36 
THE NORTHERN RANGES 
These rivers, in their upper courses, are wild. torrents flowing at the 
bottom of deep, rocky gorges. They are practically unnavigable, but 
are sometimes crossed by the natives on primitive rafts supported by 
inflated goat-skine, "Transit is easiest in winter, when the streams 
are frozen. 
Here and there, where a valley opens out, or a tributary stream has 
deposited sediment at its confluence and created an alluvial fan, there 
is suffcient soil for cultivation and settlement. Elsewhere, agriculture 
has to depend on the artificial terracing of the mountain-side—a laborious 
process where walls have to be built and soil carried uphill to a height of 
several thousand feet. The streams are used largely for irrigation on the 
slopes of the ranges which flank the Indus plain. "The chief crops grown 
on the terraces and in the high valleys are wheat, millet, pulses, and such 
fruit-trees as apricot, peach, walnut, and mulberry. . 
The rainfall is heaviest on the southern slopes of the Eastern Hima- 
layas. The lower portions of these are densely clad with forests, the 
deodar and sal being important timber-trees ; while in front of the foot- 
hills lies the fever-breeding Jungle called the Terai—the abode of many 
wild beasts, "A. little rubber is collected from the forests in Assam, and 
tea is cultivated in forest clearings on the mountain slopes in the 
same district, as well as near the health stations of Darjiling and 
Simla. 
Between the forests and. the snow-line are pastures on which cattle, 
sheep, and goats are reared in summer. The hair of the Tibet goat, 
rcared in Kashmir, has long made that region noted for its shawls. 
Population is sparse, and chiefly distributed in small villages of 
mud-built huts. Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, in the far-famed 
vale of that name, stands on the Jehlam, in the midst of a fertile are& 
occupying the basin of an ancient lake. "The climate is delightful, and 
the scenery most picturesque. The Jehlam, which is here crossed by & 
bridge, is suitable for boating for some distance. 
Most of the hill tribes consist of _men, of small stature but of strong 
Physique, and endowed with industry and courage. In the past, lack of 
food has sometimes tempted them to raid the lowlands, and their darıng, 
combined with the natural advantages of their mountain home. has 
made them formidable enemies on these occasions.