is formed by the shore of the Caspian until it touches the Bay of Hassan Kul north of As arabad. East of the Caspian Sea and beginning at Has an Kuli Bay the river Atrek serves as the frontier as far as Chat. It then extends east and south-east❘ to Serrakhs on the Tejen River in 36° 40' N. and 61° 20' E. The distance from Mt Ararat to Serrakhs in a straight line is about 930 m. The frontier from Mt Ararat to Astara was defined by the treaty of Turkmanchai (Feb. 22, 1828), and a convention of the 8th of July 1893. The frontier east of the Caspian was defined by the Akhal-Khorasan Boundary Convention of the 21st of December 1881 and the frontier convention of the 8th of July 1893.

Eastern Frontier.

The eastern frontier extends from Serrakhs to near Gwetter on the Arabian Sea in 25° N. and 61° 30′ E., a distance of about 800 m. From Serrakhs to near Kuhsan the boundary is formed by the Tejen River (called Hari Rud, or river of Herat, in its upper course); it then runs almost due south to the border of Seistan in 31° N., and then through Seistan follows the line fixed by Sir Frederick Goldsmid's and Sir Henry McMahon's commissions in 1872 and 1903-1905 to Kuh i Malik Siah. From this point to the sea the frontier separates Persian territory from British Baluchistan and runs south-east to Kuhak and then south-west to Gwetter. This last section was determined by Sir Frederick Goldsmid's commission in 1871.

Southern Frontier.

The southern boundary is the coast line of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf from Gwetter to the mouth of the Shatt el Arab, a distance of about 870 m., comprised between 48° 40' E. and 61° 30' E. The islands situated close to the northern shore of the Persian Gulf are Persian territory; they are, from east to west, Hormuz (Ormus), Larak, Kishm, Hengam, Furur, Kish (Kais), Hindarabi, Shaikh-Shu'aib, Jebrin, Kharak, Kharaku (Khorgu).

Physical Geography.-Modern Persia occupies the western and larger half of the great Iranian plateau which, rising to a height of from 4000 to 8000 ft. between the valleys of the Indus and Tigris, covers more than a million square miles. Taking the Kuren Dagh or Kopet Dagh to form the northern scarp of this plateau east of the Caspian, we find a prolongation of it in the highlands north of the political frontier on the Aras, and even in the Caucasus itself. On the north-west Persia is united by the highlands of Armenia to the mountains of Asia Minor; on the north-west the Paropamisus and Hindu Kush connect it with the Himalayas. The lines of boundary on the western and eastern faces are to be traced amid high ranges of mountains broken here and there by deserts and valleys. These ranges lie for the most part north-east and southeast, as do those in the interior, with a marked exception between Teheran and Bujnurd, and in Baluchistan, where they lie rather north-east and south-west, or, in the latter case, sometimes east and west. The real lowlands are the tracts near the sea-coast belonging to the forest-clad provinces of the Caspian in the north and the shores of the Persian Gulf below Basra and elsewhere. The Persians have no special names for the great ranges. Mountains and valleys are known only by local names which frequently cover but a few miles. Even the name Elburz, which European geographers apply to the chains and ranges that extend for a length of over 500 m. from Azerbaijan in the west to Khorasan in the east, stands with the Persians only for the 60 or 70 m. of mountains north and north-east of Teheran, including the cone of Demavend. The great central range, which extends, almost unbroken, for nearly 800 m. from Azerbaijan in the north-west to Baluchistan in the south-east, may aptly be called the Central Range. It has many peaks 9000 to 10,000 ft. in height, and some of its summits rise to an elevation of 11,000 ft. and near Kerman of nearly 13,000 ft. (Kuh-i-Jupar). The valleys and plains west of the Central Range, as for instance those of Mahallat, Joshekan, Isfahan, Sirjan, have an elevation of 5000 to 6500 ft.; those within the range, as Jasp, Ardahal, So, Pariz, are about 1000 ft. higher; and those east of it slope from an elevation of 5000 to 6000 ft. down to the depressions of the central plateau which, east of Kum, are not more than 2600 ft. and east of Kerman 1500 to 1700 ft. above the sea-level. Some of the ranges west of the Central Range, which form the highlands of Kurdistan, Luristan, Bakhtiari and Fars, and are parallel to it, end near the Persian Gulf; others follow the Central Range, and take a direction to the east at some point between Kerman and the sea on the western frontier of Baluchistan. Some of these western ranges rise to considerable elevations; those forming the TurkoPersian frontier west of the lake of Urmia have peaks 11,000 ft. in height, while the Sahand, east of the lake and south of Tabriz, has an elevation of 12,000 ft. Farther south, the Takht-i-Bilkis, in the Afshar district, rises to 11,200 ft., the Elvend (ancient

Orontes), near Hamadan, to 11,600. The Shuturun Kuh, south of Burujird, is over 11,000 ft. in height, the Shahan Kuh, Kuh-iGerra, Zardeh Kuh and Kuh-i-Karan (by some writers called Kuh-i-Rang), all in the Bakhtiari country west of Isfahan, are 12,800 to 13,000 ft. in height; and the Kuh-i-Dina (by some writers wrongly called Kuh-i-Dinar) has an elevation of over 14,000 ft. Still farther south, towards Kerman, there are several peaks (BidKhan, Lalehzar, Shah-Kuh, Jamal Bariz, &c.) which rise to an elevation of 13,000 ft. or more, and the Kuh-i-Hazar, south of Kerman, is 14,700 ft. in height. Beginning near Ardebil in Azerbaijan, where the cone of Savelan rises to an elevation of 15,792 ft. (Russian trigonometrical survey), and ending in Khorasan, the great Elburz range presents on its southern, or inward, face a more or less abrupt scarp rising above immense gravel slopes, and reaches in some of its summits a height of nearly 13,000 ft.; and the peak of Demavend, north-west of Teheran, has a height of at least 18,000 ft. There Binalud, west of Meshed and north of Nishapur, has several peaks are several important ranges in Khorasan, and one of them, the of 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height. In south-eastern Persia the Kuhi-Basman, a dormant volcano, 11,000 to 12,000 ft. in height, in the Basman district, and the Kuh-i-Taftan, i.e. the hot or burning mountain (also called Kuh-i-Nushadar from the "sal ammoniac,' nushadar, found on its slopes), an active triple-peaked volcano in the Sarhad district and 12,681 ft. in height (Captain Jennings), are

notable features.

Taking the area of Persia at 628,000 sq. m. the drainage may thus be distributed: (1) into the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, 135,000 sq. m.; (2) into the Caspian, 100,000; (3) into Rivers. the Seistan depression, 43,000; (4) into the Urmia Lake, 20,000; (5) into the interior of Persia, 330,000. The first district comprises most of the south-western provinces and the whole of the coast region as far east as Gwetter; the second relates to the tracts west, south and east of the southern part of the Caspian Sea. The tracts south of the Caspian are not more than 20 to 50 m. wide; those on the west widen out to a depth of 250 m., meeting the watershed of the Tigris on the one side and that of the Euphrates and Lake Van on the other, and embracing between the two the basin of Lake Urmia. On the east the watershed of the Caspian gradually increases in breadth, the foot of the scarp extending considerably to the north of the south-eastern angle of that sea, three degrees east of which it turns to the south-east, parallel to the axis of the Kopet Dagh. The third drainage area comprises Persian Seistan with part of the Helmund (Hilmend) basin and a considerable tract adjoining it on the west. The fourth is a comparatively small area on the western frontier containing the basin of Lake Urmia, shut off from the rest of the inland drainage, and the fifth area takes in a part of Baluchistan, most of Kerman, a part of Fars, all Yezd, Isfahan, Kashan, Kum, Irak, Khamseh, Kazvin, Teheran, Samnan, Damghan, Shahrud, Khorasan and the central desert regions.

Four rivers belonging essentially to Persia, in reference to the Caspian watershed, are the Seafid Rud or Kizil Uzain on the southwest, the Herhaz on the south and the Gurgan and Atrek at the south-eastern corner of that inland sea. The Seafid Rud rises in Persian Kurdistan in about 35° 50' N. and 46° 45′ E., a few miles from Senendij. It has a very tortuous course of nearly 500 m., for the distance from its source to the Caspian, 57 m. east of Resht, is only 210 m. in a straight line. The Kizil Uzain takes up some important affluents and is called Seafid Rud from the point where it breaks through the Elburz to the sea, a distance of 70 m. It drains 25,000 to 30,000 sq. m. of the country. The Herhaz, though not important in length of course or drainage, also, like the Seafid Rud, breaks through the Elburz range from the inner southern scarp to the north. It rises on the slopes of the Kasil Kuh, a peak 12,000 ft. in height within the Elburz, and about 25 m. north of Teheran, flows easterly through the Lar plateau, where it is known as the Lar River, and takes up several affluents; turns to the northeast at the foot of Demavend, leaving that mountain to the left, and flows due north past Amol to the Caspian. Its length is about 120 m. The Gurgan rises on the Armutlu plateau in Khorasan east of Astarabad, and enters the Caspian in 37° 4′ N., northwest of Astarabad, after a course of about 200 m. The Atrek rises a few miles from Kuchan and enters the Caspian at the Bay of Hassan Kuli in 37° 21' N., after a course of about 300 m. From the sea to the Russian frontier post of Chat the river forms the frontier between Persia and the Russian Transcaspian region. The drainage of the rivers which have no outlet to the sea and form inland lakes and swamps (kavir) may be estimated at 350,000 sq. m., including the drainage of Lake Urmia, which is about 20,000 sq. m. Fourteen rivers flow into the lake: the Aji Chai, Safi Chai, Murdi Chai and Jaghatu from the east, the Tatau (Tatava) from the south, and nine smaller rivers from the west. During heavy rains and when the snows on the hills melt, thousands of streams flow from all directions into the innumerable depressions of inner Persia, or help to swell the perennial rivers which have no outlet to the sea. These latter are few in number, and some of them barely suffice for purposes of agricultural irrigation, and in summer dwindle down to small rills. The perennial streams which help to form the kavirs (salt swamps) east of Kum and Kashan are the Hableh-rud, rising east of Demavend, the Jajrud,

rising north of Teheran, the Kend and Kerej rivers, rising northwest of Teheran, the Shureh-rud (also called Abhar-rud), rising near Sultanieh on the road between Kazvin and Tabriz, and the Kara-su, which rises near Hamadan and is joined by the Zarinrud (also known as Do-ab), the Reza Chai (also called Mazdakanrud), the Jehrud River and the Kum-rud. The river of Isfahan, Zendeh-rud, i.e. "the great river" (from Persian zendeh [Pehlevi, zendek), great), but now generally known as Zayendeh-rud, i.e. the life-giving river," flows into the Gavkhani or Gavkhaneh swamp, east of Isfahan. In Fars the Kur with its affluents forms the lake of Bakhtegan (also known as Lake of Niriz), and in its lower course, is generally called Bandamir (made famous by Thomas Moore) from the band (dam) constructed by the Amir (prince) Asad-ed-dowleh in the 10th century. ("Note on the Kur River in Fars," Proc. Royal Geog. Soc., London, 1891.) The rivers flowing into the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea diminish in importance from west to east. There are first the Diyala and Kerkheh flowing into the Tigris from the hills of Kurdistan; the Abi Diz and Karun which unite below Shushter, and reach the Shatt el Arab at Muhamrah; and the Jarahi and Tab, which with the Karun form "the delta of Persian Arabistan, the most extensive and fertile plain in Persia." There are many streams which though fordable at most seasons (some of them are often quite dry) are unfordable during the rains. Two of these may be mentioned here, viz. the Mand and the Minab, which St John (loc. cit. p. 9) considered as being "of far more importance than the maps would lead the observer to suppose. The former, after a run of over 300 m. from its sources in the hills west of Shiraz, debouches at Khor-i-Ziaret about 60 m. south of Bushire. It is mentioned by the old Arab and Persian geographers as the Sitakan (in some MSS. misspelt Sakkan), and is the Sitakos of Arrian and the Sitioganus of Pliny. In its upper course it is now known as the Kara-aghach (Wych-elm) River (cf. "Notes on the River Mand in Southern Persia," Royal Geog. Soc., London, December 1883). The Minab has two outlets into the Persian Gulf, one the Khor-i-Minab, a salt-water creek into which the river overflows during the rains, about 30 m. east of Bander Abbasi, the other the true Minab, at Khagun, some miles south of the creek. It rises in the hills about 100 m. north of Bander Abbasi, and has a considerable drainage. Its bed near the town of Minab (15 m. from the coast) is nearly a mile in width, and during the rains the water covers the whole bed, rendering it quite unfordable. During ordinary weather, in March 1884, the water flowing past the town was 100 yds. in width and 2 ft. deep (Preece, Proc. Royal Geog. Soc., January 1885). In ordinary seasons very little water of the river runs into its original bed, being diverted into canals, &c. The creek, the Anamis of | Nearchus, is navigable nearly all through the year as far as Shahbander, the custom-house, about 7 m. inland, for vessels of 20 tons burden.

Desert.

"The great desert region of Persia," writes Le Strange (Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 1905), "stretches right across the high plateau of Irân going from north-west to south-east, and dividing the fertile provinces of the land into two groups; for the desert is continuous from the southern base of the Elburz mountains, that to the north overlook the Caspian, to the arid ranges of Makrân, which border the Persian Gulf. Thus it measures nearly 800 m. in length, but the breadth varies considerably; for in shape this immense area of drought is somewhat that of an hour-glass with a narrow neck, measuring only some 100 m. across, dividing Kermân from Seistân, while both north and south of this the breadth expands and in places reaches to over 200 m. At the present day the desert, as a whole, is known as the Lût or Dasht-i-Lût; the saline swamps and the dry salt area being more particularly known as the Dasht-i-Kavîr, the term Kavîr being also occasionally applied to the desert as a whole."

A three-wire telegraph line on iron posts, completed in March 1907, passes through this region, and it is the unenviable lot of some Englishmen stationed at Bam and Nusretabad Ispi (Isbidh of medieval Arab geographers) on the confines of the desert regularly to inspect and test it. Of the northerly Great Kavir Dr Tietze thought that it was composed of a complex of isolated salt swamps separated by sand-dunes, low ridges of limestone and gypsum, perhaps also by volcanic rocks (Jahrbuch k. k. geolog. Reichsanstalt, Vienna, 1877). Dr Sven Hedin explored the northern part of the Great Desert in 1906. (A. H.-S.)

Geology.-Persia consists of a central region covered by Quaternary deposits and bordered on the north, west and south by a raised rim composed of older rocks. These older rocks also form the isolated ranges which rise through the Quaternary deposits of the central area.

In northern Persia the rocks of the elevated rim are thrown into folds which form a curve round the southern shore of the Caspian. The mountain ranges of Khorasan show the western portion of a second curve of folding which is probably continued into the Hindu Kush. In the western rim of Persia the folds run from north-west to south-east, and in the south these foids appear to curve gradually eastward, following the trend of the coast. The folds in the central Persian chains run from north-west to south-east, parallel to those of the western border. It is seldom that the old crystalline rocks, which form the floor upon which the sedimentary strata were

|

deposited, are exposed to view. Gneiss, granite and crystalline schist, however, are found in the Elburz and in some of the central ranges; and similar rocks form a large part of the Zagros. Some of these rocks are probably Archean, but some appear to be metamorphosed sedimentary deposits of later date. The oldest beds in which fossils have yet been found belong to the Upper Devonian. They are well developed in the Elburz range, where they attain a thickness of some 9000 to 10,000 ft., and they have been found also in some of the central ranges and in the Bakhtiari Mountains. In the Elburz range the Devonian is succeeded by a series of limestones with Productus. The greater part of the series belongs to the Carboniferous, but the upper beds are probably of Permian age. The limestones are followed by sandstones and shales with occasional seams of coal. The plants which have been found in these beds indicate a Rhaetic or Liassic age. The Middle and Upper Jurassic form a considerable portion of the Elburz and have yielded marine fossils belonging to several different horizons. The Cretaceous system is very widely spread in Persia. It is one of the most conspicuous formations in the Zagros and in the central ranges, and probably forms a large part of the plateau, beneath the Quaternary deposits. The most prominent member of the series is a massive limestone containing Hippurites and belonging to the upper division of the system. The Tertiary deposits include nummulitic limestone (Eocene); a series of limestones, sandstones and conglomerates, with marine Miocene fossils; and red marls, clays and sandstones with rock-salt and gypsum, believed to belong to the Upper Miocene. In the Elburz there is a considerable deposit of palagonite tuff which appears to be of Oligocene age. The nummulitic limestone takes part in the formation of the mountain chains. The Miocene deposits generally lie at the foot of the chains, or in the valleys; but occasionally they are found at higher levels. Pliocene deposits cover a considerable area near the coast. Both in the Elburz range and near the Baluchistan frontier there are numerous recent volcanoes. Some of these seem to be extinct, but several continue to emit vapours and gases. Demavend in the Elburz and Kuh-i-Taftan on the Baluchistan frontier are among the best-known. (P. LA.)

See W. K. Loftus, "On the Geology of Portions of the TurkoPersian Frontier, and of the Districts adjoining," Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xi. pp. 247-344, pl. ix. (London, 1855); W. T. Blanford, Eastern Persia, vol. ii. (Zoology and Geology) (London, 1876); C. L. Griesbach, Field-notes: No. 5, to accompany a Geological Sketch Map of Afghanistan and North-Eastern Khorasan, Rec. Geol. Surv. India, xx. 93–103 (1887), with map; A. F. Stahl, Zur Geologie von Persien," Peterm. Mitt., Ergänzungsheft 122 (1897); J. de Morgan, Mission scientifique en Perse, vol. iii. (completed 1905, Paris). A summary by H. Douvillé of the principal geological results of de Morgan's expedition will be found in Bull. soc. géol. France, 4th series, vol. iv. pp. 539-553.

Climate. For the rainfall on the watershed of the Persian Gulf there are two places of observation, Bushire and Jask; at the first it is a little in excess of that of inner Persia, while at the second it is very much less. The rainfall on the Caspian watershed greatly exceeds that of inner Persia; at Astarabad and Ashurada, in the south-eastern corner of the Caspian, it is about 50% more; and at Resht and Lenkoran, in the south-western corner, it is four and five times that of the adjoining districts across the ridges to the south. With the exception of the Caspian watershed and that of the Urmia basin, the country has probably in no part a yearly rainfall exceeding 13 or 14 in., and throughout the greater part of central and south-eastern Persia the yearly rainfall probably does not exceed 6 in. The following mean values of the rainfall at Teheran have been derived from observations taken by the writer during 1892-1907:

Good harvests depend on the rainfall from October to April, and on an amount of snow sufficient to cover the crops during frosts. During normal winters in Teheran and surrounding districts the rainfall amounts to 9 or 10 in., with 3 to 4 of snow, but in the winter 1898-1899 it was only 5 in., with only I in. of snow; and in 1899-1900 the harvests were in consequence exceptionally bad, and large quantities of wheat and flour had to be brought from the provinces and even from Russia at high freights, causing the price of bread at Teheran to rise 200%. The first table on p. 191 shows the mean annual rainfall in inches at fifteen stations in and near Persia.

The prevailing winds throughout Persia and the Persian Gulf are the north-west and south-east owing partly to the position of the Black Sea and Mediterranean and of the Arabian Sea, and partly

Frequently when the temperature in the shade at Bushire is not more than 85° or 90°, and the great humidity of the air causes much bodily discomfort, life is almost pleasant 12 or 20 m. inland with a temperature of over 100°. Fauna. Mr W. T. Blanford has described with great care and minuteness the zoology of Persia. In company with Major St John, R.E., he made a large collection of the vertebrate fauna in a journey from Gwetter to Teheran in 1872. Having added to this a previous collection made by the same officer with the assistance of a native from Calcutta, he had before him the principal materials for his work. Before commencing his analysis he adverted to his predecessors in the same field, i.e. Gmelin (whose travels were published in 1774-1784), Olivier (1807), Pallas (1811), Ménétries (1832), Belanger (1834), Eichwald (1834-1841), Aucher Eloy (1851), Loftus, Count Keyserling, Kokschy, Chesney, the Hon. C. Murray, De Filippi (1865), Hume (1873), and Professor Strauch of St Petersburg. All of these had, more or less, contributed something to the knowledge of the subject, whether as writers or as collectors, or in both capacities, and to all the due meed of credit was assigned. Blanford divided Persia into five zoological provinces: (1) the Persian plateau, or from the Kopet Dagh southwards to nearly 28° N. lat., including all Khorasan to the Perso-Afghan border, its western limit being indicated by a long line to the northwest from near Shiraz, taking in the whole upper country to the Russian frontier and the Elburz; (2) the provinces south and south-west of the Caspian; (3) a narrow strip of wooded country south-west of the Zagros range, from the Diyala River in Turkey in Asia to Shiraz; (4) the Persian side of the Shatt-el-Arab, and Aralictan, east of the Tigris; and (5) the shores of the Persian Gulf and Baluchistan. The fauna of the Persian plateau he described as Palaearctic, with a great prevalence of desert forms; or, perhaps more correctly,

36°

53° 55'

56.45

-80

19

51'

17.17

Meshed

54° 25'

Supan.1

-40

36°

7

16.28

17

Quetta

59° 36'

30° II'

3180

9

Kalat.

67° 3'

9.33

Maskat

28° 53'

66° 28'

10.09

6500

23 29′ 25 39

58°

57° 46'

6.13

28°

10

59'

Isfahan

50°

49'

3.24

32° 37′

19

Teheran

51°

40'

13.36

5370

35° 41'

7

Urmia (Sair).

51° 25'

5:44

3810

45° 8

6225

I

33 19 44° 26'

21.51

Bagdad Merv

37° 35' 61° 50′

Very few hygrometrical observations have been taken, and only those of the British residency at Bushire are more or less trustworthy, and have been regularly registered for a number of years. In inner Persia the air is exceptionally dry, and in many districts polished steel may be exposed in the open during a great part of the year without becoming tarnished. Along the shores of the Caspian, particularly in Gilan and Mazandaran, and of the Persian Gulf from the mouth of the Shatt el Arab down to Bander Abbasi, the air during a great part of the year contains much moisture-dry- and wet-bulb thermometers at times indicating the same temperature and at nights there are heavy falls of dew. In Gilan and Mazandaran the air contains much moisture up to considerable elevations and as far as 30 to 40 m. away from the sea; but along the Persian Gulf, where vegetation is very scanty, stations only a few miles away from the coast and not more than 20 or 30 ft. above the sea-level have a comparatively dry climate.

as being of the desert type with Palaearctic species in the more fertile regions." In the Caspian provinces he found the fauna, on the whole, Palaearctic also," most of the animals being identical with those of south-eastern Europe." But some were essentially indigenous, and he observed a singular character given to the fauna by the presence of certain Eastern forms, unknown in other parts of Persia, such as the tiger, a remarkable deer of the IndoMalayan group, allied to Cervus axis, and a pit viper (Halys)." Including the oak-forests of Shiraz with the wooded slopes of the Zagros, he found in his third division that, however little known was the tract, it appeared to contain, like the second, "a Palaearctic fauna with a few peculiar species.' As to Persian Mesopotamia, he considered its fauna to belong to the same Palaearctic region as Syria, but could scarcely speak with confidence on its characteristic forms. The fifth and last division, Baluchistan and the shores of the Persian Gulf, presented, however, in the animals common to the Persian highland "for the most part desert types, whilst the characteristic Palaearctic species almost entirely disappear, their

Gulf Arab, though not equal to the pure Arabian, is a very serviceable animal, and has always a value in the Indian market. Among others the wandering Turkish tribes in Fars have the credit of possessing good steeds. The Turkoman horse of Khorasan and the Atak is a large, bony and clumsy-looking quadruped, with marvellous power and endurance. Colonel C. E. Stewart stated that the Khorasan camel is celebrated for its size and strength, that it has very long hair, and bears cold and exposure far better than the ordinary Arabian or Persian camel, and that, while the ordinary Persian camel only carries a load of some 320 b and an Indian camel one of some 400 lb, the Khorasan camel will carry from 600 to 700 lb. The best animals, he notes, are a cross between the Bactrian or two-humped and the Arabian or one-humped camel. Sheep, goats, dogs and cats are good of their kind; but not all the last are the beautiful creatures which, bearing the name of the

country, have arrived at such distinction in Europe. Nor are these to be obtained, as supposed, at Angora in Asia Minor. Van or Isfahan is a more likely habitat. The cat at the first place, called by the Turks "Van kedisi," has a certain local reputation. Among the wild animals are the lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, brown bear, hyena, hog, badger, porcupine, pole-cat, weasel, marten, wolf, jackal, fox, hare, wild ass, wild sheep, wild cat, mountaingoat, gazelle and deer. The tiger is peculiar to the Caspian provinces. Lovett says they are plentiful in Astrabad; he measured two specimens, one 10 ft. 8 in., the other 8 ft. 10 in. from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. Lynxes and bears were to be found in the same vicinity, and the wild pig was both numerous and destructive. According to Blanford there are about four hundred known species of birds in Persia. The game birds have admirable representatives in the pheasant, "karkavul (Phasianus colchicus, L.); snowcock or royal partridge, "kebk-i-dari " (Tetraogallus Caspius, Gmel.); black partridge, "durraj" (Francolinus vulgaris, Steph.); red-legged partridge, kebk (Caccabis chukar, Gray); sandpartridge or seesee, "tihu" (Ammoperdix bonhami, Gray); Indian grey partridge," jirufti" (Ortygornis ponticerianus, Gmel.); quail, belderjin (Coturnix communis, Bonn.); sandgrouse, siyahsineh (Pterocles arenarius, Pall.); bustard, "hubareh" (Otis tetrax, L. and O. McQueenii, Gray); woodcock, snipe, pigeon, many kinds of goose, duck, &c. The flamingo comes up from the south as far north as the neighbourhood of Teheran; the stork abounds. Poultry is good and plentiful. A large kind of fowl known as Lari" (from the province Lar, in southern Persia) is said to be a descendant of fowls brought to Persia by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

66

66

44

The fish principally caught along the southern shore of the Caspian are the sturgeon, sagmahi," dogfish (Acipenser ruthenus simm," and A. huso); sheat-fish or silure, summ (Silurus glanis); salmon, 'azad mahi" (Salmo salar); trout, masch' (Salmo trutta); carp, kupur (Cyprinus ballerus and C. carpio); bream, subulu " (Abramis brama); pike-perch, "mahi safid" (Perca lucioperca or Lucioperca sandra). There is also a herring which frequents only the southern half of the Caspian, not passing over the shallow part of the sea which extends from Baku eastwards. As it was first observed near the mouth of the river Kur it has been named Clupea Kurensis. Fish are scarce in inner Persia; salmon trout and mud-trout are plentiful in some of the mountain streams. Many underground canals are frequented by carp and roach. The silure has also been observed in some streams which flow into the Urmia lake, and in Kurdistan.

Flora. In the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Astarabad on the Caspian, from the shore to an altitude of about 3000 ft. on the northern slopes of the great mountain range which separates those provinces from the highlands of Persia, the flora is similar to that of Grisebach's " mediterranean region.' At higher altitudes many forms of a more northern flora appear. As we approach inner Persia the flora rapidly makes place to steppe vegetation in the plains, while the mediterranean flora predominates in the hills. The steppe vegetation extends in the south to the outer range of the hills which separate inner Persia from the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Beyond this outer range and along the shore of the sea the flora is that of the "Sahara region," which extends eastwards to Sind.

Generally speaking, everywhere, excepting in the northern lowlands and in a few favoured spots in the hilly districts, the vegetation is scanty. In inner Persia the hills and plains are bare of trees, and steppe and desert predominate. The date-palm thrives well as far north as Tabbas in latitude 33° 36′ and at an altitude of 2000 ft. and in the south extensive date-groves, producing excellent fruit, exist at altitudes of 2000 to 5000 ft. The olive is cultivated at Rudbar south of Resht in Gilan, and a few isolated olive-trees have been observed in central and southern Persia.

Of fruits the variety is great, and nearly all the fruits of Europe are well represented. The common, yet excellent melons, watermelons, grapes, apricots, cherries, plums, apples, are within the reach of the poorest. Less common and picked fruits are expensive, particularly so when cost of transport has to be considered; for instance, a good orange costs 2d. or 3d. in Teheran, while in Mazandaran (only 100 m. distant), whence the oranges are brought, it costs d. Some fruits are famous and vie in excellence with any that European orchards produce; such are the peaches of Tabriz and Meshed, the sugar melons of Kashan and Isfahan, the apples of Demavend, pears of Natanz, figs of Kermanshah, &c. The strawberry was brought to Persia about 1859, and is much cultivated in the gardens of Teheran and neighbourhood; the raspberry was introduced at about the same time, but is not much appreciated. Currants and gooseberries are now also grown. The common vegetables also are plentiful and cheap, but only a few, such as the broad-bean, egg-plant (Solanum melongena), onion, carrot, beetroot, black turnip, are appreciated by the natives, who generally do not take kindly to newly-introduced varieties. The potato, although successfully cultivated in Persia since about 1780, has not yet found favour, and the same may be said of the tomato, asparagus, celery and others. Flowers are abundant, but it is only since the beginning of Nasr ed din Shah's reign (1848), when European

gardeners were employed in Persia, that they were rationally cultivated. Nearly all the European garden flowers, even the rarer ones, can now be seen not only in the parks and gardens of the rich and well-to-do but in many unpretentious courtyards with only a few square yards of surface.

Population. In 1881 the present writer estimated the population of Persia at 7,653,600; 1,963,800 urban, 3,780,000 rural and 1,909,800 wandering (“ Bevölkerung der Erde,” p. 28; Ency. Brit. 9th ed. p. 628); and, allowing for an increase of about 1% per annum the population for 1910 may be estimated at 10 millions. No statistics whatever being kept, nothing precise is known of the movement of the population. During the ninth decade of the 19th century many Persian subjects emigrated, and many Persian villages were deserted and fell to ruins; since then a small immigration has set in and new villages have been founded. Persians say that the females exceed the males by 10 to 20%, but wherever the present writer has been able to obtain trustworthy information he found the excess to be less than 2%. Of the deaths in any place the only check obtainable is from the public body-washers, but many corpses are buried without the aid of the public body-washers; and the population of the place not being accurately known, the number of deaths, however correct, is useless for statistical purposes. Medical men have stated that the number of deaths, in times when there are no epidemics, amounts to 19 or 20 per thousand, and the number of births to 25 to 40 per thousand.

The prices of the staple articles of food and all necessaries of life have risen considerably since 1880, and, particularly in the large cities, are now very high. As salaries and wages have not increased at the same rate, many of the upper classes and officials are not so well off as formerly. By dismissing their servants in order to reduce expenditure, they have thrown great numbers of men out of employment, while many labourers and workmen are Tradesmen are less living very poorly and often suffer want. affected, because they can sell the articles which they manufacture at values which are more in proportion with the increased prices of food. In 1880 a labourer earning 25 krans, or £1 sterling a month, could afford to keep a family; by 1908, in krans, he earned double what he did in 1880, but his wage, expressed in sterling, was the same, and wherever the prices of food have risen more than his wages he could not afford to keep a family. In many districts and cities the number of births is therefore reduced, while at the same time the mortality, in consequence of bad and often insufficient food, is considerably increased.

The description of the Persian character by C. J. Wills, in his

In the Land of the Lion and Sun (1883), is still worth quoting:

"The character of the Persian is that of an easy-going man with a wish to make things pleasant generally. He is hospitable, obliging, and specially well disposed to the foreigner. His home virtues are many: he is very kind and indulgent to his children and, as a son, his respect for both parents is excessive, developed in a greater degree to his father, in whose presence he will rarely sit, and whom he is in the habit of addressing and speaking of as 'master.' The full stream of his love and reverence is reserved for his mother; he never leaves her to starve, and her wishes are laws to him. The mother is always the most important member of the household, and the grandmother is treated with veneration. The presence of the mother-in-law is coveted by their sons-in-law, who look on them as the guardians of the virtue of their wives. The paternal uncle is a much nearer tie than with us; while men look on their first cousins on the father's side as their most natural wives.

"Black slaves and men-nurses or 'lallahs' are much respected; the dayah' or wet nurse is looked on as a second mother and usually provided for for life. Persians are very kind to their servants; a master will often be addressed by his servant as his father, and the servant will protect his master's property as he would his own. A servant is invariably spoken to as bacha ' (child). The servants expect that their master will never allow them to be wronged. The slaves in Persia have a good time; well fed, well clothed, treated as spoiled children, given the lightest work, and often given in marriage to a favourite son or taken as segah' or concubine by the master himself, slaves have the certainty of a well-cared-for old age. They are looked on as confidential servants, are entrusted with large sums of money, and the conduct of the most important affairs; and seldom abuse their The greatest punishment to an untrustworthy slave is to give him his liberty and let him earn his living. They vary in colour and value: the 'Habashi' or Abyssinian is the most valued; the Suhali or Somali, next in blackness, is next in price; the Bombassi, or coal-black negro of the interior, being of much less price. and usually only used as a cook. The prices of slaves in Shiraz are, a good Habashi girl of twelve to fourteen £40, a good Somali

trust.