ASIA: PERSIA. 413 



POPULATION. 



All statistical reports relating to population, to manufactures, 

 trade, industries, natural resources, exports and imports, revenue 

 and expenditure of this country are, from their incompleteness, un- 

 reliable and misleading, whether compiled by Persians or foreigners. 



The population of Persia at the present time is probably from 

 12,000,000 to 15,000,000, 90 per cent of whom are illiterates. Con- 

 siderable mechanical and artistic skill is developed by the artisan 

 class, although, from the absence of sympathetic and generous sup- 

 port, not to the same extent as in the past. 



CONSUMPTION. 



The only special use to which paper (waste paper) is applied in 

 Persia is in the preparation of a kind of papier-mache for making 

 pen cases, book covers, and a few other ornamental articles. Beyond 

 this, paper is used for book making, newspapers, accounts, and the 

 ordinary correspondence of the people. 



The kinds of paper sold in the bazaars consist of foolscap, quarto, 

 and octavo, the two latter invariably thin, of light weight. The 

 foolscap is not generally glazed and is of inferior quality. For 

 books, either folio or quarto is generally used, though school books 

 of a smaller size are sometimes printed. The paper used for the news- 

 papers, of which there are only 4 or 5 published in the country, 

 measures 20 by 13^ inches, and 18 by 7^ inches.* Many of the 

 works of classical authors are published in Bombay, and these are 

 in every respect superior to those printed in Persia. 



The actual quantity of paper consumed in the country is un- 

 known. The English consuls provide some statistics under the head 

 of stationery; but those cover only a portion, though a compara- 

 tively large one, of the country. Moreover, their estimates include 

 envelopes, account books, and writing materials. No other even 

 approximate record is kept. 



The terms of sale between the wholesale trader and the retail 

 dealer are generally for long or short credit, the retailer reserving 

 the option of discounting his bills at any time within the prescribed 

 date. 



The consumption of paper in Persia is too small for any mercan- 

 tile firm or company to be induced to make it the sole object of its 

 operations. It represents a small part of the imported goods of 

 nearly every native merchant, f 



There are four or five newspapers published in this country, at 

 intervals of a fortnight or more. The number of books published in 



*The page. 



t See appendix to this report. 



