od
authority that he was at Herat accidentally, and wished to leave it when
the besiegers appeared, but was prevented by want of funds. So anxious
was he however to get away, as his leave of absence had expired, that he
was obliged to discover himself to Yar Mahommed, and request loans to
enable him to rejoin India. The Vizier at once secured him, took him to
Kamran, and hindered him from leaving, forcing him indeed to the
dangerous elevation of British Agent at Herat. His merits, if this be
true, rest on very different grounds from those generally supposed; his
courage however has been proved of a high moral cast.

The _Joussa_, the _Moolla_ tells me, is the _Kan Shootur_ or _Shootur_
_Kan_. Burnes' account of the _Turunjbeen_ or manna is correct, except
perhaps in the limits he assigns to its production. It is at any rate
produced here and sold in the bazar, its production while the plant is in
flower is curious, and worthy of examination; it may however be deposited
by an insect, in which case the probable period of its production would
be that of inflorescence.

There is some cultivation of Indian corn here, the plants have now
attained one-third of their growth.

Except in the immediate vicinity of the town, nothing can exceed the
sterility of the valley, or rather its desolation: scarcely a plant,
beyond the Peganum and _Joussa_, is to be found.

_Khaisee_, an excellent smooth skinned apricot, is now ripe, and is of
light yellowish colour, sometimes faintly spotted; it is a product from
grafts, the seeds are useless, as they do not continue the good qualities
of the fruit: it is here grafted on _zurd-aloo_, _thulk_, Potentilla
quinquefolia.

Melons and grapes are now coming in; the former, at least those I have
seen, have pale pulp, and are not superior. The grapes first ripe are
the ordinary black sort: we tasted yesterday some very good ones in the
_Moolla's_ garden. The _Kismiss_ are especially delicate, and another
large sort of very fine rich flavour, both were rather unripe. Those for
packing are still unripe. The trenches in this garden are very deep: the
vines are planted on the northern face only.

Gardens are very common to the south-west of the town. The valley of the
Arghandab is the most fertile part of Khorassan I have yet seen. A strip
of cultivation extends along the banks of the river, and from these last
not being high, the stream is easily diverted into channels for
irrigation.