Merv, the Queen of the
World;
and the Scourge of the Man-stealing Turcomans. With an
Exposition of the Khorassan Question:
By Charles Thomas Marvin, Published by W.H. Allen, 1881
CHAPTER II. TUKKMENIA.
Page 30
- Page
31 - Page 32 - Page 33
- Page
34 - Page 35
- Page
36 - Page 37
- Page
38
Page 32
water at no great distance from the
surface, seldom exceeding the depth of forty feet. Such
is the desert of the Turkmen,
inhabited, too, by a tribe of people who boast that they
neither rest under the shade of a tree or a king."
"
The Caspian desert * is generally of light soil, white,
and inclined to be sandy, yet so firm, that in dry
weather camels barely leave the print of their feet upon
it. This soil produces light thorns and weedy bushes,
much of the juicy camel-thorn, a root like the stem of a
vine, called taukh, and stunted tamarisk bushes; in parts
spring patches of coarse grass, probably where water is
near the surface. Much of the ground is hard, and quite
bare, showing occasionally patches of salt, doubtless the
cause of the sterility. A third feature is the sand; this
is either spread loosely over the plain, or is gathered
in broad ridges, which assume some consistency. Near such
spots the Turkmen
prefer to pitch their tents: their camps are more private
and sheltered, and good water is found at no great depth.
We satisfied ourselves that it would not be difficult for
a power stronger than the Turkmen
to reclaim a considerable portion of this waste inland
from the coast. Much of the soil (that especially between
the rivers Gorgon and Atrek) is good and water is to be
had for little labor."
Vambery also says that, “experience shows that
irrigation carried on for several years creates an
alluvial soil, which is the whole secret of
fertility." Further on we shall notice
Petroosevitch's ambitious * Conolly.
Page 30
- Page
31 - Page 32 - Page 33
- Page
34 - Page 35
- Page
36 - Page 37
- Page
38
|