584 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



WOODEN SHUTTERS OX THE SHOP OK A I'ERSIAN BAKER. THE 

 MAN ON THE EXTREME RIGHT IS LEAVING THE SHOP WITH A 

 LARGE PIECE OF BREAD IN HIS HAND AND A PILE OF THORN- 

 BUSH TYPICAL FUEI^IS ON THE GROUND OUTSIDE. 



h^ve seen western methods that any sort of furniture 

 is I used at all. The people sit on the floor, eat otT the 

 floor, put their things in bags, or if they have seen 

 something of western ways, in some sort of cheap chests, 

 or; perhaps some poor European trunk. Sometimes there 

 will be a large grain box to keep their grain in, and per- 

 haps a small box to keep their weekly supply, of baked 

 bread in, and these will be the only articles of furniture 

 in the homes of literally thousands of people. And the 

 reason is that wood is so expensive, and of such poor 



quality and of such small size that the people have to 

 get along without using it. To an American a home 

 without any closets, any bureaus, any cupboards, any 

 tables, any chairs, beds, lounges or desks seems im- 

 possible. But this is not exaggeration. It is a cold fact. 

 .'\nd the cause behind the fact is wood scarcity. And 

 forest devastation brought this wood scarcity upon West 

 Persia. 



Fuel, house construction, house furnishings these are 

 the chief uses that wood is put to in West Persia. To a 

 l>erson interested in the problem, however, other uses 

 are made of wood as well, but on a much smaller scale. 



A TYPE OF PRESENT DAY PERSI.\-A REFUGEE KURD. 

 PIPE .STEM IS MADE OF CHERRY WOOD. 



HIS 



A TYPICAL PERSIAN STREET IN A LARGE CITY. NOTE THE 

 SMALL AMOUNT OF WOOD USED IN THE HOUSES. 



The looms on which the native cloth is woven and on 

 which the famous Persian rugs are made are mostly 

 made of wood, but these looms last a lifetime so that 

 there is little consumption there. Straight sticks of 

 cherry are used for pipe .stems and cigarette holders, 

 the holes being bored for you while you wait by the 

 keeper of the little shop in the bazaar. The upright 

 stem and the mouth pieces of the "bubble bubble" wa- 

 ter pipes are of turned wood. The cobblers use wood- 

 en shoepegs, and the saddlers use wood for their trees. 



