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Rh tan, and exported to Afghanistan, where it is ex- changed for wheat, barley, and rice. There are, how- ever, settlements engaged in agriculture in the valleys around the bekdom of Kilif. The bekdom of Baisun numbers a good many nomad Usbegs and a few settled Tajiks ; both live by cattle-breeding. On the contrary, the bekdoms of Denau, Yurchi, and Ghissar, which occupy the upper parts of the Surkhan and Kafirganan rivers, as well as the Shahisabs (bekdoms of Shaar and Kitab), are very fertile; much rice, wheat, millet, ^barley, oats, and various fruits, are raised in the well-watered steppe-like valleys at the foot of the mountains, while the bekdom of Karshi is an important centre for trade with the steppe of the Amou Darya, and for the transit trade between India and Bokhara. The nomad Turcomans and Usbegs bring here the varied produce of their domestic manu- factures — carpets, rough cloths, and saddles, and large flocks of horses — which are met by the caravans for the transport of merchandise. The krokesh from Karshi (men engaged in the transport of wares on horseback) are met with everywhere in the khanate of Bokhara, and the prices of transport are invariably one tena for the tash (about sixpence for 5*3 miles). As to the routes which lead from Guzar to the Amou Darya, and the exploration of which was the chief aim of M. MaiefE's journey, there are two — one of them, one hundred and forty-six miles long, passes by Tenga- khoram and through the cleft of Shirabad, while the other, ninety- seven miles long, leads through Taka- shur and Kuitan. Both offer several difficulties in the