THE VALE OF KASHMIR 23
feet. The coarser materials have been laid down on the edges near the mountains, and have been terraced, which shows, as we shall see, that the region has been subject to great variations of climate in the not far distant past. The finer materials have been carried toward the centre of the basin, where they form a smooth plain, free from pebbles, very fertile, easily tilled, and easily watered by canals from the countless mountain brooks and rivers.
We are apt to think of Kashmir as part of India, and therefore as necessarily warm. As a matter of fact, it lies thirty-four degrees north of the equator, in the same latitude as the northern part of South Carolina. In altitude it stands over 5000 feet above the sea. Consequently the climate is comparatively cool. From November to March, it is so cold as to be not only bracing, but even rigorous. The spring and fall are mild and delightful, and the summer is warm. The great amount of water spread over the plain for irrigation, and the summer storms on the mountains, make that season damp, though but little rain falls on the plain. The precipitation of Kashmir itself, about twenty-five inches a year, mostly snow, is not much more than half as much as that of the eastern and central parts of the United States. On the mountains the snowfall is heavier, and hence the rivers and canals of the smooth plain are always abundantly supplied with water for irrigation. The temperate climate of the region, combined with the beautiful scenery, makes Kashmir a most attractive summer resort for the people of India, especially the English.
From the dawn of history, Kashmir has been occupied by a single race, Indo-Europeans, allied in blood and language
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