The Road From Mangachar To Mastung Is Good, Though Slightly
Undulating, And Intersected By Deep "Nullahs." The Estimated Area Of
The Mastung District Is Two Hundred And Eighty Miles.
It is aptly
named "The Garden of Baluchistan," for considerably more than
two-thirds of its area are under cultivation.
Water at Mastung is
never-failing, and the pretty town, nestling in a valley of vineyards
and fruit-gardens, fig and olive trees, reminded one more of some
secluded town in the Pyrenees or south of France than a Baluch
settlement. The soil hereabouts is light and sandy and particularly
favourable to the cultivation of grapes, of which there are no less
than five kinds. Apricots, peaches, plums, and pomegranates are also
grown, and supply the markets of Quetta and Kelat. Madder and tobacco
are also exported in large quantities from Mastung, which possesses a
neatly built and busy bazaar.
The plain of Dasht-bi-Dowlat, or "The Unpropitious Plain," lies
between Mastung and Quetta. The name, however, only applies after the
harvest has been gathered, for next to Mastung this is one of the most
fertile spots in Baluchistan. Dasht-bi-Dowlat is mainly cultivated
by wandering tribes. The inhabitants of Mastung were enthusiastic in
their description of the plain in summer. Then, they told us, the
surface is covered with verdure and flowers of all kinds, especially
the "lala," or tulip, which they averred cover it for miles with a
carpet of crimson and gold, and load the air with sweet intoxicating
perfume.
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