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51
Fruits
The Afghans are a fruit-loving people, and the dry summer
conditions of the country play a great rôle in the development of
this industry, for which Afghanistan has acquired world-wide
fame. One encounters beautiful gardens and orchards through-
out the country, where conditions are favourable. The lowland
of Jalalabad is famous for some fine species of citrus fruits.
Great varieties of deciduous fruits, such as apricots, peaches, plums
pears, and apples, as well as almonds, figs, pomegranates, mulber-
ries, walnuts and pistachios grow well in higher altitudes. Several
kinds of grapes, from pure white to dark black, in different sizes,
shapes and flavours are found in different parts of the country,
but especially in the districts of Kandahar, Herat and Koh
Daman.
The wild fruit trees and shrubs play by no means an
unimportant part in the nourishment of the people and foreign
trade of the country. Of these, pistachios occupies the first
place, this being a product of the northern districts-from Herat
to Kataghan. The pistachio tree generally grows on the loess
hillocks.
In south-western Afghanistan and in the forest zones of
the eastern and southern provinces, different species of
hawthorns, blackberries and current bushes are found in great
numbers. Whole thickets of barberry cover the river valleys of
the high mountains round Badakhshan and Nuristan. The nuts
of the edible pine (pignolia or Jalghoza as it is locally called) are
also one of the chief articles of food, and large quantities are
exported abroad. Besides, the country is extremely rich in
some medicinal plants, but so far only a few of them are made
use of,
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.