Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/62

 CASHMERE other tropical countries. The tree, which re- sembles the walnut tree, is large, with oval, blunt, alternate leaves ; the flower is rose-col- ored and fragrant ; the stem furnishes a milky Cashew Nat juice, which when dry becomes black and is used as a varnish. The tree also secretes a gum having the qualities of gum arabic, and known in commerce as codjii gum. In South America, from whence it is imported, book- binders use it as a varnish for their books to protect them from moths and ants. The fruit is a pear-shaped receptacle, having an agreea- ble acid flavor with some astringency, and at the end the kidney-shaped ash-colored nut. This has a shell of three layers, the outer and inner hard and dry, while the intermediate con- tains a quantity of black, acrid, caustic oil, strong enough to excoriate the lips of those who crack the nut with their teeth ; and in India it is sometimes applied to the floors to drive away ants. To destroy this acrid matter, the nuts are roasted, which renders them when eaten wholesome and agreeable. The roasting is carefully conducted, as the acridity of the fumes is sufficient to produce severe inflam- mation in the face and hands of the roaster. CASHMERE, or Kashmir, a kingdom in the N. W. part of India, almost enclosed by ranges of the Karakorum and Himalaya, which separate it from Chinese Tartary, Thibet, and the British districts of N Lahoul and Spiti and the Punjaub ; area estimated at 75,000 sq. m. ; pop. at 750,- 000. It extends from lat. 82 17' to 36 N., and from Ion. 73 20' to 79 40' E., and inclu les the famous vale of Cashmere, the provinces of Ja- moo, Balti, Ladakh, Chamba, and some others. The valley of Cashmere is of irregular oval form, shut in by lofty mountains, the summits of some of which are covered with perpetual snow. It is from 5,500 to 0,000 ft. above the sea, and the alluvial plain which forms ?ts bot- tom is 70 m. long, 40 m. wide, and about ^,000 sq. m. in area, that of the whole valley being 4,500 sq. m. It is entered by many passes, 11 of which are practicable for horses. The highest, including that of the Pir Panjal, have an elevation of about 12,000 ft. The principal river is the Jhylum, a tributary of the Indus, which receives numerous tributaries from the mountains, and flows through the Baramula pass into the Punjaub. Several small lakes are scattered through the valley. Thus abun- dantly irrigated, and fertilized by rains which, unlike those of most parts of India, are light, the soil attains an extraordinary fertility, yielding returns of from 30 to 60 fold of the principal crops. Rice, the common food of the inhabitants, is the staple ; wheat, barley, buck- wheat, maize, and tobacco are cultivated to some extent ; cotton is found to flourish ; escu- lent vegetables, kitchen herbs, and saffron are abundant; and the lakes supply the poorer classes with a nutritious though insipid article of food in the singhara or water nut, the seed of the trapa bispinota, which is ground into flour, roasted, boiled, or eaten raw. About 60,000 tons of this nut are annually taken from the Wullur lake. Among the fruits are the apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, cherry, pome- granate, and grape. Flowers of rare beauty, particularly the rose, which is highly culti- vated, abound in the valley. Many of the for- est trees attain a vast size; among them are the Himalayan cedar, the chunar, the poplar, the lime, and the wild chestnut. The willow, maple, birch, alder, pine, and white thorn are common. Every village has its grove of chu- nars and poplars, planted centuries ago by order of the Mogul emperors, and now forming one of the richest ornaments of the valley. Bears, both brown and black, are very numer- ous. The other wild animals are leopards, jackals, foxes, stags, gazelles, and wild goats. Birds of prey are numerous, including a spe- cies of vulture of great size. Game birds are very plentiful. Venomous reptiles are rare. The native horses are small and hardy. Cat- tle, sheep, and goats are numerous. The most valuable minerals are iron nnd lime- stone, both of which are abundant; copper, plumbago, and lead are also known to exist. The climate is salubrious, and milder than in many parts of India, but the stillness of the midsummer air gives the heat an oppressive- ness scarcely to be expected from the range of the thermometer (80 to 85 at noon in the shade), and the winter is sometimes severely cold. Snow falls abundantly. The bulk of the inhabitants are Mohammedans, speaking a Sanskrit dialect, with a large admixture of Persian, in which latter tongue the records and correspondence of the government are written. They are divided in sect into Sun- nis and Shiahs, the former being the more nu- merous and regarded as orthodox. The Cash- merians are preeminent among Indian nations by their physical perfections. The men are tall, robust, well formed, and industrious; the women famous for their beauty and fine com- plexions. They are a gay people, fond of pleasure, literature, and poetry, but are repre- sented by many travellers as peerless in cun-