imported from the upper country. Kara, a very useful kind of alkali, is produced abundantly from the incineration of jungle shrubs, which contain a great deal of saline matter: this article is exported in some quantities, and used in dyeing.

Pind Dadun Khan, in the Punjaub territories, furnishes fine rock salt, used throughout the whole of the Upper Indus. In the lower division and Delta it is manufactured; in the latter from the sea and elsewhere from evaporation, produced on the efflorescent surface of the soil. This is an article capable of becoming commercially important when exported through the mouths of the Indus.

Sindh is not a wool-producing country, though it is to be obtained in its western confines to a great extent, particularly in Catchi and the Jhalawan mountains of the Brahois: the Hindús of the country carry on the trade, and thus much of the article coming into the Bombay market through Sindh is misnamed Sindhian wool; many districts, however, accessible through Sindh and the Indus, yield this important article abundantly: that furnished by the Kilat territories finds its way to Bombay via the mountainous road to Sonmiani, at a great drawback in the expense of transport on camels and purchase of protection: the tolls on the river and transit duties alone drive it to seek that route; for it would be in every way advantageous to bring it to the Indus through Sindh by a short and easy land carriage.

H

The high estimation in which it is held always secures it a ready market. The Brahoi mountains and vicinity of Kilat are calculated to produce a hundred thousand of fleeces annually; the sheep is the small description, called the dumba, and is highly prized in all the countries to the northwest. Mikran, the country lying along the coast between Sindh and Persia, is also a wool-producing tract, and exports direct from Sonmiani, but further north this branch of trade will find its way through Sindh to the Indus.

The above comprises the present productions of the country, which particularly merit attention from their applicability to foreign purposes, and capability of increase in quantity, according to demand. They at the same time tend to demonstrate that Sindh, under a liberal administration, and if encouraged to develope its resources, is a highly-favoured region, rich in all the essentials for providing amply for the wants of a dense population, or if required furnish a superabundance for neighbouring countries; whilst there are amongst its productions those likely to be in constant demand for foreign markets and a return trade.

CHAP. VI.

Timber of Sindh - small in Size. - Trees. - Dates. - Luxuriance of Grasses. Fruits. Gardens. Manufactures. — Ingenuity of Sindhians.

Vegetables.
Arms, Belts,

Shields, &c.-Looms of Sindh. — Lúnghí. — Silk Fabrics.— Caps. Pottery. - Embroidery. Leather. -Dried Fish. Animals of Sindh.

Camel.

Riding

· Camel Saddle. -Buffaloes.-Oxen.-Game.

Beasts of Prey.-Abundance of Water-fowl and Fish.—Alligators, Badgers, and Otters.

THE timber of Sindh, though it may be considered inexhaustible in quantity, is generally so small in size as scarcely to answer the agricultural and domestic purposes required in a country where the houses and buildings generally are very confined; for the larger boats and other extensive uses, whether on the river or land, it is brought from the north, or imported from Bombay. The principal jungle trees are the tamarisk and baubul (this latter is a description of the Mimosa Arabica); both attain unusual size and luxuriance on the banks of the Indus, but are ill adapted for other than the commonest purposes. The hunting grounds are rich in the baubul and other Mimosa, and their thick massive clusters are seen for miles along the banks of the river, rendering picturesque and otherwise relieving the monotony of the scene.

The tamarisk is the spontaneous production of the watery wastes of Sindh: as fuel and small rafters for their sheds and temporary habitations, it is very useful; its supply may be considered inexhaustible; our steamers have much depended upon it during the last four years, and it thus becomes essentially valuable to the navigation of the river. The knots or berries found upon this shrub are used as a dye before described, and the flowers for the same purpose are dried and exported. In some situations the tamarisk grows to the size of a jungle tree, and is then employed for building the smaller craft employed on the river.

The acacia and tamarind are plentiful in Northern Sindh; both are beautiful trees. There are also the neem (Melia azadurachta), pípul (Ficus religiosa), and a thorny, hardy shrub, called the Kér, abounds in Sindh; the Bír (Ziziphus jujuba) attains great size, and the fruit is much esteemed. The date obtains all over the country, particularly in the higher and warmer portions: it forms a great ingredient of food, and is dried and stored for consumption; the fruit is inferior to the Arabian and Egyptian: it ripens at the hottest period of the year, July, and the Khirma púz, or date-ripening season, is looked upon as the maximum of heat, from which the climate is said to become temperate. The wood of the palm is totally useless for building purposes, not lasting above four or five years.

Nothing can exceed the luxuriance of the grasses

and reeds on the banks of the Indus; the thickets formed by these in the preserves are quite impervious to any but the wild animals frequenting them. The camel-thorn, or jawasi, covers large tracts of country, attaining its greatest verdure at the hottest and driest season of the year, thus refreshing the eye with its contrast to the arid soil around it. The reed known in Sindh as Kana is in great use throughout the country for huts, mats, baskets, and other domestic purposes: it grows to a great height, and has a beautiful feathery top; it is knotted like the bamboo, and is very dense on the western bank, above Bukkur.

The fruits of Sindh are the date, mango (very good), apple (inferior), pomegranate, limes, oranges, citrons, mulberries, tamarind, melons of every description, many of the fine sorts for which Candahar and Cabul are famous, pistachio nuts, jambú or wild plum, grapes, plantains, &c., near Shikarpúr; and on the eastern bank, near Rorí, and at Hyderabad, the gardens are very luxuriant, and at the beginning of the hot months the whole country is well supplied with flowers, particularly roses. All classes take great pleasure in having large gardens, wherein are passed the hours of relaxation; Mahommedans and Hindús alike spend much money, and bestow great attention on this pursuit. At Shikarpúr the wealthy Soucars vie with each other in their pleasure grounds: fruit and flowers are alone cultivated; the common vege