“ Peshawar lies within a horseshoe ring of hills on the edge of the mountain barrier which separates India from Afghanistan, and through it have passed nearly all the invaders from the north. The native quarter is a huddle of flat-roofed houses within mud walls, crowded along narrow, crooked alleys, there is but one fairly wide street of shops. ”

“ The district is naturally fertile and well watered, and is irrigated by the Swat River Canal. The principal crops are wheat, barley, maize, millets and oil-seeds, with a little cotton and sugar-cane. Peshawar also produces a fine variety of rice, known as “Bara rice,” after the river which irrigates it. The North-Western railway crosses the district from Attock, and has been extended from Peshawar city to Jamrud for military purposes. The district is chiefly inhabited by Pathans; there are some Hindus engaged in trade as bankers, merchants and shop-keepers. ”

“ Except on the south-east, where the Indus flows, it is encircled by mountains which are inhabited by the Mohmand, Utman Khel and Afridi tribes. The plain consists of alluvial deposits of silt and gravel. ”