Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/229

Rh boatmen jumping into the water on these occasions, the opposite bank was at last gained.

On landing on the right bank I rode on to the village of Kuardo, which lies along a ravine, bounded on the west by a high hill of alluvial deposit and on the north and east by spurs from the peak of Mashkulla. This mountain had to be ascended, being the second step necessary for fixing the positions of the high peaks ahead; but the ascent was obliged to be deferred till the 15th, as the mountains around were all hidden in thick clouds.

In spite of a somewhat scanty supply of water for irrigation, without which nothing will grow in this region, the village of Kuardo is beautifully wooded and green: fields rise in terraces for a distance of two miles along the valley; the houses are scattered about them, surrounded by fruit trees—apricot, mulberry, walnut, apple; willows are common. The vines are planted at the foot of the trees, and hang in festoons from the branches; they bear largely. The field cultivation consists of wheat, cockscomb, tromber, and barley. Excellent gourds, melons, cucumbers, turnips, &c., are grown in the gardens. The water flows in artificial channels through the fields, and the supply being small, it is economised by being collected into some large tanks, with sides built of boulders and earth, from which a certain quantity is allowed to each Zemindar. The houses, in sets of about eight or ten, are built in two stories: the ground-floor walls are of the rounded stones from the ravines, with mud, or of sunburnt bricks of large size, cut out of the hard lacustrine clay. This lower story is usually about ten feet high, and is either used in the winter as a residence, or serves for the cattle, sheep, and goats. The walls of the upper story are made of strong wicker-work, often double, and well plastered with mud. The upper story does not cover the whole of the lower; but a portion is left with a flat roof, where the owners usually sit, and where they clean their grain. In the better kind of houses the upper story is of wood. The ascent to the houses is by a ladder from the outside, so that the inmates in a measure are secure. The crops are often stored up, as small ricks, on the roofs, as also the grass for the cattle, where it is close at hand during the winter, when the ground is wholly covered with snow. The women clean the grain, and, with the exception of ploughing, do as much of the out-door labour as the men, even carrying heavier loads. When cattle are scarce it is not unusual to see a couple of men harnessed to a plough. The fields are kept exceedingly clean, and are well manured.

During the apricot season the large rocks and the roofs of the houses are covered with the fruit, and in two or three clear days become sufficiently dry to be packed in skins; they are then called “khobanies,” and form a very considerable article of consumption in