine Statice and a Cruciferous plant, which I observed at Mookhloor, and a Composita, Echinops spinis radiantibus continued. The medicated suffruticose Artemisia: Joussa in old cultivation, and Peganum are the most common plants.
Grass abundant along the cuts and streamlets, mixed with a pretty new Astragalus, and the Astragalus of Mookhloor, Composita depressa, etc.
The valley narrowing, we halted at the foot of low hills, which we are yet to traverse; the ground about our camp stony and barren, producing Astragalus, thorny Staticoides, Centaurea spinosa, Verbascum, and Thapsus.
The soil of the plain good and deep, as instanced by ravines, and the deep beds of streamlets. Cultivation is abundant, villages numerous, and, as usual, all walled; their form generally square, with a bastion at each corner, and often two at each face, in which there is a gate. The people are very confident of their own security in these parts, crowding to our camp with merchandise. The country continues bare of trees, except about some of the villages; northern boundary hills lofty; a curious snow-like appearance is occasionally produced from denudation of land slips, like a long wall running along one of the ridges: southern hills distant, presenting limestone characters.
The articles sold in camp yesterday, were atta (wheat) eight seers, barley sixteen chenna, sugar three to four seers. Lucerne abundant, at one rupee four annas a bullock load, soorais, kismiss, three to four seers, zurd-aloo twelve seers, dried toot or mulberry one and a half seers for a rupee, but these are insipid, very sweet, but also very dirty, pistacio nuts one seer: crops not yet cut, but ripe.
Kupra, cloth of common quality, as well as a black kind called soosee.
Barometer, mean of three observations (12 P.M., 1 P.M., 2 P.M.) 23.433, thermometer 85° 6'. Wooll. new therm. bar. mean of two observations, 699.1, old, 597.5. Lichens abundant on black limestone? rocks. On hills about camp, Labiata nova, and a curious tomentose plant were the only novelties.