The town itself is dirty. The thoroughfares, lined with houses several storeys in height, are narrow, dark and irregular. Near the base of the citadel, upon its easterly and westerly aspect, there is a small open space varying from 100 yards to 150 yards; upon the southern side the houses crowd close up to the rock. From the Khanah Gate to the Kandahar or Bazar Gate, a street runs with some pretensions to uniformity of breadth and directness of course. Another leads north-east to the open space upon the west of the citadel, while from the Kabul Gate there is communication by several narrow and somewhat tortuous lanes. The houses are built of mud; only in rare instances do they possess domed roofs. The population fluctuates according to the season and the amount of trade passing into India. It seldom rises above 8000 people nor falls much below 3000 people. The inhabitants are largely drawn from the Nasir, Suliman Khel and other Ghilzai clans, who are concerned with the through caravan trade _viâ_ the Gomul, together with a certain proportion of Duranis and Tajiks. There are, also, 250 families of Hazara labourers and perhaps 200 Hindu shopkeepers, bankers and traders. The community in Ghazni is very mixed, ignorant, superstitious and, if the Hindu element is excepted, without wealth. Hindus in Ghazni are required to wear tight trousers instead of loose ones, a black cap in place of a turban and to pay a capitation tax. Upon compliance with these restrictions they receive protection and contrive to control the trade between India and Afghanistan. The chief trade of the place is in corn, fruits and madder, all of which are largely produced in the district. Wool and camels’-hair cloth are brought into the market from the adjoining Hazara country; and, since the British occupation of Wano and the opening up of the Gomul Pass, local commerce has developed. Agriculturally, the district is a rich one. Large crops of wheat and barley are obtained, the capital itself drawing no small proportion of its grain supply from this market. In addition to the land under cereal cultivation there are magnificent pastures, while the fruit is no less celebrated. The excellence of the apples surpasses that of those grown at Kandahar, although the Kandahar melons, an especial production of that city, are superior to the variety which are reared at Ghazni. For corn and apricots Kabul makes a heavy demand upon Ghazni; but the madder grown in the vicinity is almost all exported to India, while tobacco, corn and the castor-oil plant are grown only for home consumption.