713 JOURNAL Olf FORESTRY 



to a height of 200 or 300 feet and a circumference of a mile or more 

 where, there is good reason to believe, the ancient Parsees kept the 

 eternal fires of their sacred shrines burning. A comparatively meagre 

 expenditure of effort in digging in these hills will bring to light ancient 

 brass ornaments, pottery and other relics of this civilization of the past 

 now covered up in the ashes of what probably were the former forests 

 of West Persia. 



The population of West Persia is made up of a mixture of races, 

 religions, and sects, as follows : 



1. The "Moslems," as they are called by the Europeans and Amer- 

 icans to separate them from the other peoples, are not pure Persian 

 stock, but are mixed with Tartars and Turks. They are vastly in the 

 majority in numbers. 



2. The Kurds, of distinct race and Mahomedan creed, make up a 

 smaller group, located in the mountains for the most part, are more 

 of a pastoral people than the "Moslems" who tend toward farming. 



3. The Armenians, who are better known and more prominent in 

 business than as connected with agriculture. 



4. The Syrians, or Assyrians as they call themselves, claiming direct 

 descent from the ancient kingdom of Assyria of Old Testament fame, 

 who are both farmers and business men. 



5. In addition to the above-mentioned established races there is a 

 floating population of scattered individuals brought in by the war 

 and the unrest. Russians, Georgians, Turks, Tartars, and perhaps 

 others make up this group. 



The basic activity of the country is agriculture, the manufacturing 

 being limited and of small account considering the mass of the in- 

 habitants. Rugs, silk and wool and cotton cloth, native shoes of crude 

 pattern, jewelry and ornaments, pottery, bricks and leather make up 

 about all that might be classified as the products of manufacture. 

 Everything is crudely done in a most primitive way. The wonder of 

 the Persian rugs is appreciated when the background of the "factory" 

 is seen. (The industrial revolution which came to Europe with the in- 

 vention of the steam engine and machinery has yet to arrive in Persia 

 with the first up-to-date machinery of any kind. The country is 

 perhaps 500 years behind America in civilization.) Outside of the 

 few large cities and towns little or nothing but agriculture is prac- 

 ticed. The country towns and villages lie scattered about over the 

 fcT-tile part of the country each surrounded by its own fields, orchards 



