'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1865 to December 1867. (Edited by the Honorary Secretary.) Volume XVIII.' [‎11] (146/268)

BAGDAD TO CONSTANTINOPLE.
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4. On the first of these the enclosed papers will perhaps give all
the requisite information. It had been my intention to have modified
arK l condensed them, but time and opportunity having failed me, I
have thought it better to submit them as originally drafted. I will now
proceed at once to the second head.
5. At Bagdad it is the custom of residents when the hot weather
sets in to remove from the ordinary
II. Natural products of the soil, lace of abo(Je tQ t j d & d
water, and supplies. A ii/r 1
ground house. My departure from
the city was just at this particular period of domestic migration. The
heat was great during the day, nor was it likely to* decrease until
we had got fairly out of the lower valley of the Tigris. Under these
circumstances we were in a condition to appreciate the value of water as
well as to feel the want of that most essential element. And certainlv
in this respect the country east of the Tigris is blest in a remarkable
manner. The Dyala, the Greater and Lesser Zab, and the Hazir or
Khazir, with the less perennial Taok and Tuz Khunnah Su, may be
classed as actual rivers occurring between Bagdad and Mosul, all hav
ing their source amid the snow-covered mountains of Kurdistan. In
addition to these are canals and subsidiary streams. Of the affluents,
the Khalis, near Bagdad, has brought down a sufficient volume of water
during the present year to cause a stoppage of some weeks on the
telegraph line.
6* Beyond Mosul, again, there is no lack of water to^ Jezireh.
Though rivers do not cross the road like those above mentioned, there is
one, the Kbabur, which is by no means insignificant. We had to swim
our horses across it, as at the passage of the Tigris and Zab Su. Many
mmor streams are encountered, and water-mills are not infrequent.
Ihe mill at Gerishekist, a charming little Christian village about twelve
hours north of Mosul, is an admirable illustration of romantic
scenery.
But the grain-fields are even more remarkable than the abun
dant supply of water in this country between Bagdad and Jezireh. In
many places, especially near Mosul, the wheat and barley extend as far
as the eye can reach. East of the Tigris, and between the Kurdish
mountains and the river, there is no lack of the staff of life, and the
amount carried down to Bagdad must be considerable. At Altmo
Kiupri, on the Lesser Zab, I observed a raft loading. It is said that