'Military Report on Persian Seistan' [‎22r] (48/188)

ci >1
33
CHAPTER Y.—RESOURCES.
Seistan is a rich j:rain»‘.^'cdncing country ; its soil beinij the alluvial deposits
. . »»1' rivers and lakes, is very fertile and capable of
£?*eat development. Only T yth of the total arable
land is cultivated. There is more than enough water in the Helmand and, with
a good system of cabals, there should never be a bad harvest. Moreover, the
old Tarakun Canal could be re-opened, thereby not only fertilizing part of the
desert to south of Seistan a> far as the God-i-Zirreh, but also tending to
convert the Naizar, the clay flat between it and the Shela, into arable land by
diminishing the amount of waste water. Rains in the part now subject to
inundation to the west of Sehkuha appear to show that the ancients must
have had a better command over the Helmand water than the people of
to-day.— [Napier.)
Wheat and barley are the staple products of the country. Cotton is
grown in small quantities, as also opium and tobacco—the two latter being
of very inferior quality, (iood turnips and a little pulse and millet are also
produced Round the villages, melons, yrapes, and occasionally fruit trees
are cultivated; but, with the exception of melons, the Sehtan fruit is not
equal to that of other parts of Persia. Pomegranates, oranges, apricots and
peaches come under this category.
One of the difficulties to be contended against is the shifting sand drifts
which occasionally entirely bury the crops. Owing to the want of a proper
system of control, when the Helmand rises, the country becomes a bog for
miles, and even low banks have to be raised in front of Nasratabad to pre
vent the water reaching the walls ; this is quite distinct from the periodi
cal overflow of the Hamun, and has most disastrous results; at other times
when the water subsides below a certain point below the bund, a large por
tion of the country cannot get a sufficient supply of water.
Napier estimates that the country yields 75,UOU kharwars, (435,000
cwt.) $rds wheat and £rd barley, of which 30,000 are surplus—sufficient
to maintain a Division of all arms permanently. Mania Bakhsh gives larger
figures; his calculation is given below.
A comparison of prices current in different years is given in Appendix.
According to the revenue papers, 2,001 ploughs are employed in cultiva
tion, and the average annual outturn of each plough being estimated at 36
kharwars (about 209 cwt.) of grain, the total annual produce of Seistan is
supposed to be 72,036 kharwars (418,066 cwt.). therefore the annual
Government revenue levied in kind, w hich represents one-third of the gross
produce and is calculated at the rate of 12 kharwars per plough, amounts, as
stated above, to 24,012 or 2,001 ploughs kharwars (139,355 cwt).
Adding to kharwars 72,036 the outturn of about 500 ploughs (kharwars
18,000) belonging to irregular sowais of Seistan who are exempted from
taxation in lieu of their services, and also at least kharwars 10,000 which
are appropriated by the Tahvildars (revenue-collectors) and are not accounted
for anywhere, the total annual produce of Seistan may, in round figures, be
put down at kharwars 100,000 (580,356 cwt.). Of this about half the
quantity is consumed in the country, and the rest is available for export.
At present the amount available, after local consumption, is exported to
Kain, Kir man and Baluchistan districts.