In the Kushk valley the fertility of the land is dependent upon the flooding of the river by the spring rains. As a consequence an ever-present feeling of irritation exists in the lower parts of the Kushk valley against the Afghan villagers, who control the head waters of the river and divert it to their own fields. This difficulty prevails along the entire line of the frontier in this region, the demarcation of the boundary between the two races leaving the heads of the canals in Afghan territory. There are many exceptions to the misfortune, and, so far as possible, the division is arranged in a spirit of mutual ownership, although the natives, on the Russian side of the frontier, have no claim to compensation if there should be an insufficient quantity. With a river like the Kushk, which possesses an irregular volume, the difficulty is much greater than in the case of the Murghab or even the Hari Rud. Water means to these primitive peoples life and existence; and, as cultivation is only rendered possible by most assiduous irrigation, the task of conserving the supply involves incessant labour. Although agricultural activity prevails principally in the Murghab and Kushk district there are a few cultivated places in the Kashan valley. It would be useless to make any comparison between the former valleys and the Kashan. The Kashan valley contains a small strip, level, well watered and about half a mile in width, through which percolates a narrow stream. In spite of its culturable soil the Kashan district is not frequently inhabited, as in the extreme hot weather the Kashan river is exhausted by the claims made upon it for purposes of irrigation; below Robat-i-Kashan, except during the spring floods, there is no trace of water. A similar condition of affairs characterises its companion stream the Kushk; at the point of union with the Murghab it is frequently reduced to a mere trickle. None the less during the spring rains each of these rivers is liable to sudden floods. Prior to the advent of the railway at Tanur Sangi there were but few settlements in the valley. There was one at Karawal Khana on the right bank of the Murghab and 12 miles south of Maruchak, while the next of any consequence was at Bala Murghab, upon the same bank and more than 20 miles away from Maruchak. At the time when the Anglo-Russian Commission was adjusting the line of the Russo-Afghan frontier in this region, the absence of habitation and human settlement of any kind was most marked. Time has brought a change.