Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎87v] (178/312)

AFGHAN AGRICULTURE AND
INDUSTRY.
(from our cokrespondent.)
berlin, oct. 2.
A summary of the Russian Military Department
" Notes on Afghan Agriculture and Industry " may
be interesting at the present juncture.
So far as is known the land belongs to local ■
chieftains, who while letting ifc to vassals, them" '
selves haVe to pay a tribute to their suzerains.
Only on the well-watered banks of rivers and
canals, where agriculture attains to some degree of I
perfection, is the land owned or rented by in- i
dividuals. Pastures are always the common pro- ||
party of the clans, steppes being considered no- |
body's property. Like all other rights and personal ;•
possessions, title-deeds are worth but little in
Afghanistan. Everybody's hand being against ||
everybody, landed proprietors are frequently ex
pelled, or else expelling others, to transfer them
selves to fresh scenes. Some emigrate to neigh- m
bouring khanates, and by dint of the strong arm ||
manage to establish themselves on ground belong- ||
ing to another clan.
In consequence of the difference of climate in
various parts of the country, agriculture is by no ||
means the same thing in the north as in the south,
i In Cabul the land is well-watered by canals and
very fertile. In the valley of the river Cabul, from t.
the Khyber hills to the capital, there is no barren, ;;
unproductive soil. Arable land in those parts is so ||
; extremely valuable that—a rare thing in Afghan- M
istan—it is amply provided with roads. There are
here plenty of ariks or open canals, not to speak of ||
the underground rills, artificially laid down in some :
parts. These water-courses are constructed by the
I Government or village authorities, or by charitable ;
individuals wishing to confer a benefit upon their B
neighbours. In the case of Government water-
works, a tax has to be paid for their use ; whereas
village canals are frequently the joint property of
the community. I
In the Kafiristan mountains agriculture ascends ■
to a considerable height, wherever an arable plot K
is to be found. In other parts, where corn cannot ||
be sown, the hills are planted with fruit trees in -
terraces. The harvest in these parts principally !
depends upon the amount of rainfall.
South of the Safaid Koh hills in the district of ; ^
.Kuram, agriculture is confined to the valley of the y'
Kuratn, which in some parts is 22 miles wide. In ^
this valley, as in all other valleys of East Afghan- ^
istan, there is a stony ledge of ground at the foot of *
the hills unfit for agriculture. The mountains have
plenty of arable land that cannot be cultivated for T
want of rain or wells. Still further south, in the
district occupied by the Mahsood Vazirrtribe, the : '
cultivated land forms only 2 or 3 "per cent,
of the entire area, the rest being barren for want of ^
water. The few fields there are close to the rivers,
where they enjoy the benefit of an occasional in
undation.
The Logar and Gazni districts, in the far west of
Cabul, are well cultivated and supply corn to the x
whole principality.
In Candahar, from the source of the river Tarnak
to the capital, the country offers but scanty oppor- .
tunities for agriculture. Fields, as a rule, follow
the river-bank in narrow strips, or sometimes
cluster round water-courses, mostly subterranean •
in those parts ; nor is the lower valley of the |
Tarnak much more productive. A more cheerful
aspect is offered by the Helmund Valley, having
fields and gardens to about two versts on either bank, j
as far as the Seistan Lake. South of the Helmund,
the barren steppe appears rather unexpectedly. I
North of the river, the barren steppe, stretching i-
away to the hills, is here and there studded with
villages surrounded by oases with artificial irriga-
tion. ,
Herat, possessing a good soil traversed by several
rivers, is considered the most fertile part of the
plateau of Iram. Hare the harvests are uniformly
good. There are two of them every year, yielding
forty-fold. The district of Ghorbund is the store
house of the country ; and such is the superabund
ance of land that where corn might be grown cattle
are frequently pastured. Every now and then the
country is the scene of Persian warfare, which pre
vents the development of agriculture.
Sistan, the basin of Lake Khamun, and of the
deltas of surrounding rivers, is a plain intersected
by low ridges. Two-thirds of the surface is sand,
the remaining third being alluvial soil, capable of
high cultivation, but mostlv occupied by tamarind
!trees. The delta of. the Helmund, with its many
parallel water-courses, is very fertile, and wholly i,
under the plough. The fields are here separated
by quick-set hedges ; the harvests are abundant,
and much is exported.
Of the Turkestan Khanates under Afghan con
trol, Balkh is the most productive, thanks to its
extensive system of irrigation. Notwithstanding ;
political troubles and the consequent decrease of
the population, Balkh still yields enough to supply
eome of the neighbouring Principalities. The
valley of Kunduz, though fertile, is swampy, and
has an unhealthy climate compelling people to live
in the hill districts. All attempts at agriculture
have failed, colonists invariably succumbing to
There is a deal of arable, well irrigated ground in
the other Khanates ; but they are too frequently
exposed to war and robbery to permit of the labour
of the husbandman. In all these parts plenty ot
good land lies fallow. . I
The agricultural produce of Afghanistan is very
various. Wheat, maize, barley, and millet form the
principal food of the population. Bice requiring
much water is only planted in the valleys of the
tributaries of the Indus, in Kundus, Balkh, ana
some localities of Herat. Every variety of fruit
known in Europe grows well, the rhubarb espe
cially fine. Indeed, fruit is one of the great staples ; ■
of food in the country, and a> principal article of ■
exportation. The Cabul Valley gardens are famous
for peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, pears, pome-
gran ate s, figs, and quince ; the J ellalabad Valley has
hso lemons and dates. The white mulberry-tree is •
found everywhere ; the other species with red fruit
is also there. The mulberries are dried, ground
into flour,and made into cakes, either with or with- >
out corn-flour. Pistachio-nuts are grown in such ■
quantities in the neighbourhood of Maimene that
they are exported in caravans to Persia and Bagdad. ,~:
It is a peculiarity of the climate that all these ex-
cellent comestibles get ripe at a considerable alti
tude. Pomegranates flourish at 4,500ft. above the
sea, while apricots ascend to 8,000ft., and mul- ^
berries to 9,000ft. Grapes are plentiful, and the .
making of wine is a chief branch of industry, espe- ■
cially in Kafiristan. Considerable quantities of ,
grapes are dried and eaten as raisins. Some sorts
are gathered before they are ripe and exported to E|
Bombay, &c. In Herat a special tax is imposed -
upon the manufacture of wine, which can only be -
carried on by Government licence. Tobacco is
much grown and used. The three most approved
growths in East Afghanistan are the Candahar,
Balkh, and Mansurabad, of which the last is the
best. Its price on the spot is from 60 kopeks to
1 rouble 20 kopeks the man (6i Russian lbs.),
the other two sorts being only half as dear. In
Herat there are two tobacco harvests the year, the
first being accounted the best. There is little
cotton produced in the country, except in the
Bangash district, near the Indian frontier ; but
this'too, is indifferent in quality and quantity.
Hardly any silk is produced, notwithstanding the
abundance of mulberry-trees. Of other plants, we
may mention the madder, in Candahar and Gazni,
much employed for dyeing woollen cloth, and also
exported ; Indian hemp used in brewing a narcotic
beverage ; a species of rhubarb, producing oil for
lamps ; assafoetida, a shrub encountered every
where, but more especially in the south, from which
pitch is extracted. This pitch, used in Afghanistan
for medical purposes only, is frequently exported to
India. A decoction made from the young leaves is
drunk by the Afghan and Beloochees in Sistan.
The best sorts sell at Candahar at from 80 kopeks to
1 rouble 30 kopeks the pound, inferior qualities ■
commanding from 30 to 60 kopeks the pound.
Cattle breeding is another principal occupation. As
in the steppes and hills of Russian Asia, clime and i
soil necessitate a frequent change of pasture. Thus
the Ghulzae, A fridi,and other clans pass the summer
in the Safaid Kon hills, descending for the winter to
the plain of Candahar and the Indus Valley, and
sometimes crossing the frontier into British terri
tory. The Beloochees nomadize in summer near |
the River Helmund, but in autumn, with the first j
frost, may be seen wandering to the southern .
steppes, where water is found only at that season.
Excepting in the Cabul Valley, cattle breeding is
carried on in all parts of Afghanistan by a nomad
DQDulaiLoik. liying. side by sido with the sedentary
• | arid agricultural inhabitants. The nomads rarely
! apply themselves to agricultural pursuits. Of the
I domestic animals, camels, dromedaries, and a cross
between the two, are used for riding and draught,
■ as well as for the milk and butter they yield ; their
flesh is only eaten by the very poorest. The clan ■ |
Gesarai,living in the hills where camels are of little |
use, value them, however, for their wool. Cabul :
has few camels, and only a cart-horse sort of horses.
The species of horse called yabu is employed for |
draught in the hills. A finer breed is seen among
the Hazaras, in the Khanate of Maimene, where ;
good specimens command from 20 to 32 roubles. ■
In the south, the breeding and sale of horses is ,
j almost exclusively in the hands of the Beloochees^; |
i but a peculiarly valuable kind introduced by Nadir I
1- oi('4 no tioj^nqirjtjtp t: udiim 'J i^ uo piwi ii ^o'ij stimj
f jatl f jaiju pns'piAip joi qirw V oqj, "PuapiAip jo Mtuj
I ogtoaus b paAiMaa atmr snooqc? AJt^utpio joiM! pjnn saimjrtmof) 1
, | BAtpadsaj aq? 30 sSuidjua ai^ ni (jou op iaq^ sis
„V .. -to ijoxwjgq; Gtri st? UAvonjf asorj!) moif Jajjip sjfoo^cj qnasnnnoo I
•paAianaj 0!}j9[iau( skij ireqi s.ioisoaui moj/ uoupreqii'B 10 'uinoms I
ja^T39jg u aAjesep o? iptq.a. AnxnODs iBAn'ren jo fsvqo :
1 18 s ? "Rx—'s^coxs XNaoNixKroo avavuvsI
aqi m panre^qo gq fjtm. spnsai ja^aq qonm (annauadxa prtB I
I 1 Fsaatsnq punos sassassocl aioq/A jo aao qoB9) bjo ?08J'( t jo m-Eotr
i mn jo xrotaBjasiararpB oyqu 9-i% aatmn paourAtjoo iws j pio ;-»naol
II .X9'! ' pox-39 ^o^saAnj nn pxapt (pnapuip jo awi mox 'anJ
, C9A9) ytf jo anxad moxxno eq) ((13 saatiqH touxpjQ s't.X "SxiiSuxnod
-U9 Ajsa si ixxisao: sxq? 'soitfnj'4 jo noxitunujip "sxxoxitiasnoo aq^ pnxj.
'apejx (jsa^ aqt ixt uoissaiflap A.i'BUxp.xo'B.X'! x 3 aq? Hux-xapigncJ
■(i>XB«joj pax.una innoxixx? oq-x jo aAiaoadsani) aoo^g tompio am ntf
•^aao jail x iuct o^ ixiaxoxgiis soxxrqiiq v si a.xaqi •SAiasaj o? OGO'g? SmomS
pn^ "sagjBqo JOud Jiuiqaaxn jaqj«? !l09j} 1 aq^ oa kioroaitrH
sqi iq aptm naaq ftsnC ireq ^naniaonnonxix! Xioioxjjsxj'b-i ^oa v A a $
' — VWYKVd
■ixiTKlnxofi sxni /q jaAO XIGJJT!'} .^XJA ^
-otbix T^noxjuv S3j,tv sonanfT aqi naq.w'qctflg ludy 0!( dn snixxonx .xno I
^ ao 1 nq.jjd jo aDrnqeq 0x5 i[ixo ^riq 'pusprAip .sr^aoin xis v itiosojda I
!tou pip -tisai qii oqj no a.XfiTjo .xad -sj jo noxanoxjisxp au!( imn !(no o'lioil
o? qaA\ aq ftiux (ft -po;jafl ppp aaaoaj eq^ Suuxxp paaoaqa xxaaq Shxavi I
sains Maj u qxnojqi pauqoep !)x;qM9xiios 8ABq Autidmoo sxq; x)
sajmyg 0T TX 'isAVAVIIV t T X HNITX V-Q'IDX V ^
"sioisaTnl
05 eAii'Pjsntixxiaj or paAo.xfl aATxx qoinAi saxnwTmoD xauno rr-l
'pn-bijapniir 'ao^ixinuJSAio/^ 'qnh sqi' jo'qjitjxv aq-j xii mottoi qntioil
on s9j'Bqs sq^ pa(it;iqsuoxn9!) A'fjBaijo sr S^doia aqi' 10 Essuntino
. 0xn xiaq« mq 'pxii^oai 9q!j xuoji jpisaa t'btoa'bun aq^ o? d-b anoxixrxxoJ
AJ8A cot! i SSV4tlT!0Of BtlOIJtPA 9q!> JO XMS8 9A13q J TTIOJ J Sxhwl
1 -japan 9q^ 1 0 famd 'En 8nroni9-Pxi apiAiP oni oa bb
AFGHAN AGRICULTURE AND
INDUSTRY.
(from our co jk respondektt.)
berlin, oct. 2.
A summary of the Russian Military Department
*' Notes on Afghan Agriculture and Industry " may
be interesting at the present juncture.
So far as is known the land belongs to local
chieftains, who while letting it to vassals, them- :
selves hav'e to pay a tribute to their suzerains.
Only on the well-watered banks of rivers and
canals, where agriculture attains to some degree of fi
perfection, is the land owned or rented by in- ;;
dividuals. Pastures are always the common pro-
perty of the clans, steppes being considered no- %
body's property. Like all other rights and personal
possessions, title-deeds are worth but little in
Afghanistan. Everybody's hand being against %
everybody, landed proprietors are frequently ex
pelled, or else expelling others, to transfer them
selves to fresh scenes. Some emigrate to neigh- J
bouring khanates, and by dint of the strong arm
manage to establish themselves on ground belong
ing to another clan.
In consequence of the difference of climate in t
various parts of the country, agriculture is by no
means the same thing in the north as in the south. .
In Cabul the land is well-watered by canals and t
very fertile. In the valley of the river Cabul, from |
the Khyber hills to the capital, there is no barren, ;
unproductive soil. Arable land in those parts is so
extremely valuable that—a rare thing in Afghan-
istan—it is amply provided with roads. There are
here plenty of ariks or open canals, not to speak of I
the underground rills, artificially laid down in some t
parts. These water-courses are constructed by the $
Government or village authorities, or by charitable
individuals wishing to confer a benefit upon their |
neighbours. In the case of Government water- ^
works, a tax has to be paid for their use ; whereas
village canals are frequently the joint property of J
the community. |
In the Kafir istan mountains agriculture ascends ,
to a considerable height, wherever an arable plot I
is to be found. In other parts, where corn cannot
be sown, the hills are planted with fruit trees in
terraces. The harvest in these parts principally
depends upon the amount of rainfall.
South of the Safaid Koh hills in the district of ■ «
Kuram, agriculture is confined to the valley of the .;
Kuram, which in some parts is 22 miles wide. In
this valley, as in all other valleys of East Afghan- *
istan, there is a stony ledge of ground at the foot of 1
the hills unfit for agriculture. The mountains have
plenty of arable land that cannot be cultivated for ^
want of rain or wells. Still further south, in the
district occupied by the Mahsood Vazirr.tribe, the ''
cultivated land forms only 2 or 3 per cent,
of the entire area, the rest being barren for want of
water. The few fields there are close to the rivers, ■
where they enjoy the benefit of an occasional in
undation.
The Logar and Gazni districts, in the far west of
Cabul, are well cultivated and supply corn to the ;
whole principality.
In Candahar, from the source of the river Tarnak
to the capital, the country offers but scanty oppor
tunities for agriculture. Fields, as a rule, follow >
the river-bank in narrow strips, or sometimes
cluster round water-courses, mostly subterranean
in those parts ; nor is the lower valley of the ;
Tarnak much more productive. A more cheerful
aspect is offered by the Helmund Valley, having
fields and gardens to about two versts on either bank,
as far as the Seistan Lake. South of the Helmund,
the barren steppe appears rather unexpectedly.
North of the river, the barren steppe, stretching
away to the hills, is here and there studded with
villages surrounded by oases with artificial irriga
tion.
Herat, possessing a good soil traversed by several
rivers, is considered the most fertile part of the ■
plateau of Iram. Hare the harvests are uniformly
good. There are two of them every year, yielding
forty-fold. The district of Ghorbund is the store
house of the country ; and such is the superabund
ance of land that where corn might be grown cattle
are frequently pastured. Every now and then the
country is the scene of Persian warfare, which pre
vents the development of agriculture.
! Sistan, the basin of Lake Khamun, and of the
deltas of surrounding rivers, is a plain intersected ,
by low ridges. Two-thirds of the surface is sand,
the remaining third being alluvial soil, capable of
high cultivation, but mostly occupied by tamarind
!trees. The delta of. the Helmund, with its many
parallel water-courses, is very fertile, and wholly I
under the plough. The fields are here separated j
by quick-set hedges ; the harvests are abundant,
and muolv is exported.
Of the Turkestan Khanates under Afghan con
trol, Balkh is the most productive, thanks to its
extensive system of irrigation. Notwithstanding
political troubles and the consequent decrease of
the population, Balkh still yields enough to supply
some of the neighbouring Principalities. The
valley of Kunduz, though fertile, is swampy, and
has an unhealthy climate compelling people to live
in the hill districts. All attempts at agriculture
have failed, colonists invariably succumbing to
malaria.
There is a deal of arable, well irrigated ground m
the other Khanates ; but they are too frequently
exposed to war and robbery to permit of the labour
of the husbandman. In all these parts plenty of
good land lies fallow.
The agricultural produce of Afghanistan is very
various. Wheat, maize, barley, and millet form the 1
principal food of the population. Rice requiring
much water is only planted in the valleys of the
tributaries of the Indus, in Kundus, Balkh, and
some localities of Herat. Every variety of fruit
known in Europe grows well, the rhubarb espe
cially fine. Indeed, fruit is one of the great staples J
of food in the country, and a principal article of ^
exportation. The Cabul Valley gardens are famous
for peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, pears, pome- ; :
granates, figs, and quince ; the Jellalabad Valley has
also lemons and dates. The white mulberry-tree is . ;
found everywhere ; the other species with red fruit r;
is also there. The mulberries are dried, ground
into flour,and made into cakes, either with or with- .
out corn-flour. Pistachio-nuts are grown in such
quantities in the neighbourhood of Maimene that -j:
they are exported in caravans to Persia and Bagdad, j;
It is a peculiarity of the climate that all these ex- ^
cellent comestibles get ripe at a considerable alti- pi
tude. Pomegranates flourish at 4,500ft. above the 0
sea, while apricots ascend to 8,000ft., and mul- &
berries to 9,000ft. Grapes are plentiful, and the
making of wine is a chief branch of industry, espe- ^
cially in Kafiristan. Considerable quantities <ii ;V
grapes are dried and eaten as raisins. Some sorts .
are gathered before they are ripe and exported to
Bombay, &c. In Herat a special tax is imposed ■ >
upon the manufacture of wine, which can only be : ;
carried on by Government licence. Tobacco is
much grown and used. The three most approved
growths in East Afghanistan are the Candahar, j A
Balkh, and Mansurabad, of which the last is the •
best. Its price on the spot is from 60 kopeks to :.
1 rouble 20 kopeks the man (6i Russian lbs.), g
the other two sorts being only half as dear. In ||
Herat there are two tobacco harvests the year, the ^
first being accounted the best. There is little
cotton produced in the country, except in the ||
Bangash district, near the Indian frontier ; but
this,"too, is indifferent in quality and quantity. ||
Hardly any silk is produced, notwithstanding the H
abundance of mulberry-trees. Of other plants, we
may mention the madder, in Candahar and Gazni,
much employed for dyeing woollen cloth, and also m
exported ; Indian hemp used in brewing a narcotic ||
beverage ; a species of rhubarb, producing oil for
lamps ; assafoetida, a shrub encountered every
where, but more especially in the south, from which
pitch is extracted. This pitch, used in Afghanistan
for medical purposes only, is frequently exported to
India. A decoction made from the young leaves is
drunk by the Afghan and Beloochees in Sistan.
The best sorts sell at Candahar at from 80 kopeks to
1 rouble 30 kopeks the pound, inferior qualities
commanding from 30 to 60 kopeks the pound.
Cattlebreeding is another principal occupation. As
in the steppes and hills of Russian Asia, clime and
soil necessitate a frequent change of pasture. Thus
the Ghulzae, A fridi,and other clans pass the summer
in the Safaid Kon hills, descending for the winter to
the plain of Candahar and the Indus Valley, and
sometimes crossing the frontier into British terri
tory. The Beloochees nomadize in summer near
the River Helmund, but in autumn, with the first
frost, may be seen wandering to the southern
steppes, where water is found only at that season.
Excepting in the Cabul Valley, cattle breeding is
carried on in all parts of Afghanistan by a nomad
t^ukiioEi-liyiog,side by side with the sedent ary
"and agricultural inhabitants. The nomads rarely
apply themselves to agricultural pursuits. Of the
domestic animals, camels, dromedaries, and a cross
between the two, are used for riding and draught,
' as well as for the milk and butter they yield ; their
flesh is only eaten by the very poorest. The clan
Gesarai,living in the hills where camels are of little
use, value them, however, for their wool. Cabul
has few camels, and only a cart-horse sort of horses.
The species of horse called yabu is employed for
draught in the hills. A finer breed is seen among
the Hazaras, in the Khanate of Maimene, where
good specimens command from 20 to 32 roubles.
In the south, the breeding and sale of horses is
almost exclusively in the hands of the Beloochees ;
but a peculiarly valuable kind introduced by Nadir
Shah from Persia is only met with among the
Afghan tribe.
Vesir sheep and goats are very numerous, and
considered the most useful animals in the country ; !
but in Sistan, where they cannot be reared, on ac- |
count of the insects abounding there, the inhabit- ;
ants turn their attention to the breeding of cattle. |
There is a good deal of wool collected, manu-
; factured, and exported.
The mineral wealth of the country is very great, i
but little explored, and less utilized. The richest,
parts known are the hills south-west of Cabul and i
in the Hazara districts. Gold is found in the |
rivulets of Legman, in the rivers Kabul, I
Kunar, and their tributaries. The principal places
where gold is washed down on the Kabul river are
Jellalabad and Mitchni ; on the Kunar, Tchachar-
j Bag, Peshat, and Kirtch. It is believed that all
1 the rivers coming from the western side of the
j Hindoo Koosh are auriferous. Silver,formerly mined
| in large quantities in Kugestan, is now only
gathered in the valley of Gorbend. Lead occurs in
the Nepkau Kul hills in the Hazara district north
I of Candahar, and in the Gorbend Valley. Of
' copper, there are large quantities in the Gal Koh
hills, in the territory of the Jaguri tribe of the
Hazara. Here there is also antimony, likewise
met with north of Candahar, and in the Khyber
hills. Sulphur, saltpetre, and salammoniac may be
dug out of the Gorbend and Jaguri territories. Iron
is abundant along the western slopes of the Hindoo
Koosh. There are mines in the valley of the
Pendjkor, and in the hills west of Bunnoo, whence
the article is exported to India. Iron works also
exist in Badakshan, near Eeizabad, and in Southern
Cabul, near Kanogorum. The iron, being entirely
smelted with charcoal, is highly valued in the ad
joining countries.
Pausing at this point, I will here mention that the
best work extant on Kabulistan and Kafiristan, is
the Russian translation of the second chapter of
the fifth volume of Ritter's Geography of Asia by
Professor Grigorieff. In addition to Ritter's
masterly descriptions, the book contains ample
commentaries, drawn from private sources, as well
as from all that has been printed on the subject
j since Ritter wrote. The work, unfortunately,
1 only reaches down to 1867.