the slight lowering of the level of the Wular Lake are the results to be expected under such circumstances, as are also the famines, which Stein, on the authority of Kalhana, describes as taking place in the twelfth century because of prematurely early snowfalls. Similarly, the complete freezing over of the Jhelum, described by Kalhana in 108788 A. D., and the extreme isolation of Kashmir during the Middle Ages, would be natural if the winters were more severe and the passes more snowy than now. Altogether, the history of Kashmir, as well as its present condition and future development, seems to depend upon climate more than upon any other physical feature. Changes of climate appear to have caused a population of a few scattered nomads to give place to a far denser population of tillers of the soil and artisans, whose mode of life and whose character are wholly different from those of wandering shepherds. And the present climate, in coöperation with other physical features, exerts a strong influence upon the habits and character of the people, and upon the lines of development which must be pursued in the future under the changing conditions of English occupation.
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