'Report on Sistan and the Country Between It and Mashad' [‎19r] (42/118)

* See page 29 .
17
count up the number of yoke of oxen in each village, or, if the water-supply
is limited, to ascertain the amount of water. I tried the first method, but
soon found it was not practicable in a confined area like Sistan. Such ques
tions at once arouse suspicion even though asked casually by one's servants ;
the people find out what one is about and give false intelligence, generally
underestimating the real amount. The second method was not applicable
to Sistan.. I was therefore obliged to fall back on what general information
I could pick up.
The conclusion I have arrived at is that Sistan does nob yield more than
75,000 kharwars of grain (21,763 tons), in the proportion of f wheat and
£ barley.
Of this amount about 40,000 kharwars are needed to support the popula
tion, leaving a surplus of 35,000 kharwars (10,156 tons) over and above
^he needs of the population.^
The area of .Sistan as defined by Colonel Goldsmid consists of 950
* ^ e fl bo ^ nein square miles. Nearly all of this is arable land. On
i s 1U n ever OU s g owii oftener the assumption that about | acre produces one kharwar
than once in three years
on the same piece of
ground ; if the soil is
poor, only once in five
years.—E. R. T.
Farming is carried on in a very slovenly way ; the ground is not always
properly cleared before the corn is sown. Cattle are allowed to graze on the
young shoots, which is said to improve the crop.
One of the difficulties the people have to contend against is shifting
sand-drifts. More than once I noticed crops buried in the sand ; that, how
ever, only occurs here and there. What is far more important is the want of
command over the water-supply. When the Helmund rises, the country is
flooded for miles and becomes a bog. They sometimes have to raise low
banks in front of Nasirabad itself to prevent the water from reaching the walls.
This is quite distinct from the periodical overflow of the hamun, and has most
disastrous results. Then, again, if the bund subsides beyond a certain point,
a large portion of the country cannot get enough water for the crops.
The bund is made of fascines of tamarisk and earth. It is about 40 yards
thick near the bank, but is being constantly washed away towards the middle
of the river, where a large volume of water was flowing over it at the time
of my visit. When it becomes too bad, some thousand workmen are impressed
from all the" villages round to repair it. This occurs two or three times a year.
The absence of all trees is very remarkable, and has been ascribed to the
notorious “ wind of 120 days." It is probably merely due to the supineness
and want of energy of the rulers of the country and the system of government
that stifles all private enterprise.
Were it otherwise, the “ bad-i-sad-o-bist roz " would at least produce a
plentiful crop of windmills in such a corn-growing country. I only saw one
or two in the whole of Sistan, whereas in the Birjand country they abound.
At Neh alone there are over 30, and at Tabas in Sunikhana there are at least
forty windmills.
—an assumption based on enquiries from the peasants—
56,250 acres, or roughly of this area, is actually
under cultivation.